CCO Mission Training
The CCO trainings were conducted at the Parish Hall of the Cathedral. The participants went through the 1st in a series of five CCO faith studies entitled “Discovery”. The 6 lessons in the book covered the foundational Gospel message: “God’s Love”, “Love’s Initiative”, “Jesus Christ – Our Lord”, “Jesus Christ – Our Saviour”, “The Universal Call – Personally Yours” and lastly “Going From Here”. The Faith Study led the participants to examine their faith deeper and to make a conscious commitment to the Lord.
1st July 2017 was the 150th Anniversary of Canada and it was a day of celebration! The CCO Missionaries hosted a Canada Day Coffee House at Cana Café, and along with the Malaysian students, delivered a night of entertainment and music as a way to spread the good news to those whom were present that night. It was also a night where the students practised introducing the Gospel to their friends and inviting them to the next 3 nights when the Lifeline KK Young Adults Ministry would be hosting the Faith Studies.
Over the remaining few days, the Malaysian campus student leaders were coached on how to lead the Discovery Faith Study. And in spite of initial feelings of unworthiness, they surrendered it to the Lord and tried their best. Rachel from UTEM recounts how blessed she felt on the third night of the Faith Study, “I really felt Jesus touched their heart because some of them cried”.
The student leaders also went through the Commission Faith Study, which is the last in the series. The focus of the 10 lessons was on evangelisation: “The Premise”, “Holiness & Mission”, “The Message”, “The Message & You”, “Heart for the Lost”, “Understanding Timothy”, “See Opportunities”, “Next Generation Mindset”, “Struggles & Doubts” and “Commissioned”. This study equipped us, the students for outreach and formed us for leadership before we are sent out to evangelise. For Elsa from UM, learning about 2 Timothy 2:2 has helped her understand her role “to be a Paul to the Timothys”.
The CCO faith studies are new means of evangelisation conducted in a new and interactive way; a different approach from the conventional catechism classes. When the CCO faith studies were completed, the Malaysian campus student leaders were sent out to evangelise to their respective campuses across Malaysia. In her concluding talk, Michelle Alcuin, one of the Canadian full-time missionaries shared John Paul II’s dream of “the Third Millennium of Asia”: “In the first millennium, the Cross was planted in European soil; in the second, in American and African ground; we can pray that in the third Christian millennium, there will be a great harvest of faith to reap in this vast and vital continent!”
Michelle Philo from Newcastle University shared that the main thig she took away from the one-week formation was that “evangelisation is the deepest identity of the Catholic Church. Sharing our faith does not mean we are forcing anyone to join the faith. Evangelism used to be a taboo word to me but now I know how important it is and am really glad that now I have the tools to be able to share my faith!”