Messages

Pupil

Thankyou very much to phillip love him so much can’t wait to go back next year xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

St.mary and st.thomas aquinas Pupil

Hi Charlotte I had so much fun in our team thanks for encouraging me and my friends to do tests!!!!!! st. Mary and st.Thomas aquinas xxxxxxxx

Pupil

best school trip I have ever been on.
go team Amy!!!!!!!

st augusines pupil

the 1 and a half day were great i had so much fun the team and i stuck together and worked hard and i would love to thank my team leader Matt and crew the rooms were great and would love to go there again. thanks again for such a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)thanks a lot guys

Pupil

Thanx so much i loved it and thanx to phillip love u so much xx

st leonards pupil

it was so emotional! i loved it, only been back a few hours and i wish i was still there. Thanks for a great 2 and a half days. shout out to Katt Dog, our amazing team leader!

St Leonards Pupil

YMT was such an emotional, amazing and breathtaking experience. Burning our feelings, speaking about our inspirations. I just want to say; thankyou so much for everything, i feel like i’ve changed so much in the past two days..

OLSB Pupil

i enjoyed every minute of my year 11 retreat, it was an amazing experience and i would love to come again. I loved how on the night time we could chill by the campfire and sing songs, Cody and his banjo were amazing and so was the other team members especially Matt because he was our team leader. Thankyou for a great time !

St Thomas More Yr8 Pupil

Thank you for an amazing time,it was way better than I expected and I hope I can go again!!! Thank you especially to Phil, because he told us inspirational stories and to Amy because she was the best team leader!!! I really want to go to the summer festival in year 9 now, I can’t wait!!

Janet Hedley

I have just spent a wonderful weekend at the Village, with the Lindisfarne training partnership. Our arrival was really well-organised, with a friendly, helpful gentleman and Mel greeting us so warmly and explaining where to park and go. The accommodation is great: really comfortable, with gorgeous views and a much-appreciated kitchen and lounge. The food was first-rate and there was lots of it. Am sure I have put on pounds, especially with the sticky toffee pudding, coffee cake and yummy biscuits. Most importantly, the cooks are such cheerful, friendly people. In fact, all the staff we met helped make our stay special.
Thank you, everyone, and God bless you.
Janet.

Pupil

Hello my trip to the youth village was amazing the chalets were very relaxing, comfortable and clean the meals were great and the team were really nice, kind, helpful and give great advice. If i ever get the chance I will defenetley come back to the youth village. I want to thank the team, cooks, the cleaners and all of the other staff very much. Cody and the team also helped me learn to have faith in myself so thanks again.

St Wilfrid's Pupils

had an amazing week it was great,TIMMY was hilarious with his cheese gromit jokes, sorry David ahah, thanks to Cody for the inspirational story’s and the singing at dinner times, you’ve just made the school fun, thanks to tony for all the jokes and putting me on the video and to everyone else ill miss you, hope you liked your card Cody, really going to miss yous, but we’ll see you in June, love st wilfrid pupils x

St Wilfrid's Pupil

Had an amazing week, such a great insperational story Cody told us,we’re going to miss yous all so much, hopefully see you in the summer, step up to life:)

St wilfrids Y8 Pupil

The mission day was really fun, the end part of it when Cody was telling us about the Guy who went to death row was inspirational. All in all I want to be more like you guys. Although the video made all my friends depressed, lol. You guys are great, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy the mission at all but its been really fun and since today was my birthday the mission day made it great! Thanks!! PS: Cody your facial hair and tattoo sleeve is awesome.

St Josephs Y9 Pupil

i had so much fun with you guys last week your awesome i wish you didn’t have to leave and COdy, i love you your amazing <3

St Josephs Catholic School

I had an awesome time in the mission! Thanks guys! the music was great and it was all so much fun!!! i wish it wasn’t over!!!

Thank you so much for everything you did!!!

Julia Burke

Just returned from an uplifting family night at St Joseph’s. Great to witness so many great young people stepping up to God’s life.
I even found out about the difference between a stairway and a stairwell. Fantastic welcome from Mission Control and I’m delighted the participant with Father Dermott decided to gamble. It was a worthwhile way to spend an evening. Well done as always to YMT for all the hard work. You are probably still setting up the sports hall as we speak. Enjoy your final day of celebrations and good luck for St Wilfred’s. Continue to enjoy doing God’s work and swimming happily and confidently from your island!! God is good, why aye he is!

St Joseph's RC pupil

Hi I have really enjoyed the mission so far it was really fun and I love all the team especially Cody ! I have met some new people (the team) and have really enjoyed doing the drama with David Rachel joe and others too! I really wish I could come back to stay over i loved it ! Thank you !!!

Pupil

hi guys, it’s Me we had a brilliant time these past few days, thank you so much

St Joseph's (Hebburn) Pupil

hi i came to the youth village a couple of months ago, it was a really good experience, liked all the activities we done especially the dancing and singing, hope to see you soon x

Pupil

hi my trip at the youth village was amazing the chalets was relaxing/comfy the meals were great and the team were very good at running the youth village i am looking forward to meeting all of the team again soon i enjoyed my time at the youth village with the team at the youth and our friendship is always with us.

Sacred Heart Pupil

you were fantastic! I had such a great time i cant wait to come back next year. thank you.

Anita Nicholson

Sacred Heart High School, Year8 Visit

It was brilliant to see our girls having so much FUN!!! They learnt a lot about themselves and their relationship with God and those around them. They nearly all want to come back for a much longer visit ( shame we never got snowed in!!!)

Sixth Former

had a great night at the youth village think us sixth formers were more involved that the others :p anyways thankyou for a gret inspirational night and il see you all again at the source

St Mary's School Pupil

Charlotte!!!! Was kind of funny to chat at lunch and thanks for sharing your weird obsession of Harry Potter still the best part is when Robert Patterson dies in Goblet of fire.
ps. she wanted us to leave a message since she hasnt had one yet

St. Bede's Lanchester

Thank you to every one who listened to our young people and supported the Food4U appeal, the response was absolutely overwhelming! We are so grateful.

St. Patrick's Consett

To all at the YMT who made our 2 night,3 day retreat a great success, a great big ‘Thank You’! We loved the rooms, the food, the activities, the team – what wasb’t there to like? We even managed to give our teachers some sleep!We certainly didn’t want to come home. We look forward to seeing you all again at Summer Festival.
Thanks once again,
Y6 Mrs Callaghan & Y6 Mrs Eyers

Primary School Pupils

Hello I Am writing to tell you about our visit to the youth village. One thing that was good was clean and tidy rooms. When it was tea time I loved the roast turkey with the side of carrots, potato. Although the custard was lumpy but on the other hand we loved the custard especially with the lemon tart. However the variety of the pizza was great 

Primary School Pupil

DEAR YOUTH MINISTRY TEAM
YMT

HI I AM MAX AND I CAME TO THE YOUTH VILLAGE 5TH-6TH DECEMBER 2012 IT WAS A GREAT RETREAT I ESPECIALY THE PAINTING ,DRAMA AND THE DANCE THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL RETREAT HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON AGAIN

Yr 6 pupil from Our Lady of the Rosary

hi ive enjoyed the trip today. pete and Siobhán do you support nottingham forest

St. Bede's Lanchester

So proud of all our students putting their faith into practice in our Justice and Peace group! Watch out for students making an appeal for Food4U in parishes this weekend.

