Encounters with Faith: Testimonies from the Discovery Series (Stage 1)

Sharing their story/testimony after completing 1st stage on Discovery Lessons on SFA RCIA-AMNEC (CCO) FAITH SERIES

Lessons on Discovery - 1st stage, Testimony by:

Thomas Anastasius Patrick

I had viewed evangelization as more of a responsibility or a task to be completed, but my perspective has completely shifted. During the retreat, I experienced the Holy Spirit touching my heart in a deeply personal way, making God’s presence feel closer than ever before. This encounter changed my entire outlook, turning evangelization from a duty into a natural desire to share the joy and peace I have received. I now see sharing my faith as an overflow of the love I feel, and I am eager to reach out to others with this renewed sense of purpose and grace.

Daniel Arputham

During the Discovery series and the retreat, I realize that the Lord has been knocking on the door of my heart for a long time, but I often failed to notice it. When I finally opened that door, He touched me deep.

I was overwhelmed by the grace of experiencing His love and forgiveness. In prayer, I encountered His healing touch in some of the pain and sicknesses I had carried and after lifting it up to Him were eased, and I knew it was His mercy at work.

The Holy Spirit made it so easy to speak with the Lord, almost like talking to a close friend. In that closeness he humbled me and He reminded me of sins I had forgotten, gently urging me to confession so that He could dwell more fully within me.

Most of all, I realized that in every decision I make, I want Christ to be at the very center of my heart. This retreat renewed my desire to live as his disciple, sharing the joy of His love and mercy with others, because what He has given me is far too precious to keep to myself.

Anna Ong

What I gained;

1. Hands-on Experiences

2. Peer Prayer Praying together with others allowed me to experience the support of the community and the presence of God through one another.

3. Recalling My First Personal Encounter with God Michael invited us to recall our first personal encounter with God and to intentionally write it down. As I began writing, I allowed the momentum to flow and trusted the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts. Through this process, I was able to rediscover the turning points in my faith journey and see more clearly how God had been present in my life.

4. Missionary Discipleship I used to think that becoming a missionary disciple would be something very heavy and difficult. However, Michael shared that being a missionary disciple simply means sharing our encounter with God’s love with others. As he said, “We receive so that we may give.” This helped me realize that evangelization begins by sharing the love we have personally experienced.

Shumail Arshad, 20 yrs.old - Pakistan Catholic

It was an amazing experience just to be there and learn how we can become disciples instead of just followers of Christ. What touched me was the partner prayer section as we both prayed for each other I could feel the holy spirit engulfing us. Especially when I prayed for the lady she really received, and that made me realize that God can really work through me.

That experience and the teachings, highly motivated me to start evangelization, especially among the youth in my circle. As they are also from refugee families and I know their backgrounds and they face a similar situation as me. But despite that I'm empowered to share the love of Jesus Christ to them hoping to give them a ray of hope.

For further enquiries please contact: Michael Baktha +6018-276-5923