Hajja Salesjana November December 2017

23 We then continued our preparations for the following day’s opening ceremony, by practicing the opening play, and making signs and welcome banners. Apart from this, we also had to prepare a board for each of our international groups, for the group members to leave their thoughts throughout the week. Working together on the preparations really helped us get to know each other well as animators, and it was a really enjoyable part of the day. After a Good Night at the Upper Basilica, we went to get a good night’s rest to prepare ourselves for the coming week. Day 4 – 11 th August 2017 Finally, the big day arrived! The participants from all over Europe would be arriving shortly, and we had the final few preparations to finalize. After a final session, we set off to Colle to get ready for the arrival of the Confronto participants. At this point, I must admit I was quite nervous, seeing as how I had never been an animator at such a large scale event before, but with the help and encouragement of the Small Team and my fellow Animators, I felt ready to face the challenge. At around 15:00, the first few participants began to arrive at Colle, and within a few short hours, the sounds of music and laughter filled the grounds, as the welcoming games had begun. We started off the Confronto with a Eucharistic celebration, then after dinner the official opening ceremony was to commence. I was quite excited for the opening ceremony, as I was taking part in the short play we had written, explaining Don Bosco’s Vision, Mission and Passion, which were three words which would be frequently mentioned throughout the Confronto. After the play, each country’s flag was presented and we danced to the SYM Anthem for the first time with all the Confronto participants. After the opening ceremony, we had our first short session in our international groups, where we had a few games and introductions. Of course, after a day of travelling, everyone was quite tired, so after the evening prayers and the Good Night from the Colle’s Rector, everyone was glad to get some rest. Day 5 – 12 th August 2017 This day’s theme was Don Bosco’s family, and the origin of his vision and passion, and after an introduction by Sr. Runita Borja, we had a moment of quiet reflection, and we then divided into our international groups to discuss the theme. After lunch, we had guided tours of Colle in our national groups (where we discovered Br. Clint’s flair for tour leading), followed by some testimonies from 4 SYM Europe youths (one of which was our very own Jeanine). It was a very intimate session, where we learnt about the family backgrounds of the 4 youths, and we were all particularly touched by the story told by Dana from Syria. It made me appreciate how lucky we are to feel safe in our own homes, and how we should not take it for granted. After dinner, we had a regional meeting, where we split into three groups according to our respective regions, and where each country had to give a small presentation and share some of our favourite local foods and drinks. The Maltese group at Confronto