Young Person

today i was nominated to read a speech to do with youth sunday ! i loved it

St Michael's Billingham Pupil

Hannah (my favourite female from YMT) you made it brilliant. Thank you so much for making me laugh and having a nice talk with me. In a way you have helped me to decide what I want to do with my life and I appreciate that so much. You are brilliant, stick to the nicknames Hannah, miss ya x

Sacred Heart Licorne

Heeeey sobian Licorne Team Member here how you doing? We had such a great time a ns you were such a great team leader keep doing what you do whooooo! Licorne all the way! Never mind we’ll find a unicorne like you we wish nothing but the best for you too dont forget me i beg i remember you said its so furry im gunna die!

Sacred Heart Yr 9 Pupils

steeeve! we’re gonna come t the summer festival and the source! hope to see you there! we’ll aslo try to persuade the school to let us come next year too! we wanna go back so bad! cant wait! bye!;D *cyber hugs*

Mr Wood

Great week, absolutely shattered after it, so you guys must be ready to hibernate. You are a brilliant influence on young people.

Student from OLSB

Thank you on behalf of all of the school for coming and sharing God’s message of ‘Step Up To Life’! Everyone really enjoyed it and the atmosphere was great! .We hope to see you again soon! Thank you!

OLSB Mission Control

year 7 from st . michaels billingham

Thank you for coming to st michaels hot bagels was so funy. please come back again . i think you come every three years so i will be in year 10 !!!!!! . I THINK cHAVY STYLES WAS DEFINATELY THE BEST . I also think that year seven definately beat year 8 . Hope i’ll see you all soon . PS dAVIDS WALLACE IMPRESSION WAS ACE .

St Michaels

hi guys thanks for coming into st michaels thank you for teaching us how much god loves us erm i hope you can come back and visit
chavvy styles you are mint:) xxxxx

St Michael Yr9 Pupil

Dear YMT, this wekk has been absolutly amazing and i hope i get the oppertunity to come and visit the youth village soon !!
this week has helped me to reflect and just relax it has been so enjoyable and i wish you could all come in more than once every 5 years !!
thank you soo much again from a Pupil and the whole of year 9 from st michaels billingham

St Michael's Student

Hey!! Thank you sooooo much for coming to St Michael’s and you are all so cool! You know what us kids like but slip in God. Please come again!!! Rock on Right Direction!! Lol!! Hope to see ya soon school/youth village xxxxxxx

st michaels

i had a mint time hope you come again Siobhán you rule and so does tom daley hope you guys come back to see us again at st michaels xxxxxxxxx p.s right direction were miles better than chavy styles !!!!!!! xx

St Michaels Mission Contol!!!

HEY GUYS! its us again, your fellow hoodie crew:D we just want to let you know how thankful we are you came to us this week and how much we enjoyed working with you all! we hope hope hope hope hope hope hope hope hope that we will be able to see all you guys again soon! good luck with your other schools but we all know you love us the most, miss you already lots of love and best wishes from mission control

St Michaels Mission Contol!!!
xxx

Student from St michaels RC School

thanks for coming Siobhán.

St. Michael's Pupil

i loved how the team showed us how much god loved us

Young person

Thanks for an amazing time, I have really enjoyed every bit of it and made some good new friends *charlotte and chris*.I had a lovely over night stay and enjoyed all the games and reflections, hope to see you all soon , Emma p.s GO !TEAM FROGS

St.Roberts pupil

Hi just thought I’d say that this retreat was great, had a fanastic time just wish it was longer and had more time just to talk and get to know everyone a bit better Thanks for a great time from St.Roberts!

Young Person

The source last night was amazing thanks guys

Year 11 St Roberts student

Amazing retreat! Had a brilliant time! The new team are lovely and so nice! Didn’t want to leave! See you all soon! Thanks again!

EMS Year 8 Student

that was awsome i was part of the ems and i loved it thanks guys

Generic visitor to the Youth Village

I came for a retreat a few months ago, it honestly gave me a renewed relationship with God. I had such a great time, and I still miss Steve!!

Student from st thomasmore north sheilds

Hi I love the work you guys do because you fill people’s hearts with faith and you bring people closer to god

Student from stm northsheilds

you guys are amazing i love your work and hope i can join when im 18

megan mason

hiya
i miss u all and would love to come back hope everythings ok there with all the rain thunder and lightening i am ok my house got flooded and hope us are all good and well hope to speak soon xx miss u’s loads x i was in brigid’s team the sliplits x

St Joseph's Yr 7 Pupil

Hi it’s me, has just left the youth village today with st Joseph’s, bridgid what was the song that was danced to and who by?xxx

Frances and Naomi from YMT

A message from Frances and Naomi (from YMT). Does anyone happen to have gained a long-ish khaki green coat with a yellow submarine badge on the right hand pocket, it’s about size 12 and has been well worn and loved over the years. It also has a few random items in the pockets (which we would REALLY like back!), which you’re bound to realise aren’t yours. If anyone (students, chaplains, teachers…) have seen or know anything about this it would be greaaaaatly appreciated if you could get back to us as soon as possible. Thank you!! Naomi and Frances of YMT ♥

On Behalf Of Every Pupil

Although i’m sure all of the YMT know i’d just like to remind yous that you make a huge difference to the childrens lives who have the great opportunity to meet yous.

I’m confident in saying nearly 100% of the children who go to the retreats or festivals that the YMT arrange are brought closer to God. God camp was a success its just a shame about the weather, God bless all the YMT staff they should all be extremely proud of themselves.

st.patricks consett

hope you are alright everyone at ymt because of the thunder and lightning x

st.patricks consett

thankyou so much for the incredible experience now i have learnt to have faith in myself by beth and everyone! x

St aidans Pupil

Had a great time very sad that we had to leave early due to bad weather but still the best festival ever thank you so much defo coming back next year

St. Patrick's Consett

Hi YMT,
thanks for a great day at the Youth Festival yesterday. We enjoyed the Olympic singing and dancing. We made new friends. We were reminded that we are all special and to have faith in ourselves and know Jesus will help us to do this.
Year 6 E and Year 6 C

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

hi brigid i miss u and i would love to come back to the youth village it is amazing
u and the team are amazing i miss u all so much

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

hii brigid i am at home and miising u like crazy looking at photos i took and i would love to come back i am missing the rest of the team but i miss u more cause u were my team leader just remember we are the sliplits and we are proud
thats our name so sing it loud x2
sliplits x4
slippplits
the song you’s taught me i am still singing it love will hold us together…
i would love to come back xxx <3

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

had a really great time and it was alot of fun too, i would come back again, try and get ant and dec to come lol

st beds

we had a brill time thanks to ymt team

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

hi Bridgid and the team.
i am at skl now and i are missing u and still thinking of you’s
Had a great time thank you i cant say how happy i am and how much i want to come back and missing you’s loads
from me (sliplits) xx

St Bede's Lanchester Pupils

hi we were in matts group and we had so much fun at the youth village.

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

hi Bridgid and the team.
i am at skl now and i are missing u and still thinking of you’s
Had a great time thank you i cant say how happy i am and how much i want to come back and missing you’s loads
from St Bede’s Lanchester Pupil xx

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

thank u for leting me stay at the youth village and very thanks to matt

St Bede's Lanchester Pupil

we were in Mc group and we had so much fun making our t shirt and chant and when Mc got it wrong .(lol)
hope we can come again next year !

Howay Howie

Dear YMT,

I miss you!

Year 6 Pupil

Hi Ymt I had such a good time at the youth vilige

Year 5 Pupil

Thanks so much for the great experience I came 17/05/12 till 18/05.

I had a great time and want to come back and see you all again!!

