Marc Adriel
East 1 Chapter Youth Head
East 1 Chapter Youth Head
I joined the community in 2012. And back then, I was just a 14-year-old Catholic teen from a Catholic household, I attended catechism and went to mass every week. But I never understood how important my Faith was. To me, it was just a weekly chore my parents made me do. However, after one of the masses at Church of the I remember being approached by a group of youths from Youth For Christ. They invited me to this youth camp called ‘Camp Infinite’ that I had no interest in. It was my parents who signed me up for it and because I didn’t want to disappoint them, I went for it.
I would be lying if I said that youth camp changed me instantly. Even after that experience I still struggled to stay afloat with my faith. In fact it got worse because just after 3 years, I hit rock bottom, I was ready to give up on the Lord. At that moment I thought I didn’t need God anymore and it led me to hurting people that I love. I felt so hurt and alone yet I didn’t know who to turn to. I didn’t know why but in my desperation, I did the last thing I thought I’d do, I prayed.
The funny thing with God is that no matter how far you’ve strayed, He will always be waiting for you with His arms open ready to embrace you. That’s exactly how it felt like, because after trying to pray for the first time in a long time, I was invited by my household head to a prayer assembly. And despite not knowing or seeing any one of them in a long time, they welcomed me back and made me feel as though I was never gone. At that moment, I felt as if God was telling me, ‘My son, I missed you, and I’ll always be with you’.
It might not have been an overnight fix when I went to the youth camp. But God used that to plant seeds in my life. I met people there with whom I’ve formed genuine friendships, brothers and sisters whom I’ve started to journey with 8 years ago, and am still journeying with to this day. It was through them that God showed me that He was indeed pursuing me, that He is with me and will always be with me no matter how far I stray from him.
And today I am blessed to be part of this community. Growing deeper in love with the Lord, serving together with brothers and sisters, striving to pursue God just as he pursues us. Constantly reminded that I am his beloved and always will be.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
