DAILY REPORT

FIC- JOURNEY TO SPIRITUAL ENRICHMENT

OASIS 2017

MONDAY, 21^ST AUGUST, 2017.

The first day of the Oasis came with a beautiful sunny weather. The participants began the day with an inspiring prayer and a delightful breakfast. It was more pleasant to hear that all were in good health.

The first session of the programme commenced at 9:00am with practical group dynamics designed and led by Br. Theodorus Suwariyanto, FIC to help participants know one another beyond their names and to get to know each other well. This knowing of one another spanned from the participants’ family backgrounds, interests, emotions, and apostolate. It was amusing to find that life could be made less burdensome through fun games in our communities. The participants actively participated in the games and were appreciative of the benefits derived from the group work.

After a short break, the participants continued with another game. That is a group of eight people building a tower with magazines and newspapers without any glue or tools. It was extremely difficult to arrive at a consensus on the nature of the tower because everyone had his idea and his way of executing it. So, the various attempts stalled because of lack of communication. If the group communicate well the work would be executed well. The lessons learnt were that the building of a community or any formidable association and its success is largely dependent on good communication and active participation. The participants also testified that though everyone’s talents were very useful, they realised that without the guidance of a group leader it was difficult to harmonise the gifts of the individual members of the group. Therefore, in every association, group or community of brothers, the role of a leader cannot be overlooked. Other values learnt were; patience, tolerance, perseverance, team work and above all a positive mental attitude. It was a good exercise.

For the participants, it was more hilarious yet very informing (in the afternoon session) performing a group activity called collaborative drawing. This exercise underscored the fact that withholding information or giving disjointed pieces of information can lead to disorientation, mediocrity, instability and disunity among members of a community. For that reason, good communication, transparency and openness are core values for community building.

After all these experiences, the journey participants closed the day with a prayer service led by the Ghanaian delegation under the theme: “Know Your Brother, Know His Ways”. The participation of members of the Oasis was active, conscious and reflective. Gratitude was the watchword of the participants. Thanks for your time.

By Br. Irenius Nimbare Tangtie