Year 6 Pupil

Eventhough I had just left the youth village today I wish I was back there because I had loads and loads of fun

Year 6 Pupil

I hope that I can come back for a visit sometime to see you absolute amazing people especially Cool beans

Year 6 Pupil

Thank you ever so much Steve for having me in your group and I loved ever part of all of the teamwork activities and
thanks again,
Year 6 Pupil xx

Year 6 Pupil

Thank you so much for letting me come to the retreat and i just wanted to say a very big thank you to Steve the leader ofmy team for making all of the ativities very fun and very exciting
thanks again,
Year 6 Pupil

st wilfrids rc pupil

thank you ymt i loved it so much really hope i could come back to future event s x

Pupil

YMT is great I love it and I WANT TO COME BACK:-(! But had a great time thank youuu:-)x

Naomi from YMT

Hey everyone!

Thanks for all of your messages! They mean a lot to all of us here at YMT. Hope you all enjoyed your experiences!

ST MARYS BLACKHILL

hi every one i came 17/5/2012 thank you for the great time i had.My favorite part was when we had art we made an collage of jesus plus we made completly new friends too. Would love to come back again soon.

St Benet Biscop's (Year 7)

Been on retreat from 14th-15th May, and it was fantastic! It was really fun, and all of the people we worked with were fab! And there were a couple of people who liked the same thing as me, (HP FTW) so that was supermegafoxyawesomehot! Had a fab time, and really want to come back!

St Benet Biscop Pupil

I had such a great time, on the way home everyone was singing the ‘Our God is greater’ song! thank you so much! x

st benet biscops pupil

hi i just left today from st benet bicops i think it was so fun and now i really wanna go back i wish i could and thanks for everything

pupil

I have just left the village today and I wanna go back.. Naomi was a great group leader, thanks x

Pupil

hi miss u loads after 1 day bridgit beth steve cody phillip and all cooks thank you sooooo much miss you loads remember songs and mmm this sure is good and whop there is

awsome time

bye
love xxx

EMS Student

hi i enjoyed myself so much i liked brigit so much she is awsome she should know who this is hint ( polar bear) i will be back and you were the highlght of my trip thank you i also liked MC SHE awsome

Anne Marie

Thank you so much to Cody and the Team who led us in our Y9 Retreat this week. The students and staff are buzzing and the word has very quickly spread around school about just how fantastic it was. I have heard other Y9 students today saying, “See, I told you we should have gone!”

Here’s to the 6 retreats we have booked in for next academic year! Keep up the great work guys and thank you so much!

Looking forward to seeing some of Xaviers pictures up here.

pupil CW ST Patricks langly moor

I had an amazing 2 days but i thought the trip was short i would love it if yr7 next from stlenards could have a week trip the room me and my friend stayed in was 5 star xxx

Pupil

hia i am from st.patricks y6 and i sent one ages ago but i am saying another one because i am looking forward to seeing my team leader beth soon i will see you when we come back in june

ST MARY'S.HULL YEAR 7

HI GUYS!Thank you for the AWESOME trip!I really LOVED it .The best bit of it was working as a team and I got to know people that I really didn’t know from our YEAR and now I like best friends with them.I learnt a lottt from you guys.That was the BEST tripp ever! xx

St Mary's, Hull Yr 7 Pupil

Thankyou YMT! This was the best trip ever and has completley changed me as a person!
I REALLY WANT TO THANK NAOMI BECAUSE SHE IS AN OUTSTANDING PERSON AND I MISS HER LOADS SHE REALLY HELPED ME ENJOY MY 4 DAYS AND IF YOU ARE READING THIS NOW NAOMI THANKYOU SO MUCH YOU ARE AMAZING! I WAS IN HER GROUP IN APRIL 2012 SHE IS FANTASTIC AND WAS ALWAYS SMILING XXX

I pray for you all at YMT every day x

Definatly a trip to remember
Hopefully Naomi is there next year!

St Mary's, Hull Yr 7 Pupil

thanks for this great we got to school at 2:45 and im very, very tired ….. Rember you lot Youth MInistry ROcks For ever and Naomi is the best BUT Cody is beating her a lot ( totally Awsome!!!!) im not gonna forget about you luv ya for ever

Pulse Participant

thankyou so much for the most amazing week ever. Celebrate completely overwhelmed me and i feel like a changed person! YMT are amazing and i hope to see you alll next year! xx

St Cuthberts Student

Thanks for the two amazing days, It was a retreat tooo remember, I am looking forward too coming back for the summer festival too see everyone again.
St Cuthberts Student (Beths Team)

st cuthberts student

cheers for great 2 days, miles i hav ur hat, ahahahaha , cu at the summer festival…… mince and dumplings!!!!!!!!

Sacred Heart Pupil

HIIIIII! I LOVED it at thee youth village……mmmmm mmmm mmm that sure waz good!!! hahaha made me laugh cody! missing the youth village i could go there every week ….

Sacred Heart Pupil

the retreat was awesome and so is Bridgid she is so friendly, funny and awasome the bridgee the raggee quiz was the best. cody is really funny as well. thank you for an amazing time espically Bridgid .

Sacred Heart Pupil

Hi, i loved the retreat i thought it was soooooo awsome mmm mmm mmm that show was good!!!!

Sacred Heart Pupil

hi everyone
i have just got back from the youth village i am shatterd it isnt because i dint sleep you never get to sit down it is amazing because i get bored easily and at the youth village i was never board

Storm(from Carmel)

hi everyone! the retreat was absoloutly amazing in january i had an epic time and so did my mates. we got to chill out alot as well! the refletions were so calming before we went back to bishop kevin. i loved every minute and i really hope i can come again next year:)

twood

Another awesome retreat, thoroughly enjoyed the flag capturing. Still cant believe its possible to run as fast as that in wellies.
If you want help building a firepit, get in touch.
Mr Tom

Young Person

I LOVE YMT! Buzzing for the flame, unbelievably excited! Also, just realised the ‘flame’ on the T-Shirts actually spells flame, mind=blown. Thanks for mini-missions on Saturday, cant wait to go and spread the love of God with the younger kids. x

OLSB Student

Thankyou YMT for three brilliant days! I loved every second of it! I feel my faith has been strengthened and I feel more confident to express my religion. thanks especially to Cody, Matt and Phil for leading the days and thankyou to Naomi you were a brilliant team leader. GO TEAM EXTREME!!! Thanks again and hope to visit again soon xxx

Young Person

The YMT are very inspiring, they inspired me to go to church and to join the youth council. The retreats are not boring and neither are the masses. YMT have modernised church and will hopefully inspire many other young people just like me, to move forward in their religion and stand up for their beliefs. I’m no longer afraid to share my opinions of my religion with other young people. Yes, people who don’t share my views laugh, but I dont mind, because that is their life choice not mine, and I shouldnt let them put me down. Whilst at the Youth Village, I learnt that: Usually in life people judge you for who you are on the outside and the clothes you wear, but that doesnt matter and it shouldnt get to you because what you wear and what you look like, makes you individual and its individuality which sets you apart from other people, without it, life would be like being a pawn on a chess game, always the same. :] Thanks YMT x

St Thomas More Blaydon Pupil

hi im from st thomas more school blaydon in 8B1 i thought the trip was realy good i wish we could of stayed there longer i hope that we get to come again realy soon it was very comfortbal staying there it felt like home thanks again for everything xx miss yous xx

St Thomas More Blaydon Pupil

thank you so much for the experinance we have all had because all of my friends and me loved it and we have took away the message thank you so much once again. my favourite activite had to be capture the flag but i still enjoyed all the rest thanks.

