Jesus Youth International Full time Volunteers' Training
28th June - 20th August 2006
Colombo, Sri Lanka & Kerala,India The first ever Jesus Youth International Full time Volunteers' Training was held from 28th June - 20th August 2006. There were 24 participants from 9 countries. The first phase of the training was held at the Thewattha Retreat House Ragama, Sri Lanka from 28th June to 6th August 2006. This phase consisted of an intensive training which included input sessions on Discipleship, Value Clarification, Church, Bible, Evangelisation, Charisms, Pro-life and Sexuality, Prayer Groups, Self Awareness, Dramatics, Transactional Analysis and many more. A retreat during the beginning stages of the training helped the participants build a solid spiritual foundation for the rest of the days. Several measures were adopted to help the participants to develop their skills in public speaking, communication, dramatics, planning and organizing, leading and animating prayer groups etc. The commitment ceremony for these 24 young missionaries was held on 5th August 2006. Following this the participants proceeded to Cochin, India to attend the second phase which lasted from 7th August to 20th August 2006. This phase was a time of outreach and practical implementation of the insights received during the training. This is what some of the participants had to share about the training : 
Annie Chandy, USA - "I became interested in the International Full time Volunteers' Training programme as soon as I heard the theme - to be a disciple and make disciple. The training programme was a great blessing in my life. I feel very much privileged to have been a participant. I treasured our daily personal times with God and our constant visitations with the Lord Jesus through the Eucharistic Adoration and Mass. I also felt the presence of God very much with us with each outreach in the faces of the elderly, the orphaned, in those who have never heard of God’s unconditional love for them. I have come to realize the importance and benefit of spending time daily with Jesus even after our training. The teachings we received have made me so proud to be at the service of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church. Through this program I feel more equipped to be a disciple and make disciples not only for this year but also a priority for the rest of my life." Rajan Joseph, India - "I would like to say that the 55 days training, was an excellent one for me. I have gone through different types of training programme, but this really gave me a lot of beautiful insights in my life. We were 24 participants from different countries, different cultures, different languages, different thoughts and everything was different. I got a lot of support and encouragement from the whole team, to discover my talents and to grow in the areas where I was weak. I really experienced the love, joy and freedom in these few days. The confession I made during the training was the first experience in my life when I approached the priest with a smiling face and got the same response from the priest. From this training I got a realization that the one and only one task of the Church is evangelization." Jang Se Ock, South Korea - "First of all I would like to thank God because He gave me a special and beautiful experience through the JYIFT. We had daily Mass, which helped me build up my relationship with God. I learnt a lot about Jesus, Bible, Church, etc. from the sessions. I found the beauty of fellowship through action songs, skits and other group activities. I realized the immense responsibilities I had towards the kingdom of God. I had a lot of problems in adjusting because of my language, culture, tight schedule etc but my friends who were from all over the world helped me overcome it just like my own family." Tenny Anthony, UK - "It was only the adoration that kept me going through the training, nothing else. The second day adoration is the one I hold very close to my heart because during that adoration I just asked the Lord one thing - "Lord make me cry, its been six years since tears have come out and I really want to let out the pain"... and soon I started crying before the Lord. Finally I got a goal in my life. For the first time l knew I had to anything I could to please my God and that His will is always more important than anything else. The time spent in personal prayer was the most important time I had for the day. I had so much love for God flowing through me... I have never felt so joyful and complete. I really thank the Lord for making me attend this training since I have come back to God. I have been blessed and I am excelling in every thing I am doing. Jesus is the only person in my life now and I really will try my best to change myself to accommodate him more into my life. I was nothing without him and now I am something in life." View the Photo Gallery
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