Prayer With Heart-Prayer Relay Testimony

Although this past Friday's prayer relay was not my first encounter with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and neither was it my first prayer relay at all. I experienced something I hadn't experienced before. This time in prayer with The Lord, I found something new. I found peace with God, peace with myself, and total trust in Him. After my many years of struggles and pain I have come to terms with my past and have come to truly be excited about my future. I know that I am not perfect and that I may never be, but with God's help I can be the best I can be. From seeing my testimony from almost two years ago and who I was talking about how much I had grown and how much God had changed me, I figured, "wow, that girl doesn't know anything, if she only knew what she has coming." And probably in the future looking back to now, I will see that I don't know anything either. I am determined to take a journey with The Lord and see where he takes me. Getting a chance to get prayed over and to sleep in the church really touched my heart. It released stress and brought me even further to this state of peach which I am in. I have a lot of faith because I know that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament can change lives as He has changed mine. Experience Christ in true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity and experience a special beauty which feels a lot like Heaven on earth. I was so happy and so proud to see my fellow young people at this event and I hope that they were touched that night as I was. It was amazing to see new faces as well as familiar faces and returning faces. I know that God will work in you. I noticed that Cecilia noticed that we used the term "church friends" a lot in our testimonies including myself. I would like to correct myself and say I am so glad I have a church family, an incredible family in Christ that I love very much. I pray a lot for my fellow brothers and sister in Christ. That they may get to truly know and truly love God. I love you all, please pray for me!

In Christ through His Blessed Mother,

Erika Aliana Barraza

Meet Our Core Members!

Here are short autobiographies of a few of our core members!
(I'll continue to post these as they come in from the core.)
These youth and young adults have been and will be working and praying diligently for the Youth 2000 and for all of the youth and young adults coming to take part in this wonderful experience!

ROSALEE DUENAS
FOOD COMMITTEE CO-HEAD
My name is Rosalee Duenas and I am 22 years old. I am a shy, quiet person, but when I feel comfortable enough I tend to come out of my shell. I am a cradle Catholic who grew up into and still a part of Our Lady Queen of the World Church. It hasn't been until this past year that I really took a big leap into my faith. Joining the Youth/Young Adult group and going to Australia this past summer for World Youth day has made my relationship with God Existent. Before I went to Mass on Sundays but that was it, now I can't get enough; I am always at Church doing something. I started teaching the fourth grade Catechism class at my parish on my own this year and I am enjoying it.

I can't wait to meet those of you who are coming to our parish to help us out in sharing the faith with the youth.

JESSE BURGARD
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE CO-HEAD
Hey there everyone! Most of you do know me but for those very select few that don't, let me introduce myself. My name is Jesse! I recently became Catholic in March of this year. I am very active in my parish of Our Lady Queen of the World and I am the so called "Youth Group President" When I am not attending church, you can either find me at work or at school, as those take up the rest of my time.

I am in my third year at a community college and I plan to transfer within the next year. I very much enjoy playing tennis, even though I watch it more than I get to play, and I am now taking piano lessons so I can become more sophisticated. I also just recently completed my first degree of the Knights of Columbus and will be taking my second degree very shortly. Oh, and even though I may look white, and be totally white, I am filipino at heart =]

ERNESTINA "ERNA" CUENCO
HOSPITALITY & MUSIC
Hello fellow Core Team members!! Ernestina Cuenco here. Basically everyone at OLQW calls me Erna, so those of you who are coming from far away parishes, feel free to call me Erna as well! I am currently a junior at Ygnacio Valley High in Concord. I am sixteen years old and one the youngest members of the Core Team. I was just confirmed in May of this year. 2008 has definitely been my "breakthrough year" in terms of my spirituality. Receiving the Holy Spirit and also attending WYD08 in Sydney this summer has strengthened my religious outlook.

Personality wise, I'm rather shy at first, but once I feel comfortable, I'm really friendly. I love to be surrounded to people who love to be at church and praise Jesus Christ! My life is composed of five main things: church, family, school, volleyball, and music. Overall I'm a hardworking person. I've been playing volleyball for four years and the violin for about seven years. School work consumes most of my time. If it wasn't for my church, I'm sure I would have gone crazy! Despite all of my obligations I always try to keep in mind that I should be offering it up to God. I like to sing and dance, especially when it includes hand motions!! This coming Youth 2000 will be my 3rd one; now it's my turn to help out! I'm looking forward to January!

DOMINIC FIGUEROA
INTERCESSORY TEAM CO-HEAD
I've grown up in the bay area and am currently living in the Napa Valley. I am 16. I was born on April 8,1992 in Castro Valley. I attended school at a Catholic private school up until highschool and now I'm homeschooled.

By being educated in a private catholic school I learned the teachings of the faith, but I didn't have a strong relationship with God. I knew of God but not personally...intimately. I went to mass everyday, had a religion class, went to a catholic school, tried hard to do what was right, but didn't have a relationship with Jesus. Because of my parent constantly telling me what Christianity is about and some awesome retreats, I've come to realize how a relationship w/ God is what He wants and what we need so badly. I would have traded all that knowledge for a relationship w/ him. Nothing else satisfies.

CECILIA MARIE FLORES
OVERALL CORE TEAM COORDINATOR/MUSIC
Youth 2000 will be my last event as the OLQW youth group coordinator. Shortly after the retreat I will be leaving Pittsburg to join a missionary lay community in Honduras. It has been a wonderful 5 year journey in youth ministry since my conversion, and I am glad that I will be closing this chapter in my life the same way it started - at a Youth 2000!
For a better bio than this one, check out my mission blog:
lukeninetwentyfour.wordpress.com

Fun WYD Coverage!