St Thomas More Blaydon Pupil

loved every moment of the retreat so did my friends thanks for a great time

St Thomas More Blaydon Pupil

Steve was the best group leader ever i loved him he was funny hope next time i get steve again .

Pupil

Loved every minute of it can’t wait to come back love you steve phill well every one !

St Leonard's Yr 9 Pupil

loved retreat so much,thank you for an amazing time:D

Carmel Y9 Student

i really enjoyed the retreat hi to everyone at the youth village

Joseph

Thanks for the good work you do with the youth and all the young people. You have touched so many people’s hearts.

Patricia Small

To Father Dermot, Tony and the whole mission team,
Thank you very much for the gospel experience you gave our students during our recent school mission. The way in which you initially connected with and then fully engaged our lads was amazing. I can still see their faces, fully attentive to everyone of Father Dermot’s words. I know that for some young people, their only experience of faith and values is in school. The mission team gave them much to hold onto and hopefully sustain them. Never stop doing what you do so well with young people, letting them know that “l’amour de Dieu transforme”.

Frances

hey ymt!
i was one of the dancers at the conference, i hadnt planned on coming till a few days before hand and im so glad i did! it was so inspirational, Bob was a huge help to me and many other young people accross the region who are finding it difficult to accept and understand their faith and i left the conference feeling refreshed and enlightened. thank you for the work you do ymt and please continue to show young people that God is with them always.
xx

Michelle Cole

Thank you so very much for enriching the lives of our students. It’s been great having you in our school. No doubt the kids will miss you all next week. I will endeavour to ensure my kids live life to the full! X

St.Bedes Year 8 x)

It was mint when you came to our school. The videos were so sad but they really get the message across. I now know how to live my life life to the full. Thanks to the whole Team – Paul, Fr. Dermott Donnelly, Robert, Rhona, Alex, and Melany. Please come back soon!!!! XX

Laura Sidney

What a fabulous week we had. The atmosphere within the school was excellent. My daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed the Family evening. The whole school finale was fanastic and the kids gave it their all. Hope you come back to our school again soon as the work you do is amazing!!! Take care x

St. Bede’s student

When you came to the school it was the best ever and i hope you will come back next year and tell the story all over and have fun with the school again. You are all amazing. The school loved you all.

Pulse 09 – L.A.

Hi guys I would just like to say a huge thank you for such a fantastic week I had at Celebrate. Everything about it was so enjoyable and you all contributed in such individual ways it was really lovely. I will definitely be back in the Pulse next year, I can’t wait to see you all again! Rhona – good luck being a nurse in the Philippines, I will miss you next year but God will be with you always. Love you all, L.A. xxxxxxx

TIMOTHY MUBENGA

This so wonderful to have a youth group committed to Gods work, I will definitely be part of you.

LW

Hi guys I would just like to say a huge thank you for such a fantastic week I had at Celebrate. Everything about it was so enjoyable and you all contributed in such individual ways it was really lovely. I will definitely be back in the Pulse next year, I can’t wait to see you all again! Rhona – good luck being a nurse in the Philippines, I will miss you next year but God will be with you always. Love you all, xxxxxxx

St Thomas More student

God camp was amazing. I met some amazing people (especially hartlepuddlians) and had a brilliant time and became closer to God. I wish it was a bit longer though. xx

Summer Festival Participant

The festival was amazing! I would recomend it to anyone who has doubts. If i gain the chance i will be coming back next year!

St Michael Year 10 Student

This was one of the best two days of my life! Definitely coming back for the summer festival!

Jessica Corpstein

Just want to say good luck and God bless to this new team! May all your hard work pay off this year! you all and YMT are in my prayers!

God Bless

Jessica

St. Robert’s Pupil

Your visit has really changed the way I live my life. Your work is tremendous and tony, you lead a fabulous team! I hope that you have enjoyed these past nine days as much as myself and as a representation of the whole week; tonites family night was amazing. Thank-You all for all you have done and we all wish you could stay longer. Hope to see you again soon.
God Bless you all.

St Roberts student xx

I have really enjoyed this week you gave me inspriation for my future. Live life to the full John 10:10 has made me look at life in a different light. I know have made up with people i don’t like or don’t get on with. Thank you so much.

God bless xxxxxxx

St Roberts Pupil

This was a great experience.
Very enlightening and different.
I love to do it again

St Robert Pupil

I have loved this week it has been packed with fun, i will remember it always it has made me think about my life and how i see others i hope too see you all soon and thank you soooo much for making this week so good thank you xxxxxx

St Michaels Pupil

Let me be the first to say I thoroughly enjoyed The Event 09, and found both Sister Helen and Bud Welch to be fascinating to see. The opportunity to listen to some real wisdom was greatly appreciated and the inspirational accounts relived by the two is something I will carry with me for a long time. Thanks once again, your cause is a worthy one.

St Thomas More Pupil

I thoroughly enjoyed The Event 09. It was interesting to see such inspirational people. I have always admired people like Sister Helen and Bud Welch, thank you for the event 09, and I think it is great in general the work the YMT do with young people and should keep it up.

St Thomas More Pupil

I was greatly inspired by the way of Sister Helen and Bud today – the way they presented themselves made me and many others think greatly about our actions and forgivness. In particular the closing section of today was fantastic, it brought a tear to my eye to see just how passionate and understanding people can be.

Carmel College Pupil

This was a fantastic day; very moving. I was very much inspired by Sister Helen and Bud. The meditation was brilliant and it was a privilege to have been there. Thank you very much to everyone involoved, particularly Sister helen and Bud.

A Morrison

Very occasionally in life you have the opportunity to meet or listen to people of inspiration, people of hope, people of faith. Today was one of those days for me. In our world of uncertainty the message of the gospel asks us to turn the norms of our society on its head. It asks us to go against the popular opinion of that time in order for the message of Christ to prevail. As we know that is not easy and often we fail. So thank you Sister helen and Bud for sharing your faith and love with me and I pray that because of today I will gain the courage to show forgiveness and love as you have done.

h taylor

very very very inspirational sister helen gave great advice on how to get through things even on the toughest of times and she helped me understand how many people are worseoff then us. bud welch was a vetry respected man in the community hall he made a remarkable approach he made us all feel welcome and made the story of his daughter’s death (R.I.P) very inspiring. thankyou too you both

St.Bedes Pupil

I found Sister Helen and Bud Welsh’s talks very inspirational and thought provoking and very interesting. I would also like to know the website for the death row pen-pal.

Louise

I was lucky enough to be there Friday and Saturday and I just had an amazing time, Sister Helen and Bud are both fabulous people! Very easily admired and loved by people for simply the work they do. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house on Saturday! Bud made me cry both days and I just don’t understand how he can stand up there and talk about his daughter without breaking down into tears! I just feel so lucky to of met them both as well as taking part in the conference. Thanks YMT

Julz

Am completely exhausted what a fantastic weekend!!!
Thankyou YMT for fantastic hospitality and a phenomenal conference

Nic

I’ve not been to many conferences yet but I think I’ll be lucky if the ones in the future are as good as that! I loved it all thankyou to all the speakers who truly gave you a rollercoaster of emotions! and YMT for looking after us all

Irene

Truly inspirational – great food for the journey. Wonderful organisation – we are so fortunate to have these events. A million thanks!!

