​​​Parish of our Mother of Perpetual Help, Ipoh held its Youth Assembly on Sunday, 16th February, 2020. The response from young parishioners was very encouraging with 135 participants coming together to have fun and brainstorm for the future.

The event began with a lively praise & worship session before prayerful enthronement of the Bible and Liturgy of the Word by the Parish Priest and host Fr Patrick Massang. The youth were then motivated by facilitators from the New Thessalonians Apostolate who did a wonderful job in delivering an engaging program for the day. We are indeed grateful to Dave & Marianne Kameron, Sherril Netto and Dr Dominic Damian for their generous time and effort. It was a great experience for the Parish Pastoral Council too as we organized and participated in the event through close collaboration between different Apostolates, Ministries and BECs.

One of the inspired participants has this personal testimony to share:

Personally, I don’t know what of myself I can give to God. I seem to have nothing - no clear talents and no extraordinary abilities. So, what can I give God if I think I cannot give Him anything?

I believe this is the exact same dilemma most youths face. What can I do? How can I do it? The answer is simple. Come and participate. Seek first the kingdom of God and all else will follow. – Matthew 6:33

The youth assembly is only the very beginning. Attending it was just meant to show that we are here, we are not invisible! Some youths don’t leave the church because they’re bored with church; some youths leave the church because they’ve lost relatability.

How can we change this? The youths need gatherings to form bonds. Bonds of love and friendship are what keeps them coming back and these bonds are like sustenance to their roots. They see understanding, trust, and relatability in each other.

I would never discount the nurturing, compassionate unconditional love and teachings of parents/ guardians but sometimes, youths want to feel understood too. With everything changing in our lives (mentally and physically) it would be nice to have a support group of people going through the exact same thing, in the exact same stages of life.

So, by being a part of the youth movement, we can all grow together, learn together and laugh together. All of these while doing service for God and the church. In good time, we will carry out projects and campaigns with the help of our community, to help our community.

Thus, to parents and guardians, I say this: If you don’t know how you can serve God, perhaps your support of your children to participate in this ‘Movement’ is one way.

OMPH Youth Assembly Participant