VFCAP Cameroon – Fourth Day

The day began with the celebration of the Eucharist and on this occasion, Father Serafin, CM, who had just arrived from Central Africa, joined in the celebration. After reminding the participants about the material of the previous day, Martine explained the process of consensus decision making. This refers to a process in which many ideas are placed before a group and then a process of selection must be undertaken in order to arrive at the best decision that will be beneficial to everyone. Therefore we spoke about brain-storming, analyzing the results of such a session and we concluded with an exercise during which we were able to apply these ideas.

Denise accompanied us during a session of “apostolic reflection”. We began with the experience of two people who encounter an obstacle that prevents them from achieving their objective. Having participated in this experience we came to the conclusion that human effort alone is not sufficient to resolve the various problems that we will encounter during our lifetime. There is a need to have recourse to God and this is absolutely necessary if we wish to share in God’s grace and blessings.

In the afternoon Denise placed before us a practical example of mapping resources and community mobilization. After reminding the group about the four steps that are involved in this process, the case of education in the most northern part of this country was placed before the group. As we analyzed the problem we were able to highlight various resources that were vital to this situation. As the afternoon came to an end, Martine presented a plan for personal action and the perspective of the Vincentian Family that would allow the branches and the individuals participating in this gathering to outline steps that will enable everyone to develop greater collaboration in the future. After a time of prayer and sharing in a meal we participated in a night of cultural sharing.