ACTS

Hello everyone,

It seems like ages since our last blog, and so much has happened since our return from The Rock. Days are flying by and unfortunately more than half of ACTS 9 is already over. After a good rest over the Christmas holidays the ACTS team returned to our familiar desks. Rested and refreshed we set busily back to our work.

The first few weeks at the office consisted of vast brain-storming sessions and activities with the aim of revamping and renewing the ‘Search’ session with the students in the coming years.

Next we started working on ‘Plugged’. For those of you who may not be so familiar with the programme ACTS offers to students, during these sessions our premises is transformed into a television studio. Students are invited to express their views and opinions during a discussion that is presented in the form of a talk show. After this the students are split into smaller groups, with one of the ACTS team members, where further sharing and discussion takes place. This gives the opportunity for students to ask any questions they may have, or share more intimately on the subjects being discussed, something that is otherwise not possible when present in larger groups. All this is done in preparation for our final part of the session where students are invited to spend a few minutes in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

As always we are very interested to know what the students really think of our sessions. We are always open to suggestions. Hence before leaving, students are asked to leave their comments and any questions they make have. The response we have received from these sessions so far has not only been encouraging, but in my opinion, also serve as a challenge. Many of the students we meet have such a great thirst to know more about God. They are searching for something to fill an emptiness that nothing else seems to fill. Seeing their reaction after the sessions, reading their positive comments and witnessing their thirst to learn more, fills me with a greater urgency to do just what ACTS has been doing all these years – Announcing Christ to Schools!

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Romans10:13-14)

Once again I would like to thank you all for your prayers. If you would like to know just what we`re up to on a more regular basis, follow us on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/actsmalta) and twitter (http://twitter.com/actsmalta).

God Bless you all,

Fabienne

f/ACTS

Hello dear readers,

Unfortunately this is our last blog from the Rock. Today was our final full day in Gibraltar. As always it was jam packed to the very last second. So many things to do in so little time, hence we were all up before sunrise!! We started off with breakfast at 7.00 am. This morning was a deja-vu - we had a problem with the water yet again. Apparently things are fixed similarly as in Malta (Kif gie gie). However a piece of toast and a good cup of tea was enough to kick start our day.

As we exited the front door, the cold air chilled our bones. Huddled together in the van for warmth we headed off to the girls’ school, Westside Comprehensive School.  The setting up of the equipment was followed by a good time of prayer.

We had three outreaches planned for the day. Each of the members did their utmost to ensure the outreaches were done as best as we could - God did the rest.  Sometimes the reactions from the students weren’t as good as we hoped and prayer time was sometimes discouraging for us. However as always He surpassed our expectations.  From the feedback sheets that we distribute at the end of our session, we received some very positive, encouraging and interesting questions that shows how thirsty these youths really are. Two particular students are extremely interested in joining ACTS possibly in the coming years. Some other comments that we have received are:

” I really liked the presentation. But I am a Muslim.”

” I really want to be closer to Jesus.”

” I now know who God really is.”

Before the second outreach we managed to go to the city centre for a relaxed hot chocolate in the sun. From one outreach to the next, the morning flew by, nevertheless there was still loads more to do.

After arriving at the residence at about 4, we all got our hands dirty in the kitchen. We prepared lots of Maltese food and snacks for the farewell dinner in the evening. Hobz biz-zejt, fazolla, bigilla, sundried tomatoes and goat cheese were only a few of the items on the list. The aim was for the Gibs to taste a bit of Malta and to help lift some of our spirits, as some of us are missing the Maltese cuisine more than others!!

Before the dinner started we were invited to attend mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe.

The farewell dinner was a huge success. We all ate, drank and were definitely very merry. We also got the opportunity to  socialise for the last time with our new Gib friends.

Tears were in our eyes, as we said our goodbyes, and thanked these wonderful people for such an extraordinary visit. Our small gift of appreciation could not even begin to describe our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for all this community has done for us and for all the love they have shown us.

Thank you Gibraltar for such a wonderful experience. It has been a priviledge to spend these past few days here. The size of this rock may be small, but the hearts of the Gibraltarians knows no limit!!

Also I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you readers. It was very encouraging to know we were not alone on this journey. Thank you for your prayers and encouragements. It made this trip even better.  A huge thank you goes to Thomas and Roberta for all their help with the blog, and for the late nights they spent keeping me company till it was done. Muchas Gracias chicos!!

