MISSION:BIHAR | KAIROS GLOBAL | AUGUST 2022

MMJ Finale was one of the greatest mission journeys in the history of Catholic Church in India as well as in Jesus Youth movement in terms of number of missionaries involved in this journey. In mid-March 2022 Jesus Youth Kerala got a call to be a part of this great mission outreach in Patna, Bihar. And God assigned us a task to find and send missionaries for his duty. 

From the moment the Kerala Mission Team and I said yes to this great call to send 100 missionaries to Bihar, we started experiencing great providence in our every initiative.

The Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel’ (Acts 9:15)

Like Ananias, we went throughout the zones of Kerala in search of missionaries. Instead of 100, the Lord brought us 200+ mission spirits from different zones, ministries and streams of JY Kerala. So, for me the taste and experience of this mission started earlier than others when I began to witness how beautifully God arranged things for us. If I begin to count the blessings, it will start from seeing the huge number of registrations, the grace of Jericho prayer, arranging long leaves from office, confirmed seats in trains, execution of God’s plans with his chosen people and finally, knowing how each and every person I met during this time became a part of this Mission.

The preparations for this mission, outreach to parishes and experiencing the lives of people in Patna diocese motivated me to be an instrument of God to proclaim his good news. 

Jomin James, General Coordinator, JY Kerala Mission Team

My Jesus Youth journey began in college. Later, I had to relocate for work and the continual switching between online and offline work made me more of a workaholic. As days passed, I realised I was slowly drifting away from the Lord. 

It was at that time I came to know about MMJ and decided to go for a mission to Bihar. By nature, I am a methodical person but on the first day of the mission itself, I realised that God already had a plan for my mission and I just had to abide by his plan. The entire mission was a beautiful journey with God, meeting his beloved people from different walks of life. God helped me revisit the various areas of my life and brought me the self-realisation of who I was and who I can be; and I got the answer to my big question, What next?’

This mission journey was a close and intimate journey with the Lord and has helped me become a renewed person with a clearer perception of his will in my life.

Olivia Kuriakose, Koothatukulam

O my Jesus, will you call me for a mission?

This was an intention I wrote on a sticky note along with many other intentions. Even now, when I think about it, I don't know the inspiration or the reason behind this particular intention.

When I came to know about the MMJ Finale 2022, as usual, I thought, ‘Wow... How blessed are those who are called for this mission! Let them be on fire and spread the fire in Bihar.’ I couldn't imagine that I could go for the same. But the soul's thirst to respond to the call increased rapidly. Permission from family was the first task to complete. With a lot of prayer, especially the intercession of Ajna Chechi (Ajna George, who passed away in January 2022 after a faith-filled, valiant battle with cancer), my family gave me their permission. 

And we started to prayerfully prepare for the journey. Even then, I didn't know what I would do in Bihar. During the train journey to Bihar, while doing my personal prayer, the Holy Spirit spoke ‘You won't go anywhere, you'll be in intercession.’ As I always do, I began to question the Holy Spirit's inspiration with my logical reasoning.

On the day when my group was supposed to go to the mission place, I fell sick and was asked to remain back in the centre, even though I felt I would be alright for the mission. But during the sacrament of confession, Jesus spoke, ‘You are supposed to be here. Be here.’ And thus connecting the dots, I realised that this was my mission, to intercede, to raise my hands and soul for those who are in mission places and those who are going to receive them. 

By the grace of God, this mission journey helped me understand the power of intercession. Even if we are weak and broken, even if we don't know how to speak in tongues, Jesus Christ only needs our five loaves and two fish. He is the one who multiplies it. Our duty is to hand over our insecurities and vulnerabilities with one prayer, ‘O my Jesus, use me as your instrument.’

Theja Theres Tomy, Ernakulam

‘If not now, then when?’ Is there any apt time for evangelisation? I don't think so. As we are called Christians, we are the offspring of an overwhelming love that enables us to do great things at any time.

Before every venture the human mind gets confused and I was not an exception. In the midst of last semester exams and submissions, it was not easy to look forward to the mission. But it was easy for me as Jesus called me by name. The phase of decision making was not easy until I offered it in Holy Mass. By the grace of God, my exams and project work got completed on time. 

The Bihar mission was a story of a great Father who led his children in the midst of all the hardships. I would say, we can give the love of Jesus even through the charm of your face and a smile. Sometimes, telling people pages and pages of Bible verses may not work but you can be Christ to them through the way you listen to them.

A train full of missionaries was an amazing experience. This train transformed into an altar every morning with Holy Mass for the missionaries – while crowds of people passed by silently; people who had never heard of Jesus passed amidst the Holy Mass and left hearing the name, Jesus. 

It was not easy to face the summer. The unusual climate made some of us weak but we were not ready to stop. The prayers we prayed together blissfully fulfilled every moment. We prayed for a small rain to get relief from the scorching sun. A few hours later we got a message from missionaries, ‘It’s raining here.’ That hour was full of grace.

The one thing that I have to say is Jesus loves you and me very much. Surrender yourself before him. Be conscious about the call of Jesus. He said on the Cross, ‘I thirst.’ His thirst was for souls. And he taught me to thirst for souls by saying, ‘O Lord give me one more soul to share with you.’

Jinu John, Kothamangalam 

Praise the Lord

We, my wife, son, daughter, and I went on a mission to Bihar together. Even though there were a lot of worries and confusions, we were quite eager to experience the mission. Everything, the children's examinations, their schools, and my job had been expertly planned by the Lord because we said YES to the mission. We first participated in an orientation session, which was a lovely experience. As a result, the Lord eventually included us in the MMJ Finale Journey. We now count this as a blessing for our family. Experience is considerably more significant for youngsters in today's society than any verbal instructions. Our children witnessed many things in the village of Bard in Bihar, where they learned that food, possessions, and education are lovely gifts from God.

We want everyone to go for a mission. Villages welcomed us warmly despite their extreme poverty. They did everything they could to make sure that we had the best food and accommodation. We finally assimilated with the locals when we prayed together, studied the Bible, and preached the Gospel to them. In the midst of them, we were able to constantly sense God's love. We came to understand that we could not begin the mission unless we took off our fake masks and be as Jesus was. When we gave up all our earthly pursuits and began to rely solely on Jesus, we merged with them in their community. 

Together with the Jesus Youth movement, we would like to thank God for this beautiful honour. We ask God to help us all spread the good news of Jesus to those who don't know him.

Prince TP, Litha Prince, Asin Prince, Ashish Prince, Thrissur