Crucis

"Sister, the box is here."
I briefly looked up from knotting my friendship bracelet.
The cool air of Camp Crucis held me lightly.

Some of the Thiếu Nhi youth rushed into the building.
Ms. Mai continued her comments.
"That's a beautiful bracelet. I know it takes a lot of patience to do it."

A small smile crept across my face.
"Well... I saw the huynh trưởng fiddling with it and it brought me back to when I was a kid. We use to make these bracelets all the time for our friends. The huynh trưởng figured out they were doing it wrong because their threads keep getting twisted so I'm trying to complete this so they would have a good model."

"I can't do what you do Sister, but I use to do some crochet myself. And you know, I heard the other day that there is a famous football player that crochets. He does it all the time. He says it gives him patience."
"What's his name?"
"I can't remember... but I'm sure you can find it on Google somewhere."

A shrill whistle broke the twilight air.
"It's time to go."

Inside the building, our comrades had changed into a milieu of Old Testament Israelites.
The half empty box still had some colorful pieces of fabric for me to wrap around myself.
No one entered the "Mystical Fire" (Lửa Thiêng) without prior transformation.

It was Sa Mạc Hy Vọng XXIX (Camp Hope).
The youth from Đoàn Thiếu Nhi Thánh Thể Kitô Vua was on their annual camping trip.
We were embarking on the most sacred moment of the weekend.

The stars twinkled above us as we held hands and walked in silence.
Or try to.
We were not allowed to use flashlights and the darkness seem to engulf even the person in front of us.

A whisper.
A warning.
A curt command.

We fanned out in a circle.
Father Hóa, CMC read a short Gospel selection and shared about the meaning of light.
A ball of fire appeared in the air and slid down to the center.

The pile of dry wood erupted into light.
We drew close to the fire and to each other.
Our faces glowed.

This ritual is not new to the youth.
It is part of every camping trip and one that many of them look forward to as they get to sit around the campfire and re-enact stories of the patriarchs, our forefathers in faith.
The walking in darkness did not really scare them.

Crucis.
This was not Đoàn Kitô Vua's first choice of a camping ground.
It was quite a distance to drive. (1 1/2 hours for me).

Crucis.
Alpha Crucis is the brightest star in the Crux constellation.
This constellation forms a cross (crucis means cross in Latin) and many explorers of the sixteenth century used it as a clock.
Many nations have used it in their flags.

To make a friendship bracelet, one cross a thread over another and knot firmly.
Over and over.
A friendship will always have a crucis, a cross.

To keep a youth group going, its leaders learn to accept the crucis of each other's temperament and life situation.
It has been almost a year since I've seen Đoàn Kitô Vua.
It is good to see their leaders and their youth still together.

Crucis.
Alpha Crucis.
The cross of Jesus will always light our path.

ps1. Photo of Đoàn Thiếu Nhi Kitô Vua.
ps2. Links to more info about Crux constellation
http://www.dibonsmith.com/cru_con.htm
http://spaceyuga.com/crux-constellation-hindu-mythological-name-trishanku/
ps3. Youtube link to Ian Johnson, the football player that crochets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4At3EUV97gQ