Jenny

i thought The Event 09 WAS amazing and very inspiring. I loved all of the speaches made and i think everyone had a tear in their eye through out Bud’s speach. My friends and i were so exstatic to be comishioned and that weekend is one i will remember for the rest of my life. x

Anita – Our lady Queen of Peace Penshaw

What a privilege it has been to be in the presence of such awe- inspiring people this weekend. Sr Helen and Bud Welch have both been to the darkest of places imaginable yet have emerged with such grace and wisom that has touched me in a way that I will never forget. Sr Helen is truly a modern day saint.
Thank you Fr Dermot(AKA. Squeaky Wheels) & all involved. Bless you all!

Dave

It was a pleasure to take part in the Event 09. I had been looking forward to it for a long time and I had huge expectations following the 2007 City Hall conference. My expectations were not only met but were totally exceeded. It was a true life changing weekend and I really appreciate the hard work YMT and the other organisations put in to make the Event 09 a wonderful success. My thoughts were challenged and changed, my spirituality was moved to a deeper place and my heart was enriched by the power of Christ working through the human testimony of Sister Helen, Abbot Christopher, David Wells and Bud Welch. Thanks to YMT and everybody involved.

Byron College Student

I had a great day at The Event 09 and I believe that Sister Helen and Bud Welch are an inspiration. I participated in the Mass when Sister Helen was here in 2007 and loved doing so. I was lucky enough to come to the Event 09 and absolutely loved this too. I would like to thank YMT and Fr. Dermott for hosting such a fantastic event. Thanks, Student xx

Merin D’cruz

I would just like to say that being at the conference and expernince both Sr. Helens Journey thouroughout something difficult like that shone light on a lot of aspects for me personally. Bud Welsh’s story made me realise that I need to let go aswell. Inspiring and touching event. Experiencing first hand is always more real than reading it in a book or someone else telling the story. It was a priveledge that i was a part of the conference this year. Thank you soo much for YMT and the people involved to make it happen.

Merin D’cruz

I would just like to say that being at the Conference and listening to the journeys that Sr Helen and Bud Welsh had to take through out their life shown light on alot of aspects i need to do in my life. Bud Welsh’s Story taught me to let g and move on but keep the loved one in our hearts. Experiencing the conference was a inspiring and touching event. Hearing their story first hand it something else to reading it in a book or hearing it from someone else. I would also like to say that I enjoyed all the music and drama that was prioduced. The musicians are truly talented and made the event what it became. Thank you YMT and people involved for making it happen.

Carmel College

Hi all, firstly, i would like to thank YMT for all their hard work in preparing for this remarkable event, i was lucky enough to attent 2 years ago but found this years event even better. I was also lucky enough to talk to Bud and Sr. Helen after the talks, thanks to them both for being such amazing people and carrying out The Lord’s work so well. They are truely blessed people. I look forward to seeing the team in december 2010 for our mission.
God Bless

Mel from YMT

Awesome experience!! Thank you Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, for allowing us to share our faith journey through the work that YMT do! This Event 09 has inspired me once again to keep going and the amazing support and continuous prayer is always owerwhelming. Thank you very much

julia burke

As always a fantastic experience facilitated by YMT. Sister Helen second time around was inspirational and I have so much admiration for Bud Welch. The prayer at the end of the session was incredibly powerful. Thanks to all of the team for all of their work and to Father Dermott for hsving the vision to make the experience a reality. All feedback I have received is positive thankyou. The party was great as well but sorry we missed the weekend,

St. Robert's Pupil

Hey. The mission was gr8! My life has been changed by everything from the family night, to the exposition of the blessed sacrament. God was truly within us and will stay in our hearts. I am looking forward to sharing another two great experiences with you and the team within the next two weeks. It was an even better experience being in mission controll being able to work with you and your team to improve the life of others. Its you that need the thank you’s! we all benefitted from the mission even if it was just getting out of lessons and having some fun for some people, and the touching of our hearts, souls and minds for others like myself. Thank you again, and i look forward to seeing you again on wednesday.

So lets go on as we mean to stay.

LIVE YOUR LIFE TO THE FULL!

God bless us all

St. Robert of Newminster Yr.10 Pupil

hello,thank you for all the effort put in by yourself and the other ytm staff.everything was really fun,yet still had a purpose. I have personally taken alot from the various activities and enjoyed myself.thank you again !

St. Robert of Newminster Yr.10 Pupil

amazing day everything was outstading especially all the staf they were fantasic and i think most of us will be back next year !!!!!!!!!

Julia Burke

Thanks to all for a great couple of days once again what a powerful and inspirational experience for our young people. To all my colleagues who have been on the journey thanks for being such great sports. How lucky are we to be paid to do this job! It’s great to finally realise that even if God blessed me with volume but little talent in the singing stakes that for as long as I work at St Robert’s I am not alone. Thanks to all of the team for their commitment and the powerful prayer sessions based on real experiences. Thanks for giving us all the space to really appreciate the real point of our job. Mr Tylor and Mr Small are now legends in their own right. Follow that the rest of the HOY. The standards have been set. You really showed us that God is a good God and to live in the hope of the living God. Thankyou. If the other schools in the Diocese have such a great time we will have to book years in advance. Thankyou

St. Anthony’s Girls Student

The mission has been a good week
Thank you for the experience you gave me i took to heart some of the things i learnt
The people i met were brilliant. They were all so kind
I hope to see you again in the future
Good luck to you all
Best wishes x

Paul

It was aweome to experience your mission on the last day, thanks for your welcome and keep living life to the full!!

Sacred Heart School Yr 7

Hey Guys, thank you so so much for coming up to the village and meeting us and being encouraged to step back!! Keep being yourself, because there is only one of you in this world, isn’t that amazing. God bless in your journeys!! Paul (the ‘Not Australian’ Guy!!)

St. Mary’s Year 10 Pupil

I had an amazing time at the Youth Village. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned to let go of the past and look forward to the future and to live for the moment. I was very sad to leave! It was great!

Pulse 2010 Participant

To The YMT Celebrate team 2010!

I just wanted to tell you how, I believe, you changed the way I think about my faith. Before Celebrate this year, I came un-confident about being a Catholic. I never really let anyone know, from outside the church community, that I was a practicing Catholic. I was scared at what people would think about me, so I kept it a secret. I joined in jokes about our faith, but inside I knew how wrong they were, but silently I still said sorry to God! Even though I had attended Celebrate for the 9th time then, I still felt anxious!

But this year everything has changed! I feel confident that I can speak to people about my faith. Also I pray to God on a regular basis!! I felt the Praise and Worship this year was lovely. It was the first time i have felt that God is with me, loves me and was listening to me when I prayed. The singing was beautiful, and this helped me pray and form a closer relationship with God, which is good because I will be confirmed on the 17th of April … Argh!

I really enjoyed The Pulse this year, and I will never forget it. The filming was so much fun! Although our group didn’t win (Matt) we still came second… 1st the worst, SECOND THE BEST!! Michael’s music video was great though! The catwalk was so funny! (: Anna’s dance was the best – it made me laugh! But Sasha & Fran’s outfits were pretty awesome – I have to admit!

Thanks for such an amazing week, you have changed the way I view my faith and how i act on it, and i’m sure i’m not the only one!
The Pulse has been the best group to be in to be honest! I’ve had so much fun there, but unfortunately this year was my last.

Good luck for the future, you are all amazing people and i’m glad I got to work with some of you! I hope to see you sometime in the future as you have inspired me in so many ways.

God Bless.

Sasha

Hello! Just want to thank all of you who were in the Pulse for making it an amazing week- You really inspired me with your faith and creativity. It’s so exciting to think what God’s going to do in your lives!