This is my last blog from Gibraltar. Im off to pack my things. I hope that you all enjoyed reading the posts as much as I enjoyed writing them. We’ll see you all on Maltese soil next.

As they say here in Gib, ”el camino has terminado aqui, hasta luego..” (the journey has ended..until next time)

Te Queremos (We love You)

God Bless You,

Fabienne
f/ACTS

Ola once again dear readers,

Today was definitely one of the most adventurous days of my life. The day started as usual with breakfast at 9:00 AM. Being the 8th of December, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the students were off from school so we had no outreach today. An hour later we went to the city centre for some light shopping followed by mid-day mass. After lunch, was when all the adventures began.

Elisa kindly picked us up from the retreat house and took us on a tour of the wonderful rock. We stopped for a couple of times so as to be able to take in the breath taking view. For those of you who have never been to Gibraltar - one can find many monkeys on the Rock. Legend has it that if ever these monkeys were to leave, Gibraltar would fall under Spanish teritory. Infact in order to avoid this, Winston Churchill imported several monkeys many years ago!! Even though they are wild, they are extremely cute, and can be friendly at times. We were lucky enough to see them up close and personal !! So close that we had monkeys on our shoulders and eating out of our hands!! This was followed by a tour of the upper caves, St. Michael Caves. These caves were used in WW2 as a Hospital and today they are used as an auditorium. A picture says a thousand words… so below i have added some great pics of this awesome experience!!

However the adventures didn’t end here. We were so very kindly invited to go caving…meaning that we would actually have the opportunity to climb down an actual cave in The Rock!!  Only five of us took up the challenge. Mark very kindly picked us up at 7:00 PM - and that was when our journey started! We climbed and walked for over two hours inside the cave!! Although tired and slightly bruised we were absolutely satisfied and glad that we took up this once in a life time opportunity. Photos below cant even begin to describe the beauty we saw, and the thrill and excitement we experienced…how can they say God is boring?!

Unfortunately this adventurous day has come to an end. But tomorrow is a completely new day with new challenges and new opportunities - so stay tuned to see what we’re up to in Gibraltar

As always I ask you to keep us and the students in your daily prayers.

God Bless you

Fabienne
f/ACTS

Que Passa Amigos, (What’s up friends)

Hope that all is well as it is over here Our morning was planned to be as usual but there was a glitch, no water in the shower! Apparently there was a problem in the main water supply, Thank God things get fixed very fast over here.

Breakfast started at the early hour of 8:00 AM and at around 8.45 AM our friendly driver Elisa picked us up to drive us to Bayside College. We did our last boys outreach today, as usual a bit rushed but fruitful. With the equipment dismantled we loaded everything in the van and headed off to Westside Girls College. Before the girls outreach we headed to the city centre, Casemates, for some lunch to munch! Today was a day of firsts as it was our first outreach with girls, I shared my testimony for the very first time ever…..and Roberta had her first ride on a motorcycle !!

The session with the girls went well and the feedback we received was good. After the outreach we headed back to the retreat house were we had some free time, a much needed shower and prepared for mass at 7:00 PM sharp. Our good Gib friend Mark, kindly volunteered to drive us to mass that was celebrated by a Gozitan priest, Fr. Grima. We were surprised and extremely honored to be given Holy Communion in Maltese. After mass we all had a good chat with him as he had heard about our visit, and had been looking forward to meet us.

As always… our hunger never stops and dinner was next on our mind. After a good plate of soup, and some home made Shepherd’s pie, we headed off to the conference room at the retreat house. Today is the day that the youth of this community meet and we were invited to animate this meeting. Basically all we did was run a search session for them to get to know what ACTS is really all about, followed by a discussion relating to today’s teenagers, and  a good time of prayer.

It’s past midnight now and I am here in the dining room with the rest of the team members and some of the Gib amigos having some tea and biscuits.

Thats all for today, each day getting closer to Malta. Please, feel free to leave your comments. We enjoy it IMMENSELY when we hear from you - It feels more like home

God Bless You all

Fabienne
f/ACTS

Hello once again dear readers,

Cannot believe that another day has gone by and half our trip is already over on this wonderful rock. As you can imagine we are trying to enjoy every minute and cherish every moment.

This morning after breakfast, around 09:00, we helped prepare some packed lunches for us and for the Gibs that are attending the retreat. As usual, we rushed to the van and swiftly made our way to the 11 o’clock mass. It was a wonderful sermon, particularly because Fr. Charles, our main host, celebrated mass.

