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Inaugural Experience
The 10th Couples for Christ (CFC) Caribbean Conference was held in the beautiful island of Curacao from August 21-23rd, 2009 and derived its theme from Philippians 3:13-14 "Forward in Christ". As the leader of the Youth Ministry in my Parish I decided I would attend this Conference since CFC is a family of Ministries more particularly, Singles for Christ (SFC), Servants of the Lord, Handmaids of the Lord, CFC Youth for Christ (YFC) and Kids for Christ. Little did I know this Conference would create an experience I would never forget!
The genesis of my trip commenced with some disappointment and frustration due to unforeseen circumstances which I will not focus on at this time. Thanks to be God this disheartening situation was nipped in the bud and sorted by the end of the first day of the trip.
The YFC hosted a Western themed event on the night before the official opening of the Conference. This Western styled party emerged into quite an affair with the youths dressed in their best cowboy and cowgirl ensembles, roasting marshmallows over an open fire and displaying their numerous talents of song and dance just to name a couple.
The opening ceremony and Mass on Friday August 21st was a gala celebration with many of the islands of the Caribbean being represented together with the United States of America and Philippines. After a brief inauguration, the local choir erupted in song and dance with praises to Our Sweet Lord! The fusion of those beautiful voices and scintillating rhythms from the exotic instruments of the island swept though the Auditorium and captivated everyone like a whirlwind from Heaven! I never experienced a Mass quite like that before. At times, I forgot I was at Mass. On the one hand, it felt so ceremonious that I thought I was at a wedding reception while on the other hand the Mass was so festive I thought that I was at a party. That Mass was a true reflection of what the real celebration of the Eucharist ought to be!
What happened next took me by surprise. I became overwhelmed with emotions which flooded my soul. Upon consecration of the Blessed Sacrament, I began to feel all choked up and I knew then I was having an experience of Our Lord. As per normal, I tried to quell this feeling due to my false pride and the fact that I never tend to show emotion. Of course Our Lord had other plans. Upon receiving the Precious Lord in the Blessed Sacrament I could not stop the emotions thereafter. As I sat down, the meditation hymn commenced. That was it. I lost the battle. Rivers of tears flowed down my cheeks without a sign of ceasing! Needless to say, at this point I realized that I could not fight God any longer and I just allowed the Spirit to flow through my very being. That night leaves me bewildered to date.
Saturday August 22, 2009 opened with breakfast and Mass before the talks of the Conference were initiated. I had the esteem privilege to assist the most kind Father Morrison with the Mass and was given the honour to proclaim the Word of the Lord which was taken from Isaiah 9: 1-6. There were 5 talks throughout the weekend of the Conference which were all exciting and touched on many aspects of true Christian living. I think the participants will forever remember "the box" from Talk 2 - "Forgetting what lies behind" by the Peters of Trinidad and Tobago. This talk was inspiring and captured the attention of the audience completely. The Evertsz of St. Maarten and the Poon Tips of Trinidad and Tobago delivered quite emotional and thought provoking talks which left not a dry eye in the audience. The Barlaan's of Tampa Bay, Florida gave a testimony that was truly convicting in their talk entitled "Just one thing".
On Saturday night, the participants were treated to a lovely dinner and a cultural show organised by the hosts of Curacao, Sharier and Miriam Dorand who worked tirelessly to bring this 11th CFC Conference to fruition. The cultural show was an explosion of colour and dance! It brought my mind back to the older days in the history of Trinidad and Tobago (well at least what I remembered seeing on television and learning in history class). The Bishop was also captivated by this array of costumes and energy so much so that in an unguarded moment, the most Reverend Bishop of Willestad, Luigi A. Secco leaped from his chair and joined one of the dancers on the floor! The entire Conference was quite a success thanks to all who assisted especially the heads of each country, Sister Therese Dookeran and the nine couples of Curacao.
On Sunday August 23, 2009, the Regional Director CFC W.I., Mr. Joe Duran, spoke on evangelization in the modern world in such a dynamic and charismatic manner, he left the participants wanting more. The youth presented a praise and worship session before the closing Mass which brought immense joy to my heart. Seeing those youths, especially the ones from my Parish, on fire for our Sweet Lord was worth everything to me.
On the morning of this last day of the Conference I also experienced the Lord again in a way I never expected. As I sat before the Blessed Sacrament in the Chapel upstairs the Auditorium, I felt the Lord tugging at my heart again. Once more, I was filled with intense emotions which I could not understand and before I knew it, the tears appeared afresh in all its glory! In addition to the utter embarrassment, I sat with my Lord trying to understand what was going on in my spirit. He never said a word to me. I think I knew then, that He was trying to draw me closer to His Sacred Heart but I was being a bit stubborn as usual. I wonder if those tears were those of Jesus? I ask myself the question, am I hurting Our Sweet Lord by moving away from His will in my life? These and many other questions emerged during and after this Conference which I am trying to address currently.
I conclude with the suggestion that once you open your heart to the Lord He will reveal His plans in your life for He said I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). This 11th CFC Conference was truly amazing and has stirred up many things in my heart which I thought I put to rest but thanks be to God I am experiencing a renewed grace and power of Our Sweet Lord in my life all over again.
-----Trini SFC
PS Next year's CFC Caribbean Conference will be held in Trinidad. Look out for it!
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