Keep witnessing and I really encourage you to stay connected with eachother… I’ve got some great friends who I met in the Pulse!

God bless and best wishes for the year,
Sasha

St Mary’s Year 10 Pupil

The message I will take away is that never to give up and always know God is with me. Extremely inspirational. YMT-LEGENDS!!

St Mary’s Year 10 Pupil

It’s been lovely to get away from the pressures of life and meet new people, have fun and learn things about myself.
I’ll always remember that I can be the best by being just myself.

EMS Student

It is a very good place to learn about God in a fun way. YMT is passing on a very good message to young people and I think they should continue to pass it on.

EMS Student

The retreat was inspirational and taught me a lot including to be yourself because God loves you.

OLSB Year 11 Pupil

It was really good. A lot different to what I expected but completely changed my outlook on things. I would recommend this as a retreat to anyone, it was a very good experience.

OLSB Year 11 Pupil

I felt the retreat was put together very well and it wasn’t just preaching it was sharing real life stories so we felt involved and were more interested. I think you provide a fun programme for us, and is something I won’t forget. You made us feel welcome and you were very friendly and hospitable.

OLSB Year 11 Pupil

The message I will take will be even when bad things happen, don’t give up. It was a brilliant, unforgettable and a lifetime experience. I am glad I didn’t miss out.

St. Mary’s Year 7 Pupil

The message I will take is respect everyone and treat everyone the way you want to be treated.

St. Mary’s Year 7 Pupil

I think the message is to think about what you already have and respect everyone.

St. Mary’s Year 7 Pupil

I’ll always remember that God loves me no matter what happens and He forgives you. Impossible is nothing.

St. Mary’s Year 7 Pupil

Things and times like this bring us together. I feel much better.

St. Leonard’s Year 9 Pupil

It was very interesting and I really enjoyed myself, it changed my perspective of God and I realised a lot.

St. Leonard’s Year 9 Pupil

I think it was really good and it makes you think about yourself. It also helps you get over insecurities.

St. Leonard’s Year 9 Pupil

I will take away, not letting peer pressure hold me back and to appreciate things more than I do. I think it’s a really good way to learn about God but having a really good time.

St. Leonard’s Year 9 Pupil

I learnt don’t be frightened to be yourself. Don’t hold back just do what you believe in. I also learnt to consider other people and think about the troubles some people go through.

St. Leonard’s Year 9 Pupil

The retreat was inspiring for what choices to make in the future. I learnt to be myself and to use all my talents. Not take stuff for granted.

Pulse Participant (Irish Twin)

hey ymt how are you doing
i just wanted to thank you for the great time i had and all the fun we shared.
you were such an inspiration to me.and a pivotal point in my life where i learned not to be shy but to be a witness to those who are not as confident
go GOD

Carmel Pupil :)

Hello everybody
Thank you so much for these few days, it has really changed me, especially the reflections!
xx

Carmel Darlington Yr 8 Pupil

Hi everyone,
Thank you so much YMT, I had so much fun and had a great time, I would love to come back next year and re live the experience! It has really changed me and made me realise that everyone should be their self and that is all that they’ve got.
Thanks

Carmel Darlington Yr 8 Pupil

hiiya x
thankyou so much that was the best days of my life i came away with a message and i quickly wrote a full song on loving yourself being yourself and loving yourself for who you are x thanks so much guys the team,teachers and mates were great x definitley coming back next year i wouldnt miss it for the world xx

Carmel Darlington Yr 8 Pupil

Thank-you SO much for everything i had a life changing time through your words i learned what was holding me back and how i could i change my life for the better,really had the best time without been told what to belive or anything will hopefully come back next year LOVE THE SUPER DRY xx

Carmel Darlington Yr 8 Pupil

this might have been the best 2 days of my life and i loved every minute hoping to go back one day and see everyone again thanks so much

Pupil

I want to come again! thank you!

Pupil

this is the best place ever i cant wait until we come again

Pupil

It was one of the best experinces i have ever had

St Mary’s Student

The trip to the youth village was really insightful, it gave me time to reflect and think about things in my life abit more deeply.

thank you,YMT

Pupil

heyy teamm,
first of all thanks for having us and please let us come back. if i’m honest with you about the youth village it is the most amazing experience of my life I LOVED IT!! i would like to say a special thanks to father paul as he was my group leader and made my time so much more enjoyable not forgeting the rest of the team as they were so lovely and welcoming. please would somebody tell the cooks that the meals were amazingly good, thanks for that. i had an enjoyable time at the youth village and hope to go back very very soon. the acomidation was clean, tidy and neat when we got there but im not sure how great it was when we left, sorry for that:)
the activities taught me a lot about myself and about the comments people make about us.
the message i have come out with is forget the bad and remember the good its not use stewing over bad comments you should engage in the good and enjoy life.
thankyou very much for a great two days
Pupil xx
Blessed John Ingram
English Martyrs School x

Pupil

i found the mission very informative and fun but most of all my faith has been strengthened alot and i now pray more THANKYOUYMT!!!

Pupil

I found the mission very good and enjoyable but it also was informative. The mission showed you can have fun but it still has a powerful meaning. Thank you for a fun week and a half.

Pupil

I will remember to beleve in myself and God is always there for me

Pupil

it was a very fun and calming time, i will remember thet god loves us the most out of all hes creations and hes there to help us achieve our dreams, and how to appreciate ourselves. Codys lyrics were great!!!

Pupil

i think its good because you get to work with people from around the world, and i will remember that god will always love you no matter what

St Leonards Pupil

GREAT! i will remember to try and always be myself, and remember that god loves us all equally no matter what.

St Leonards Pupil

i thought that the retreat was great! God is everywhere

St Leonards Pupil

the youth village is the best retreat centre in the north east if not England, i will remember thet God is always with us, but he lets us choose which path to take

St Leonards Pupil

I really enjoyed this retreat it was great. I understand my faith more and know to always be myself no matter what. Everything was fun and the people made everything interesting. X

St Leonards Pupil

hey Howard, Phil, Morena and Fr Paul, thank you all, it was fun, enjoyable and challenging, and thank you for showing me God is everywhere and that he works through people in different ways

Pupil

Hi everyone, thanks for teaching us that God always beleves in us, i have more confidence in myself, i cant wait to come back

st leonards pupil

the retreat was amazing the message i thought for me was that god is everywhere even the places that he is least expected to be.

Natalie Kirkwood

I found the faith element of the Mission truly emotional, and know that a lot of students did too. It presented prayer and reflection is a totally new way and really made me reflect on my own faith and the role that God plays in my life.

Staff

‘I think to see the effect of the mission you just have to wander around in here for the buzz from the kids. The amount of time someone has come up to me and said how much they have enjoyed it, how moved they were by it, the tears that were coming (in a good way). It was really quite moving.’

Pupil

I would like to thank YMT for such an incredible 2 days. I didn’t think it was possible to feel the way i do now, considering i came to YMT with strong beliefs that i didn’t believe in God. YMT have allowed me to find God, and had shown me how i am now able to connect with him. The work the people do there is absolutely amazing and this has been one of the best experiences i’ve had. Thankyou again YMT! will never forget my stay there.

Pupil

These past 2 days have been amazing. I would like to thank YMT for such a brilliant experience. Being here has gave me so much faith not only in myself but in others too. Considering i came here pretty confident that there wasn’t a God, YMT have allowed me to find him, and now i am able to connect to him in ways i thought weren’t possible. The activities were absolutely brilliant. The reflection time, was unbelievable and incredibly emotional. This experience is one which is going to stay with me forever. Everyone was absolutely lovely, and the accommodation was brilliant. Thankyou

mr tom

even better than last year, v inspiring to see so many young people being honest and open. thanks to all the team and i look forward to seeing you next year.