Being Sunday, we had no outreaches and our host planned a trip to Spain, together with the youths attending the retreat. Crossing the border with our passport we made our way to ‘Pinar Del Rey’ - a beautiful family park (Buskett Kbir :P) We spent a couple of hours here: Eating our lunch, chatting and playing football and charades.

Our next destination was at the bowling alley, were we had a good socializing session with our new Gib friends together with a cup of coffee to re-engerise ourselves. This was not enough to satisfy our tummies… With a BIG thanks to Fr. Charles, we were all off to a chinese restaurant - All You Can Eat Chinese Buffet… Yummy

All the way from Gibraltar we wish a special good luck to Salt for their album launch - LNML. (www.saltband.net)

Thank you once again for reading our blog. We will meet again tomorrow with further updates of our day. I’ll soon be off to bed to have a good night sleep as we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. As always may I remind you to keep us in your prayers.

God Bless You all

Fabienne
f/ACTS

Dear Readers,

I’m writing to you after an eventful yet extremely tiring day. Its 3.30 in the morning, and despite being tired i cant but share with you all that has happened today!!! A seemingly normal day turned out to be one which we will definitely never forget !!!

As promised I’ll start off with some details about last night’s session…All the 250 people present, gave it their all to produce a well deserved praise and worship event. It is pretty amazing how two groups, from entirely different backgrounds and countries, can be brought together to produce such an amazing prayer session. It was great to feel so welcomed, and involved in the evening they had been so eagerly awaiting. We were invited to read a few Psalms and one of the team members also share her testimony.

Today, our day started off with breakfast as usual. We then had the opportunity to join the youths of the Gib community in their weekend retreat. Many activities had been planned for us - each aiming to integrate us with the youths. They certainly exceeded our expectations and managed to achieved this through various creative ice breakers and games. It was great fun getting to know each other more personally. It was a great encouragement to listen to the various testimonies and we could all definitely relate to the struggles and difficulties that each of us encounter on a daily basis.

The highlight of our day was yet to come. As I mentioned yesterday we were all invited to Graham Kendrick’s concert performed right here on The Rock!!  He is a Christian artist who is known for Christmas inspired songs.  He has just started his tour here in Gib. Words cannot describe how amazing and utterly inspiring the night was. It was such a privilege to be able to listen to him and his band sing and praise God. Their enthusiasm and zeal are not only encouraging but also contagious. We were also very fortunate to be able to speak to him and the band for a brief moment at the residence and have our CDs signed … as well as take a few photos with him

The night got even better as Liam finally arrived tonight (for the benefit of those who don’t know, Liam did not travel with us as he had his graduation ceremony… but he’s finally here. YEAAYY!! )

Im off to bed!! Good night everyone. Once again I ask you to keep us all in your prayers.

God Bless You All,

Fabienne (for ACTS)

Hello fellow readers,

Hope you didn’t die of curiosity from yesterday… Our day today started at 7.30 am… after a very chilly night! With a sandwich in our hands we rushed out to the van to go to Bayside School. This is the same school we visited yesterday.

Today we had the opportunity to present two sessions, with approximately 80 students per session. Although we were once again pressed for time and had some new technical problems, we still managed to put across our message that God is ALIVE and wants a relationship with each and every one of us.

After the outreach we headed off to the city center where we ate our packed lunches, whilst enjoying some sunshine. After we spent some time chatting, we split into groups and each of us went round the busiest road in Gibraltar - Main Street. After a delicious smoothie and some window shopping, we regrouped and caught the bus together back to the retreat house.

On our arrival we found a camera crew… we’re going to be on local news! They were originally here to interview Graham Kendrick, who will be performing at a Youth Christian Concert we have been invited to tomorrow. (He and his fellow band mates are staying at the same retreat house and we just had a lovely chat with one of  band members, who happens to be very fond of our little island!!) Our hosts decided to take the opportunity of the situation and we were filmed working (during the preparation of this post!) whilst Erika was interviewed. The clip will be shown next Monday or Tuesday…. Stayed tuned

Tonight we will be attending a praise and worship session organized by the Gibraltarian community in preparation for tomorrow’s concert. Some of the team members will be joining in the session by reading Psalms from the Brevjar and 2 of us will be sharing their testimony….more details on how this goes in the next post

‘Hola’ dear Readers,

A BIG hello all the way from Gibraltar (The Rock) - After weeks of preparation and a whole day of traveling -  we are finally HERE! It is quite an unusual feeling to be in a foreign country that is actually smaller than Malta. As small as Gibraltar is, it is such an amazing place. As they say in Maltese, “L-essenza fil-fliexken iz-zghar!”

