About 5 months ago I walked onto a Qantas plane to Manila, only to arrive there a day before typhoon "Mileyno" hit the city. Never did it cross my mind that God intended me to spend the first three days of my GK GAT experience in my friend's apartment, where she faithfully kept me amused singing "Jesus You're My Superhero" while I frantically text-messaged the rest of the CYS mission team, who were stuck in Kuala Lumpur, waiting for a connecting flight. I guess he really wanted to make sure we were grateful for this Great Adventure Tour. :)
The CYS GAT was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the year for all of us. We'd learned how to work with each other, serve together, and support each other during the year of youth ministry - but never had we fully understood what it meant to be heroes to each other until we'd built homes together in the GK Sites.
I'll forever remember the our first visit to a GK site - GK Laura. The entire community welcomed us with open arms and we experience true and genuine hospitality in abundance. Our necks were adorned with floral necklaces made by the mothers, we watched folk dances by the children, and were seranaded in Tag-lish by the fathers.
At GK Brookside we saw the finished product of years of hard work from past Australian volunteers who had come and served before us. We spent a few hours with the students at the school, where I quickly learned that while God had given me many gifts, Maths was NOT one of them.
In the midst of our GK visits the team got to experience YFC in the Philippines, by attending one of the sector conferences. Not only did we witness the talent and the faith of Manila's youth, we witnessed their excitement about coming to Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008!
It was on that day that God revealed to me how blessed the youth of the Philippines are. The faith and the conviction of the youth who attended that conference was something I wanted to pocket and bring home to the youth of Sydney. Their love for God and their hope of restoring the dignity of their nation was a passion I wanted every young person to experience and treasure in their own hearts.
GAT has a way of bringing out that faith and hope - the hero - in us. When we'd arrived at our GK build site in Northern Luzon, I knew that despite the comfortable welcome (the Mayor had kindly organised a police escort and entourage of tricycle drivers to accompany us from site to site), God was ready to challenge us.
Unlike the sites we'd previously, GK Concepcion was in its early stages, with only a few families with homes. We spent three life-changing days meeting and getting to know the villagers, hearing how their lives had changed through GK, and feeling our hearts being transformed because of their openness and generosity towards us.
We woke up on day two of the build to the sound of the children running around outside and the birds crowing to the sun. Before 10am we'd worked up a few litres of sweat, transporting bags of dirt, and mixing cement to make the foundations of two new duplexes. I remember my heart leaping when the children ran up to us, asking if they could help. Months down the track, it still moves me to remember their excitement to serve and and the proud smiles of their parents who also played a vital part in the build.
Perhaps the most moving thing was seeing how the members of the team (only two of which could speak/understand Tagalog) broke out of their comfort zones. No other ministry experience allowed us to use so much muscle, adrenalin, sacrifice and effort. It's not everyday that you get to shovel dirt, mix cement, and paint walls with brilliant colours - all while hearing the contagious laughs of beautiful children. And all of this was done with open hearts and a joyful spirit. Despite the language barriers, there was a genuine communication of something unique and moving.
At the end of the build the Mayor invited us for lunch and asked us to share with her our experience. I still remember one team member saying they had experienced more love in that one GK village than she ever had in all of Australia.
When I reflect on her sharing, I remember how I felt when we'd returned from the trip and how proud I felt to be a Christian and working for the Church. At first I was sad for the youth of Australia whose eyes and hearts had never witnessed the conviction and hope that can be found in those working for GK. I was under the impression that because Australian kids never really thought about poverty, they didn't know much about sacrifice.
Then my mind flicks back to before I walked onto that Qantas plane - back to when we were asking parishes around Sydney for donations to fund the mission trip. I remember an 8 year old boy approaching us at the end of one Mass. Tipping out the coins of his wallet he handed Bec and I about 80 cents. Sheepishly he said, "It isn't much but it's all I've got - and you can have it."
Because of such experiences I can honestly say that GK has brought out the hero in more people than its founders had over planned. Volunteers, beneficiaries, doners, partners, Christian and non-Christian alike have all experienced what it is to give as Jesus did - completely and unashamedly - for love of God and man.
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The Catholic Youth Services mission team is part of the official agency for youth in the Archdiocese of Sydney. Six of us volunteered to be part of the team in 2006, ministering to the youth of Sydney by running school retreats, parish youth groups and serving at Archdiocesan events. During the GK GAT, the CYS team (consisting of Joe Chai, Sarah Collins, Rian Galliott, Rebecca Forrest, and Bec McNamara) were accompanied by myself, Lyndon Cox (Director of CYS), Michael Kelleher (from the Catholic Education Office), Jeremy Ambrose and Eddie Phillips.
For more information contact cyshouse@bigpond.com.
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