OLSB Pupil

Loved every minute in the retreat, wasn’t what i expected but it was really helpful and helped us reflect on ur lives and put things into perspective.

OLSB Pupil

Hi Team! Than’x a lot for the amazing time we had during the retreat. It has helped me strengthen my faith and gain confidence.

OLSB Pupil

I will always remember the retreat. It had a good balance of games and fun, yet enough time to reflect and think about our lives so far. I learnt that there is God in everyone if you want to find it. It’s your personal faith and you should let go of anger to be able to move on. YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE VALUED.

OLSB Pupil

I realise that your own life makes a massive impact on other people’s lives. I really had fun. Than’x YMT

OLSB Pupil

Hi Team, the retreat was brilliant! I learnt that God is in everyone and is everywhere.

OLSB Pupil

I am so thankful to everyone during the retreat. I loved every second being here. It was a wonderful experience! God is now here and he never left.

OLSB Pupil

Hiya! Thank you for the great three days we had in the village. I think that we as a group have all become closer to God and each other.

OLSB Pupil

I just want to thank the whole of team at the youth village, the retreat was amazing. You were all inspiring and it is so hard to put into words how you made me feel and how you changed the way I think about things. I will never forget the retreat, it brought us all so close and I’d do anything to experience it again. You made me understand myself and to understand the way god works. Your all truly inspiring and should keep up your amazing work as you truly touch a lot of people! The atposphere was amazing and everyone loved it. The best trip i’ve been on and changed my life and the way I view life. thank you all xxx

OLSB Pupil

Hi YMT! The retreat was awesome. I learnt that God loves you no matter what and little things make a difference.

St Robert's Pupil

Excellent retreat. It made me realise that small actions mean a lot someone and that making a decision of your own choice could affect your life for the better.

St John’s Pupil

i thought the retreat was amazing, I hope I can come again in April, it was a fantastic experience, God made you with your own identity. God can be in the most unexpected places, Forgivness is heard but without it what kind of world would we live in. To move foward, sometimes you have to let go of the past

St John’s Pupil

It was good. i have learnt alot about myself and about God. It has strangthened my faith. Everyone has a chance to change no matter what they have done. You are important and you have changed so many lives already sometimes without even knowing it.

St John’s Pupil

hello guys i had a great time it was amazing anfd would have loved to stay longer. It was such a great experience and i liked how religion was portrayed in a way we could understand and enjoy, it made me realise that in a world full of so much suffreing, God is still with us giving us hope when we need it most

Pupil

I had an amazing time and you really changed the way that I think about God… Thanks you for making me see the truth

St John’s Pupil

it was brilliant. Every aspect was fantastic, I realised thet God is all around us in the people and actions we do for eachother, and that we are all more important than we think.

Pupil

This week has been the most amazing week of my entire life. I have never enjoyed something so much! This week, my religion has gone from strength to strength and my belief has sky-rocketed! The Mission Team were brilliant, and so inspirational. They have given me motivation and hope in my life and strengthened my relationship with God. You were all ever so friendly, funny and such great, genuine people. I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet you, work amongst you and perform with you this week and again, I cannot thank you enough.

Everybody has benefited in some way or form from our Mission Week and on behalf of everybody at Bathurst, we cannot thank you enough for what has been an incredible week.

I can honestly say, now, I am living my life to the full and that I LOVE GOD!

God bless you all,
Have a safe journey home and enjoy your retreat and we all hope to see you later this year.

Thank you

Primary Pupil

hey youth village people i thought you were all fantastic, the youth village was a good place to learn about God and know how important we really are, that we are all better than we sometimes think and that God loves for who we are not what we do

Maria

Thank you to everyone for an absolutely amazing retreat experience. It has been an absolute priviledge to journey with so many young people as they experience and realise the love of God in a profound and relevant way. What an inspiration! God bless to you all xx

St John’s Pupil

hey thanks for the retreat we had at the village, it was really good and let us dig deeper into our minds and allowed us to see ourselves and our faith in a different way

Sacred Heart Pupil

The retreat was thought provoking and emotional but also a lot of fun. It has opened me up a bit more to God and faith. It would be amazing to come back again.

Sacred Heart Pupil

I found the retreat spiritual but in a personal way that makes sense. It also strengthened my relationships with friends because we will always have these memories.

Sacred Heart Pupil

It was excellent. Before arriving here, I was extremely sceptical about the retreat, and my own faith in general. However, within hours this changed. My faith in God has been restored, and I find myself questionning why I ever felt He wasn’t there. I have learnt to never give up on my faith and unity with God because of pain of suffering in the world.

Sacred Heart Pupil

I loved the retreat! To be honest I never actually said to God that I loved Him. It just didn’t occur to me. But through this I realised how much I loved God and how I didn’t see him when He was right next to me.

Sacred Heart Pupil

I thought the retreat was an amazing experience. During the parts of the retreat that were meant to be serious, the team made us feel comfortable and created a relaxing atmosphere.

Sacred Heart 6th Form

It was such an amazing experience and has made me feel so much closer with God and has made my faith so much stronger. I’ve love this experience as it was entertaining and eye opening.

Pupil

I had such an incredible time and i wish we could have stayed longer than we did and its such a shame we didnt. You have made me feel so much closer to god and you have helped me to have more faith in myself and in god so thank you so much. I loved the dancing and everything and just the whole experience was incredible. and i would love to do it all again The youth leaders were utterly brilliant and it was a privilage knowing you again thank you. Ps Bumbble beez are number one!! PINEAPPLE!!! x

St Anthony’s Pupil

JESUS LOVES WAAA! Thank you to everyone who made the festival a great success.Everyone there was so inspirational and now i fell even more at one with God. It was the best experience of my life. The music was amazing and i’m listening to hillsong right now.YOU’VE GOT ME HOOKED! I didn’t want to leave! going to miss you all and all the best to the team in there future. It’s great how you thought of different ways to reach out to God. There were ups and downs, rocking out to reflection.Thank you xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kathryn

What an amazing experience the Summer Festival was! Many thanks to Fr Dermott for getting the dates in my diary almost as soon as I came to the diocese. I have next year’s in there already!

Thanks to Margaret, Barry and George for coming all the way up and for sharing so much of their story – it was a really powerful witness of love being stronger than death (without shying away from the pain of it).

Thanks to YMT for all their hard work on and off stage – and special thanks to all the young people – it was great to be with you on this bit of your journey!
Looking forward to 2012 – who needs the Olympics when you can have the Summer Festival

Festival Participant

Thank you, I don’t know if anybody will actually see this.. But thank you, thank you so much. I hated myself and my appearance when the week began, but after listening to you all talk, I don’t feel beautiful, I feel special, and unique. I normally find it quite hard to let people in, but I’m not sure, it’s like, you all understood perfectly, all our feelings and thoughts. For the first time ever, I felt like somebody knew me. x

Kathryn

Hi Festival Participant
That’s what I loved about Festival too – a chance to see ourselves like God sees us…(“I called you by name- I love you – honour you – you are precious to me” – Thursday prayer workshop) Remember the baggage Fr Dermott and Steve spoke about- and don’t go carrying what someone else has dumped on you! Tuck the great memories of Summer Festival away in your heart (heart speaking unto heart!) and when things get tough and you wonder if it was all real come back to the pictures and remember what it was like to be there!