The hospitality of the people hosting us is remarkable. Words cannot describe how welcoming and friendly they have been. After landing in Malaga (Spain) last night, two members of the Gibraltarian community drove us to our residence, situated in the heart of The Rock, one and a half hours away from the airport. We thought our trip was going great, until the driver admitted that we were actually lost!! However thanks to technology, and Thomas’ iPhone, we were quickly back on track!

After a well deserved good night’s rest - our first day in Gibraltar kicked off at 9.00 am, with a bowl of cereal and a cup of Gibraltarian tea!! There is never a dull moment with the ACTS team - especially this morning when one of the boys (name not to be mentioned ) burnt his toast and set off the fire alarm!!! Good thing we’re alone in the retreat house!!

After resolving this little incident, we had a good time of prayer in the Chapel, followed by an update of the practical details for the day.

With our ACTS t-shirt in hand, the equipment loaded in the van, and with bright smiles on our faces - we headed off on our first outreach!! After a warm welcome from the school principle and some of the teachers, we set up the equipment and waited eagerly for the students.

Although we were pressed for time, the outreach went well, and we received a great response.

Our stomachs were rumbling hard - rightly so, as it  was past three. With hunger on our mind, and food in our hands, we headed off to the beach. A simple piece of bread, and a breath taking view was the right combination needed to satisfy our hunger.

The rest of our day was followed by Mass, time of personal prayer, as well as some free time ( mine spent writing this blog!!!! ). I can smell our dinner being prepared - and i can assure you it smells pretty good!!

I’m off to enjoy some quality time with my fellow team members. Tomorrow our day starts at…………………………..I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow

Take care and please keep us in your prayers,

God bless you,

Fabienne ( for ACTS)

Hello readers, welcome to today’s post!!

I hope you are all well. It is remarkable how much has happened since our last update. It seems only yesterday that we all met our fellow ACTS team members for the very first time. Yet the Christmas season has snuck up on us. I am sure you are all busily preparing for this holiday season: decorating your homes, buying gifts for loved ones, preparing delicious Christmas goodies… we too have been busy working and preparing.

During the past weeks we have visited a number of schools. The response we have received from students as well as teachers is remarkable. Their enthusiasm has filled us with a greater passion for our mission. We maintain contact with the students who have shown such keen interest through smses and emails. Updates are sent to them regarding our upcoming activities with the aim of aiding them maintain this fragile and beautiful relationship that is still blooming.

Yesterday was a very eventful day for us. As a form of fund-raising, ponsiettas were sold by the ACTS team at three different localities after Sunday mass. As we all know the Maltese people are well known for their generosity, and once again their kind-heartedness lived up to their reputation. A big thank you to everyone who supported us!

As some of you might have heard we have been invited for a 9 day outreach in Gibraltar. As you can imagine we are all extremely excited, and can’t wait to be on that plane heading towards that wonderful peninsula that we’ve heard so much about!! Not only will this be a wonderful opportunity to spread the Good News and fulfil our mission outside the Maltese islands, but also a chance to spend more time with our fellow team members. Our days seem to be packed with events, including eight outreaches across Gibraltar to reach all 14-16 year olds there. I can assure you that we will definitely find time to have loads of fun =)
You’ll hear from us very soon with updates from abroad!! Gibraltar here we come!!

Please keep us all in your prayers! God bless you all,

Fabienne (for ACTS)

Finally outreach day is here and we’re all very excited! Our first school is De La Salle College and, I myself being a Lasaillian, I’m all the more enthusiastic to be starting this year of outreaches at this school!

 Before setting up for the outreach we gather in prayer, as Erika was telling us we’re here to reap what God has already sown in the hearts of the students. He’s the boss and we’re just His workers in His field!

 The students start coming in, some of them disappointed for having to give up their PE lesson to come to our session, and we soon get the ball rolling with our session. The students’ curiosity, their openness in expressing their opinion and the silence during the time of prayer was all very intriguing. It was good to see some of the students at the ACTS Teens meeting in the evening!

 But why exactly are we putting so much effort into this mission? Why evangelise? - Because it is so much at the centre of God’s heart that his children might come to Him. He is searching! And…because it’s Jesus’ calling of each and every Christian: ‘Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; of all nations; baptise them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.’ Mt 28: 19-20.