3831(I)_iDBYC (inter Don Bosco Youth Clubs)

By Ms. Chiquita Farrarons

Cebu, Philippines, November 29, 2015 - The SYM-FIS organized the iDBYC fellowship with the theme: #WESEARCH last November 28-29, 2015 at Don Bosco Technology Center, Punta Princesa, Cebu City. It was attended by more than 200 young people coming from different DBYC settings from the Cebu Cluster.

The fellowship of the young people started with the Eucharistic Celebration headed by Fr. Godofredo Atienza, SDB, FIS Provincial who was also having the provincial visitation to the DBTC community. Together with him were Fr. Wilbert Dianon, SDB, SYM In-charge, Fr. Vernil Lopez, SDB, Fr. Gino Godinez, SDB, Fr. Gene Llenos, SDB and Fr. Al Añano, SDB. The Holy Eucharist celebration set the tone for the young people to search for God and to search for the meaning of their lives through the different stations that they went through during the Mass.

After the Mass, there were a lot of activities prepared by the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) Core Group for the young people who attended. These activities showed what it entails to become a good Salesian youth leader. One of them is the BOSCONIAN IDOL. Each DBYC setting selected its own IDOL. Through the different screenings, Chiquita Farrarons from DBYC Lawaan won as the BOSCONIAN IDOL 2015.

The young of today search for a lot of things. They look for guidance, love, understanding, and God. The highlight of the whole fellowship was the talk given by Ike Abastillas, a Salesian Cooperator from DB Lawaan, who opened the eyes of the youth leaders as he spoke about the realities the young are facing and doing now. Some laughed and some even cried as he spoke about family and how young people take their parents for granted. He gave the young people inspirational stories about family, school, and leadership.

After his talk, the leaders were really enlightened and many have realized how important God in their life is. The bottomline of his talk? God is the center of everything. He showed young people how to be Christ-like and that Christ should be their basis of judgment, discernment, and action. Young people are very vulnerable and their vulnerability might cause them to go astray if they lose communication with God. We search for everything in this world, but the only one we should search for is God in our lives, and once we strengthen our relationship with Him, the search is over.