FELLOWSHIP - THE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTIC OF JESUS YOUTH | KAIROS GLOBAL | JULY 2019

Author: Levi Almeida

Intro: Levi Almeida shares how fellowship has helped him in his spiritual journey and how it keeps one united to each another and in Christ.

“Though we are many…we are One Body in Christ”- the lyrics of this hymn pierced my heart as the choir sung in their melodious voice for a parish program one evening. Yes, these words had definitely been derived from the well-known Biblical verse, “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others”(Rom 12:5). There are many scriptures in the Holy Scripture that speaks of fellowship.

Fellowship means friendship with one another, having Jesus Christ as our Head. It is different from the friendships we have in the world. I recall how my past three years in Jesus Youth have helped me to grow as an individual, not just spiritually, but emotionally and socially as well. Three years ago, when I came back to Kuwait after a real transformative experience at The Divine Retreat Centre, Potta, Kerala, I began looking for forums wherein I could sustain my faith and enhance my love for Jesus. I wanted to pray more and have a deeper relationship with the Holy Trinity. It was then, that I joined Jesus Youth- Kuwait through a good friend, and discovered that this was the perfect place for me to commence my adventure with my Saviour Jesus.

               As I began growing in the Lord, I went about inviting many youngsters to our Jesus Youth gatherings, counselling as well as praying for and with friends who approached me for guidance. I was on fire for God and eager to increase my knowledge of him. Gradually, I began living a sacramental life with the help of the Holy Spirit, the support of the JY movement, my prayerful parents and my close friends. There was this one time, when a mutual friend who belonged to our community met with a terrible road accident, and all Jesus Youth friends united together in one Spirit as real prayer warriors of Jesus, to pray for her, to visit her in the hospital and to comfort and strengthen her parents. Her speedy recovery was and still is an astounding miracle to this day, pleasantly surprising many of us. God, our Heavenly Father, truly hears the cries of his children and answers their prayers. Through this, I realized the benefits of belonging to a Catholic community and having prayerful supportive friends around me. What I began to love most about this community was that I could really count on my spiritual friends and mentors who always made themselves available to guide me, pray with me and correct me when I was wrong. They would lovingly give me the feedback when I needed it, and in a good way. 

      There came a time when the Lord called me to associate with all the youth in fellowship. Initially, the monthly prayer gatherings played a major role in helping me have a good time bonding with the youth. Then came the Mega-Youth Convention SPERANZA, and the MASTERPLAN event for which we had to mobilize on a large scale. The objective behind these was to draw youngsters closer to God and to save souls for Christ. It was while preparing for these huge events by way of conducting and organizing meetings, flash mobs, coordinating the promos, that I realized how working together selflessly and in unison would actually prove to be fruitful in God’s kingdom. Had this been any other worldly event, we would have gone about it in a casual manner, but this was solely God’s work and we were doing it in His way – in a way that pleased Him – by emptying ourselves of all pride and ego, by being loving and tolerant towards one another’s mistakes and differences, by appreciating, accepting and loving one another while working together. Truly, by this they would know that we are Christians, by our Love.

After the youth retreat, we (a handful of Kuwait Jesus Youth) travelled together to ACYC in UAE (before the World Youth Day). Again, I realized the joy of belonging to a Catholic community. We enjoyed travelling as a big group – singing songs and making merry in the flight, bus, and all the way to our rooms. During the next two days of our stay at the Church premises for ACYC, we had an amazing time being part of such a large youth event in the Gulf. I still remember how a friend of ours flew all the way from Georgia, to join us for those 2 days in the midst of her study holidays. Yes, Fellowship got us that far – with Christ as our centre. The song “Aint no Party like a Catholic Party” and the word “Fire” stuck in our hearts as we made our way back to Kuwait after a gala time, experiencing the joy and love of our divine and wonder-working God.

Fellowship helps us especially in truly being there for each other in times of need. In Fellowship, we are always looking out for one another and bringing the best out of each other. Enjoyment and entertainment can always be found where friends are, but, we in Jesus Youth try hard to keep reminding each other that Christ should be the centre of our friendship. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”(Jn 15:5). There are times when we spontaneously decide to hold hands and pray together, irrespective of the time and place. Whether we are at the beach, the airport, the mall or in a WhatsApp group chat – whether it’s a word of thanks to God or a mini praise and worship session, these little acts of fellowship help us stand united in Christ, reminding us that though we are many and different, from various walks of life, we are still children of the same Father.

Levi Almeida lives with her family and works in Kuwait. She is currently the Assistant Coordinator of Kuwait Jesus Youth English Core Team and she has been an actively involved with the Jesus Youth movement since three years, drawing many youngsters closer to Jesus.