Work camp in Lisbon (Portugal)
My name is Rafael and I belong to the college students collective of the youth groups of Campo Grande’s parish in Lisbon. Last September we organized for our groups five days of prayer, reflection, enjoyment and work outside Lisbon, specifically in the Verbum Dei’s community enclosure of Vale de Lobos (Sintra). Each year, this activity is arranged to coincide with the end of summer vacation, with the objective of reflecting about what we did during the summer and to prepare ourselves for the beginning of a new year in the youth groups; we call it the “Working Camp”. During those five days we had the chance to share our summer experiences, have moments of silence to reflect and pray, organize entertaining activities that also were used to cultivate and work our faith. 
Between all of the above mentioned there were moments of work, where we carried out some tasks related with the maintenance of the Vale de Lobo’s precinct. Our monitors explained to us that the main purpose of the work was not to finish all the work in the enclosure but to learn how to fit our prayer during working time, not only in those five days, but in our daily occupation either as a student or as a worker.
It was the first time that I participated in the “Working Camp” since I was introduced to the youth groups last year. It was a very enriching experience because I was able to feel that I had a space to mature my faith and to question myself about subjects that I never did before, always in the company of my friends. For me it was the living proof that religion gains its full meaning when it is lived in community.
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