So it's been almost 2 months since our group of 27 pilgrims was in Australia. We are extremely grateful for all of the support that we received from parishioners, friends, and family members! Here is a clip from an Australian news segment about the WYD pilgrims arriving at the Sydney airport. Our group is wearing bright green sweatshirts and many of us can be seen dancing in the circle. We're also on during the time discussing prayer, where we are seen praying the Liturgy of the Hours. So much fun, and so many wonderful memories!!

To Already Confirmed Soldiers!

Were you confirmed in the past few years and have been struggling to keep up the faith?

Have you just been confirmed and are wondering what steps you can take to make sure you keep growing deeper in love of God?

Are you yearning for a support-system of fellow Catholic Christian older-youth/young-adults who understand what you're going through as a young soldier of Christ in today's world?

If you answered "Yes" to any of the above, we've got just the thing for you!

Every Monday night during regular CCD time (7-830), we're inviting all past-confirmed students to come back for their very own meeting. This won't be sitting in Joe or Evy's class – this will be a separate group that will be planning upcoming events (LIKE YOUTH 2000!!), studying deeper issues of the faith, and growing deeper in love of God and love of neighbor.

CCD Classes start Monday September 15th. Please come and meet in the hall at 7pm.

This is something new that we're trying to jumpstart, so spread word to all of those that you know and invite them to come and join us!

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail/call me:

Cecilia.v.flores@gmail.com

415-646-5960

PAX,

Cecilia

Karaoke Night!

Our wonderful welcome sign.
Special thanks to Ygnacio Valley HS leadership class
for "providing" the materials! :)

Our simple and subtle table set-ups.
NEW MECCA BEAN DIP IS THE BEST!

Pilgrim Jason Carulla
striking a pose.

A junior soldier in the making,
Kateri Alvarez.

The BFFS, Rox and Bettina live in action.
I want to say it was an N'Sync song...

Some of our pilgrims and our youth.

That would be the insane youth group coordinator...

Highlight of the night:
"All the Boys in the Room"

Ambergrace and Camille

Emily, Rox, and Dea -
Our Church family also includes many blood family members.
These three are all first cousins, and Jason is part of their crew, too!

OLQW and Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fairfield, CA.
We love our Fairfield Friends!

Thank you to everyone who attended our Karaoke Night fundraiser! It was an amazingly successful event, which raised about $1,500!

Walk 4 Life West Coast

Yes, still playing catch-up. Please bear with us.


Walk 4 Life West Coast was held on Saturday January 19th, 2008 in San Francisco, CA. Our youth group had a group of about 25 youth and young adults who took time out of their Saturday to take a stand for the unborn. The group started with mass at OLQW at 8am, then hopped on the BART train to San Francisco. It was a VERY long walk, and a very long day, with the group getting back to Bay Point around 7pm. Praise Jesus that they answered God's call to protect ALL of His children.

Praising the Lord, in English AND Spanish!
This man taught us the song "Get All Excited!"

Very, very crowded.

Yes, we ALL deserve better than abortion.

Youth 2000 Redding, CA

Okay, okay, so the blog is about 3 weeks overdue. Please pardon our tardiness as we try and catch up on all the activity that has been taking place within our program.

So, now onto the real meat of the blog..

YOUTH 2000 REDDING!!

I think its safe to say that our youth and young adults thoroughly enjoyed their weekend encounter with Jesus. We were blessed to have a large group traveling with us - 40 children of Christ answered the call to spend the weekend with Him, so praise God!

Redding was familiar territory for one of our youth group members, Jesse Burgard, who recently returned to the Bay Area after a 3 month stint in Far Norcal. Jesse was a great navigator, as well as Starbucks/Denny's location finder.

The weekend not only brought the group closer to one another, but also brought everyone closer (literally and spiritually) to the Lord God Almight, as the majority of the weekend we were able to sit within 3 feet of Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. The team of CFRs brought us both familiar and unfamiliar faces, which allowed us to reunite with some of our beloved CFRs, as well as make new friends with those we had not yet met.

The Holy Spirit was definitely in motion this weekend, and we continue to thank the Lord God Almighty for igniting a fire for Christ within our hearts.

PRAISED BE JESUS CHRIST, NOW AND FOREVER!

PHOTOS WILL BE POSTED SOON, SO STAY TUNED!

Welcome!

Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting the OLQW Youth Ministry blog. The purpose of this blog is to keep everyone in the loop about what's going on with the youth over at Our Lady Queen of the World Parish. Here are a few things we currently have in the works:

-World Youth Day, Sydney Australia - July 12th-21st:
A group of 25 youth and young adults from our parish and nearby areas will be traveling to Sydney, Australia in July for World Youth Day! For more information about WYD, please visit the World Youth Day website. Please keep the pilgrims in your prayers as they prepare for this fun and exciting pilgrimage where they will be able to engage in fellowship with young Catholics from around the world!

-Youth Group Meeting with guest Fr. Leo Patalinghug - Saturday February 2nd after the 5pm mass:
Food, praise and worship, a teaching on spiritual combat from Fr. Leo, and Adoration. It doesn't get any better than this!

-Karaoke Night Fundraiser - Saturday February 16th, 7pm:
We're fundraising for our pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia! This fundraiser will be an awesome night of karaoke and fellowship. Admission is $5, which comes with a $1 ticket redeemable for a song or toward food purchase. If you can't make that night, please consider purchasing raffle tickets! We'll be raffling off a karaoke machine, tickets to a Warrior game, and a $25 gift card (location TBA). Raffle tickets are 2 for $5 or 5 for $10. See any youth group member for more details.