Before work started for the retreat team, we had a few minutes of photo ops in Tagaytay. This picture was taken early morning Friday, March 9, on our way to Angels' Hills Retreat House.
So what actually happened during the retreat for Mayflower Academy conducted by the Youth Alive! Core Group led by Fr. Brian Steele, mgl for 1 1/2 days?
Plenty! The kids walked the grounds and searched for an object that symbolized God's love to them. Then they shared about it in their respective groups.
We taught them action songs and their favorites were "Mandolo Mandole" and "Dip-Dip". Those two songs were crawling out of our ears even hours after leaving the retreat venue on Saturday. They loved to dance to those songs so much and kept requesting for them.
They built towers from marshmallows and spaghetti. Some teams just enjoyed the marshmallows and did not bother to compete for the "Tallest and Strongest" structure. They've already had their reward. Even the teachers and facilitators had one team each. Fr. Brian was the judge and he had great fun poking at the marshmallow buildings.
The accommodations that were given to us were superior. We were a pampered team.
There were many more activities - talks, sharings, meals, etc. The theme for the retreat was taken from Romans 8 and the students learned that nothing could separate them from God's love. We closed with a celebration of Holy Mass where they served as readers, lectors, and sacristans.
It was altogether a wonderful first retreat, both for Mayflower Academy and Youth Alive! We pray for the kids everyday now. The other four text me that they miss the children so much. Good thing there's text, email, and Friendster these days. Moonwalk and Commonwealth don't seem that far away from each other anymore.
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