Festival Participant

I had one of the best 3 days of my life at the festival. it helped me understand alot about my religion and it was great to see lots of young people coming together and praying, singing, and dancing, because not many people feel free enough to do that because of peer pressure. i hope i come back next year!! xxx

Fran

Picture number 39! To be totally honest i knew the majority of the group before we left for the pilgrimage. But they are just the most amazing group of people! I am trully blessed to have had the opportunity to go through an experience like World Youth Day with them. I believe God sent these people into my life to help guide me and strengthen me in my spiritual journey!
The group wasn’t the only fantastic thing about WYD but they sure put a smile and a laugh into everything! We got to meet young people from all over the world and listen to some of the most inspiring speakers i’ve ever had the fortune to hear.
So i guess all i can say to anyone reading this is that Rio 2013 is your opportunity to grow in faith and experience God on a whole new level!

Michael

Nothing to the specific photos, but I can say that World Youth Day really changed my life.
I’d been preparing for WYD for months and months, well over a year.. and never did I expect to be moved spiritually in quite the way I was in Madrid last week. God always had in his plans for me to have that experience, and it’s funny how for many months I was none the wiser what that reason was.

I will definitely consider going to Rio now after sharing my faith with millions of people. I will also recommend it – it’s a lifechanging journey! Seriously, it is!

Amy

I wholeheartedly agree with what Fran and Michael have said about WYD in Madrid. I didn’t quite know what to expect from WYD, partly because it was my first one, but I’ve come back from Madrid with a strengthened faith because of the experiences that I had when we were on pilgrimage.

The group of people that went to Madrid have also had a great influence on me and my faith and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to thank God enough for that!

So for anyone considering WYD Rio 2013, just go for it! It’ll allow you to develop your faith and understanding of God alongside some amazing people from around the world!

Lucy

WYD in Madrid was an unforgettable, exciting and life-changing experience. Whilst in Spain, we listened to Archbishop Dolan speak at length about what it means to be a young person of faith and how it is, “…when we admit our faith is weak, when we admit our faith is shaky, when we admit that our faith isn’t what it should be, actually we’re exercising it, and we’re making it more and more firm.”

For me this symbolised WYD and where I was at in my journey of faith. I truly believe we had been called to WYD because it is “…when our faith is weak, our faith is shaky that we want to be with a million other young people from around the world who love their faith and are trying to make it strong.”

Even in amongst a crowd of one million + young people, I quickly realized that sometimes God has a strange way of plucking you out of the crowd and saying, “Why did you ever question me? I’ve been here all along!”

If you are considering WYD in Rio then GO FOR IT! I am pretty sure it will not only strengthen your faith but it will also give you friends and memories which you will never, ever forget!

VIVA RIO!

Bernadette

I watched WYD in Sydney from afar and felt that I had missed my opportunity to take part in something like this. As a kid I’d missed out on Toronto being a year below the cut off age and then fell out of the loop with things like this whilst at uni so when I was offered the opportunity of attending WYD in Madrid I knew that it was a chance I couldn’t let pass by without grasping it with both hands.

I have returned from this pilgrimage strengthened in my faith, with a renewed passion for passing this on to the young people that I work with and also with the bonus of having made some incredible friends within the group. WYD surpassed all of my expectations, from our arrival in Toledo to the flight home from Madrid I have been amazed by the scale of this event, the hospitality of those we stayed with and the sheer joy that was evident in every event big or small.

WYD was a truly amazing experience and one that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It was said during one Catechesis session that when we are inviting people to share in our faith experiences that it has to be something worth inviting people to. Thanks to an invite to this WYD from a friend of mine I’ve had an incredible time sharing in God’s love for each of us with some truly inspiring people and I feel honoured to have been a Madrid 11 Pilgrim. It’s now our time to share that invite far and wide so others can experience something they will never forget.

Maria Horkan

I decided to go to World Youth Day quite late on and a big part of my decision was made by the group of people after taking part in the initial retreat and walk back in the spring. I just wanted to be part of it! Whilst in Spain, I felt so happy to be part of such a great group – we shared so many experiences together and became like a big family. I miss everyone a lot! There are too many other amazing things about our trip to list here but I’ll just mention a few! Our host families were so so welcoming and kind to us!! They became our friends very quickly and made us feel like we were part of their community for the 4 days we spent in their parish in Toledo. Whilst in Toledo, we had the chance to spend a lot of time with dioceses from Mexico and South Africa and had so much fun with them!

One massive thing that struck me about the pilgrimage was seeing young people from countries in the world which are so diverse and sometimes going through difficult situations at the moment but the fact that WYD united us all for those few days. The atmosphere was such a happy one and the power of the global church community was something which struck me and which I will not forget.

I feel like I could do it all again right now!! Hopefully the effects of WYD Madrid will continue to help and support me in my faith until 2013!!

Tom

Like Maria I decided to go to World Youth Day really late on, and to be honest I don’t even really know why I did but it was totally the right decision! I met people from 66 different countries and had one of the best experiences of my life!

One of the highlights of World Youth Day for me, and for most others I think, was definitely the group of people I was with. When I first met everyone I wasn’t even planning on going to Madrid but after being with them for the prep weekend and seeing how excited people were, it just seemed like something I wanted to be part of. I think by the time it got to the summer we were just as excited to see everyone again as we were to leave. Over the time we were in Spain it was just class to be with a group of people you felt so at home and open with to share each others experiences and faith, as well as having a proper good time! So I’m just really grateful that I got to share my World Youth Day experience with such a quality bunch of people!

Nobody’s faith is the same; and yeah, we all have our differences, but we all have one thing in common. I wasn’t at World Youth Day to see the Pope, or just to have a good time, I was there to challenge and celebrate my faith, and our God, with literally millions of other young people. How can you not love that?!

Another highlight for me; picture 46 and picture 53, this is what we were lucky enough to wake up to the morning after the vigil at Cuatro Vientos airfield. It kind of made up for sleeping on an ants nest for half of the night and I couldn’t describe it any better than in the legendary words of Michael Thompson, “We didn’t think we’d quite make it… But we have, all is well.”

So if you’re reading these comments I have one thing to say to you, start your fundraising and get yourself to Rio 2013!

CatholicDadsHQ.com

The Catholic youth are a reflection of the time, effort and love of the faith gifted by parents and mentors. They are the ones who carry forward the message of Christ and our Catholic faith. May their voice, strength and reach grow greater, as those of us who are older grow in a life of prayer for their mission and our peace.

St Thomas More, Blaydon Student

I had a good time on the Year 12 event on Thursday, and I would like to thank Fr. Donally for the advice

St Thomas More, Blaydon Student

Thank you Fr Dermott for the mision week you did at our school. It was really good, and brought a fun,interesting and educational slant to RE. Thank you very much. The stories that you told were very inspiring.

Anonymous

Excellent, really good advice, it has really opened my eyes to organisations that are out there.

St Thomas More Blaydon Student

I would just like to say thank you so much, really helped me understand what i do believe and how to understand. I’ve learnt a lot! Had a great week with all of you’s at rehersals really enjoyed taking part in everything! Thank you so much x

student

i enjoyed the youth minestry team when they came to our school. i go to st . thomas more catholic school thank you for coming and helping us have fun and learn more about god. thank you.

St Thomas More Blaydon Student

Thankyou SO SO much!!! It was so much fun then I thought it would be and I would love to do it all again!! It takes a whole different approach to catholicism and if you’re about to have it in your school then it’s not boring lectures, its fantastic!!

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