“At the Mission Congress, I found meaning in my commitment”

From November 7 to 9, the Mission Congress brings together for its tenth anniversary 30,000 Catholics committed to evangelization at the Accor Arena in Bercy. Isayah Baudoin lives in Paris; Coming from a Catholic family, he had heard about it but never participated.

His engineering studies leaving him with free time, he was looking for a voluntary commitment. “When I discovered the ambition of the Mission Congress: to talk about Christ everywhere -, I said to myself: it’s there.” With two other volunteers, here he is, at 21 years old, responsible for logistical issues related to welcoming participants. “You have to put yourself in the place of someone who is arriving.” He takes this responsibility very seriously: “For three weeks, I have been working on it every day: writing a short email or spending two hours on it.”

“Help yourself and Heaven will help you”

This shadow work, technical and sometimes dry, matures his faith. With the volunteers of his team, he experiences Providence: “To organize a mass in Bercy with so many people, many questions arise and there are many obstacles. But solutions are coming, we don’t really know how.” Isayah remarks that “Providence comes when we pray and also because we do everything not to need it. We must not want to provoke it: it comes when you are not looking for it.”

Isayah did not imagine the workload of this voluntary commitment. He welcomes it with joy, noting: “Besides classes, I have less time to go out and relax. I have to be clear about my priorities for the day, and if there is no free time, I am happy because I had a meaningful day.” This life discipline strengthens and nourishes his experience as a Christian: “Every day, I want to be a Christian. We must take concrete actions to move forward on this path. I realize that there are graces from God but I have this daily choice to make.”

At the heart of the organization, Isayah awaits November 7-9 with great hope: “When we see what people are going to experience in this Mission Congress, we want it to be a Pentecost in Bercy!”