OLGC Surrey Welcomes Back Gospel Roads

By Geezelle Chaves, Salesian Youth Ministry, Surrey, BC

(Surrey, BC – August 27) – After six years, Our Lady of Good Counsel (OLGC) Parish in Surrey held Salesian Gospel Roads (Gospel Roads). Gospel Roads is a week-long retreat where youths and young adults are inspired by St. John Bosco’s love of the poor. At OLGC, participants spent the week volunteering at different worksites, such as soup kitchens, farms, and charities, and heard talks on aspects of Catholic social teaching.

This was my first experience of Gospel Roads, since I had been too young to join in previous years. I had heard all about what it was like, and the missionary spirit that seemed to radiate from friends who had experienced it inspired me to see what it was like for myself.

However, in the weeks leading up to Gospel Roads, I began to get cold feet. I was nervous about the length of the retreat, about getting out of my comfort zone and being put into unfamiliar, perhaps even dangerous situations. Above all, I had felt like my faith was wavering, and I feared what God wanted to reveal to me during the week. However, on the first night, as we sat in the church in reflection, I asked God why He had brought me here. He brought me back to the prayer I pray before Communion, but had overlooked: “Help me to spread Your love to others.” From that point on, I opened my heart to whatever way He wanted to lead me.

I learned quickly what spreading Christ’s love truly looked like. I met Him through the smiles of the people who received food from us at the soup kitchens, in the families that visited the food bank, and in the sweat as I painted a farm’s fence in the blazing heat. Through the different worksites, God revealed to me that spreading His love wasn’t a hard task. In fact, it was as simple as telling a joke at the dinner table or letting someone take a nap on your shoulder. He directed me towards the little things I often overlooked, and reminded me that His love truly is abundant, and I didn’t need to look far for it.

As we shared our highlights and takeaways on the last day, a friend said something that wrapped the experience up perfectly: Gospel Roads was a place where “strangers became friends, and friends became family.”

St. John Bosco was truly present with us that week, smiling with us and working alongside us, allowing all of us to experience Christ in our own ways. Although Gospel Roads itself has come to a close, the Salesian spirit still burns in our hearts. Inspired by the memories and friendships we made along the way, we carry within us the mission of spreading Christ’s love wherever we go.