?Whoever does not live to serve, does not serve to live?

About 50 young people gathered in Matanzas (Cuba) from Aug. 8 to 13 to acquire tools for their mission as animators of youth ministry in their communities. 

The ‘School of Leaders I’ meeting, which had as its motto ‘Who does not live to serve, does not serve to live’, also included experience of community life and service, as well as workshops of prayer and Mass.

According to the organisers, the goal was to form them and enable them “to reread their personal history in the light of faith and an encounter with Jesus.”

Summoned by the National Commission for Youth Ministry and animated by the Marist Brothers, the youths came from Ciego de Avila, Santa Clara, Cienfuegos, Matanzas, Havana and Pinar del Río.

“This experience has been a gift from God for my life,” said Liz Camila López, one of the participants. “It has been like an engine that drives me to continue as a transparent and firm Christian leader in the faith that I profess in the different environments where I am at.”

Another participant, Rafael Cruz, said he found “a great disposition of young people and (the encounter) helped me to strengthen the foundations of my vocation, because among so many obscurities in my beloved Cuba, I have discovered a sigh of hope.”

“I am satisfied and grateful, I am happy to serve the Church by accompanying the young people because my life is Christ,” he continued.