“If we choose to protect and support life, then we need the best and most suitable tools. Being able to communicate, inform ourselves, be emphatic and understand life’s value are the core elements of becoming aware of how important it is to be Pro-Life,” says Adriana Ene, the special guest of this year’s summer school for high school students.

The “Future Is Pro-Life” 2022 summer school for high school students took place between 2nd and 5th August 2022, at the Caraiman Monastery. Although the event has come to its fourth edition, this is the first time that separate summer schools are organized for high school students and university students respectively. This being mentioned, at the beginning of August, 18 enthusiastic high school students met to learn, evolve, change experiences and enjoy the company of other teenagers sharing the same beliefs. The teenagers have been guided by 6 mentors with great experience in pro-life activities.

“The Pro-Life Café” from the first day of the event offered the participants a great chance to make teams and discuss three issues that young people are confronted with in today’s society: pregnancy crisis, abortion, and human trafficking. They analyzed the causes, risks, and possible solutions to these situations.

On the second day, the high school students discovered that history can be learnt in creative ways: they built a puzzle to help them better memorise the worrying statistics regarding abortion in the 20th century. The programme continued with a presentation about the intrauterine development of the child during the nine months of pregnancy. Eliza Maria Cloțea, a resident physician in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, told the students about the amazing journey that humans make before being born. Next came a workshop where the participants learnt how to support women going through a pregnancy crisis and how to talk to them. The workshop was held by Alexandra Nadane, the President of the Association for Pregnant Women and Family Support, and Teodora Paul, a pro-life volunteer.

Adriana Ene held a story workshop which the teenagers enjoyed a lot, just like in the previous editions. The day ended with a play about the pregnancy crisis, put on by the participants, and with some recreational sports activities.

The morning of the third day was dedicated to creative activities. The high school students painted pro-life banners and T-shirts starting from the words “together” and “both”. After this, the teenagers made videos about life’s ladder, understanding that it is important to look both vertically, at God, and horizontally, at fellows. The storytelling workshop held by Adriana Ene inspired them to think about their own potential of doing good and getting involved in pro-life activities in the future. In the afternoon, the participants talked about good acts, starting from the words “Beware of Evil and do Good” from the Psalms. They analyzed what leads to Good and what leads to Evil.

The event ended with two practical workshops where the high school students had the chance to apply what they had learnt during this summer school. The first workshop, “Where to? 1001+ pro-life activities” helped them to discover numberless activities they can organize in their communities, such as film screenings, banner creating workshops, vlogging, charity fairs and, of course, the March for Life. The participants had to make a plan for such an activity they would organize. At the second workshop, “Let’s debate!”, they learnt to debate using information about the history of abortion, pregnancy crisis and intrauterine development.

For most of the students, this was their first participation in a pro-life summer school. Here are their impressions:

“The first day felt like fulfilling a promise that I made to myself one year ago when I found out about this summer school. Together with the other teenagers, I understood the importance of team spirit and we demonstrated that we could complete each other and create a beautiful pro-life community. At the end of the day, I am grateful for all the activities and, in particular, for having the chance to personally meet Mrs Adriana Ene. I am looking forward to coming back to the Caraiman Monastery next year, in order to meet other teenagers who share our ideas. We have one purpose: we want the future to be pro-life and I am sure this will happen one day.” – Alina Carcea.

“I was really impressed by everything related to this event and I am extremely happy for having met people with similar abilities and purposes, as well as for all the beautiful moments we enjoyed together!” – Cristiana Rențea

“My heart is full of joy and gratitude towards God, who allowed me to be here, and towards those who organized such a useful summer school. All the activities and workshops were impressive, captivating, and surprising. Due to these activities, I am now even more committed to pro-life beliefs, I received answers to all my questions related to this field and my desire to get involved and help others has grown considerably. It was truly enjoyable to meet teenagers with brilliant ideas for both the present and the future. Coming to this school was one of the best decisions that I have ever made, and I am sure this decision will have a lasting effect on my future.” – Maria Bodale.

“I am going home with the feeling that being pro-life is nothing short of a way to show our love for God and His creation. I hope to come back here next year, in order to continue to contribute to this unity between teenagers, which will lead to the development of a pro-life culture.” – Sergiu Chelba

“For me, this year’s event meant a change of unforgettable experiences, an oasis of peace under the Mother of God’s Cover, but also concrete information, which helped me better understand life. I am leaving this peaceful place with enthusiasm in my soul, with friends sharing the same ideals as me and with all the knowledge shared with great dedication and passion by our mentors.” – Iustina Boiță

“It was a lot nicer and more useful than I expected. I met a lot of wonderful people who share my values and principles. We got along very well and we developed tight and long-lasting friendships. The information we received will be definitely useful to us not only when we will encounter a situation of crisis, but also in our everyday life.” – Maria Vlaicu

“We had a well-structured schedule and very interesting workshops, where I learnt a lot of things that will be definitely useful to me in the future. Likewise, I met people who share my values, and we did very well together in the practical workshops.” – Nectaria Marin

“It was a wonderful experience which helped me in my personal development and taught me a lot of things about pregnancy crisis. It motivated me to share my pro-life beliefs with the people around me.” – Georgiana Hălărescu

“It strengthened my conviction that God works through the people who are pro-life. The most important thing that I have learnt is that, in order to help a woman going through a pregnancy crisis, we should first listen to her. Only after that can we give her advice and support her both during the pregnancy and after the child is born.” – Gabriela Levițchi

“A group of teenagers you can build something with. The activities helped me learn things that I have not heard about in school and that will turn into an important educational base for me. I am leaving this place wiser and richer in information.” – Andrei Pascaru

“I think it is amazing to find people, both volunteers and participants, that set such a beautiful example in society. Only now can I say that I truly understood the event’s theme. The purpose of the activities and of the pro-life vision came through naturally and offered us a feeling of fulfilment, as well as the strong belief that this is the best solution to all the suffering provoked by the pregnancy crisis and its consequence. There is always a chance to start over again.” – Maria Crețu

“A promising, pro-life future – this is what I saw in the people I met at the Future Is Pro-Life summer school 2022. We are the future. We are the ones who will support both the woman and the child, no matter the circumstances. We are pro-life.” – Anuca Cornea

“In this summer school, I felt as if I had wings and I understood that Christ works through people. The wings were all the things that I have learnt here and that helped me better get into the pro-life world. I am grateful to God that I came to this wonderful place, that I met exceptional people and that I have learnt a lot of new things. I am going home with my heart full of joy, ideas and new information that I am ready to share with the others around me.” – Lavinia Chifan

“I felt amazing in the company of the volunteers and the other participants. We could not get bored with so many activities. The event helped us socialize and build new friendships. Another good thing about this summer school was that the schedule was closely followed and that the food tasted really good. I strongly recommend any teenager to take part in this summer school. I am sure they will not regret and will leave this place with new knowledge related to the pro-life cause.” – Laura Ana-Maria Nicolescu

“For me, this summer school meant a source of information, support and friendship. The information came from the possibility to learn in detail about intrauterine development, abortion and the pregnancy crisis, a learning process which helped me strengthen my convictions and arguments. The support came from the fact that I met people who share my values. Together, we can make a real change in the world, a change starting with the first step, with the little things. Friendship brought us together. I have met wonderful, bighearted people, with great potential for the future and carrying God’s work. I want to thank the mentors for everything and I cannot wait to see each other again during our own pro-life activities.” – Lavinia Flocea

With God’s grace, we will see each other again!

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