Ja sam Magdalena Orehovec i imam osamnaest godina. Živim s obitelji u Stenjevcu, a pripadam župi svetog Nikole biskupa. U slobodno vrijeme animiram, idem na razna hodočašća, a drag mi je i PKP. Jedna zanimljivost o meni: rođena sam na isti datum kad i blaženi Alojzije Stepinac, isto kao najmlađe peto dijete u obitelji te imam dva starija brata i dvije starije sestre. Kroz cijeli mi se život isprepliću razni umjetnički smjerovi, pa sam se tako bavila glumom i pjevanjem, svirala violinu i gitaru te sam s Bogom najviše povezana kroz glazbu što me jako raduje.
Moja najstarija sestra ljetovala je na Krapnju s Kursiljom i pričala mi je o tom lijepom i malom otočiću sreće. Nakon jednog salezijanskog kampa na Plitvičkim jezerima, shvatila sam da bih i ja rado posjetila sličan katolički ljetni kamp. Tako sam 2020. godine prvi put došla na Krapanj i osjetila što znači biti u ,,raju na zemlji’’. Promjene i izazovi koji su me pratili u novoj školi samo su još više pojačali moju želju da pronađem to mjesto koje mi je značilo sigurnu luku u kojoj sam se osjećala voljenom i prihvaćenom, baš takva kakva jesam. Na tom je otočiću sve bilo predivno jer je ispunjen prekrasnom prirodom, a na svakom koraku susretala sam ljude s prijateljskim osmijesima koji su me toliko privukli da sam i sama poželjela imati tu radost, u Kristu. Krist mi je pokazao da On doista živi u svakome čovjeku i da je sa mnom prisutan u svim trenucima. Pokazao mi je da nisam sama, a prije me uvijek morio strah da pokažem svijetu da sam kršćanin koji je odabrao način života s Isusom koji mnogi smatraju suludim za 21. stoljeće. Upravo sam ovdje, na Krapnju, osjetila hrabrost da ustrajno živim svoju vjeru.
Oduvijek je u meni postojala želja da se priključim nekoj vjerskoj zajednici i da evangeliziram. Nakon tog prvog ljetovanja na Krapnju, osjetila sam da me Bog poziva da se priključim Kursilju kako bih ljudima svjedočila na koji je način On djelovao u mom životu te da im pokažem na svom primjeru da je Krist zaista tu prisutan za svakoga tko ga traži. U Samobor sam otišla na formaciju animatora nakon koje sam se odazvala služenju u Kursilju i krenula na svoje prve krizmaničke tečajeve i animatorska druženja. Na druženjima sam imala prilike susresti pristupačne i otvorene ljude s kojima sam iskreno pričala o svim temama, dijelili smo radost i tugu, oslanjali se jedni na druge u trenucima nedoumica i cijelo nas je to iskustvo oblikovalo u ljude koji smo nakon toga postali i koji sada djeluju u Kursilju. Sudjelujući na krizmaničkim tečajevima, sklopila sam prijateljstva na kojima sam toliko Bogu zahvalna. On mi je darovao prave prijatelje u vjeri koji me ispunjavaju radošću jer s takvim žarom svjedoče Krista u svom životu. Oni me ohrabruju i potiču da se u svakoj prilici pouzdajem u Boga i da s njima i s Njime neustrašivo idem kroz život. Učim kako negativne misli oblikovati u dobro i trudim se vidjeti Boga u svemu. Na tečajevima mi se najviše sviđa povezanost animatora i krizmanika koja se očituje u sjajnim očima onih kojima se život promjeni na trodnevnom tečaju kad shvate tko je zapravo Isus koji je uvijek tu za njih. Zahvalna sam što imam privilegiju gledati kako On mijenja mnoga srca, baš kao što je promijenio i moje.
Najveća spoznaja o Božjoj ljubavi i dobroti koju sam otkrila kroz Kursiljo je koliko vrijedim. Shvatila sam da sam uistinu njegovo ljubljeno dijete i da mu je toliko stalo do mene da se želi proslaviti kroz moj život. Dotaknuta tom ljubavlju, odlučila sam Mu prepustiti svoja „krila” kako bi mi ih kroz druge ljude sastavio te dao ono što mi je potrebno da ponovno mogu poletjeti k Njemu.
I am Magdalena Orehovec and I’m eighteen years old. I live in Stenjevec, and belong to the parish of st. Nicholas the bishop. In my free time I’m an animator, I go to various pilgrimages, and I also like attending Mountaineering Way of the Cross. One interesting fact about me is that I was born on the same day as bl. Alojzije Stepinac, also as the youngest fifth child in my family and I have two older brothers and who older sisters. Various artistic forms have been interweaving my entire life, so I have been involved in acting, swimming, played the violin and guitar and am connected to God mostly through music which really gives me joy.
My oldest sister spent her summers at Cursillo’s camp on Krapanj and told me about that beautiful and little island of happiness. After a Salesian camp at Plitvice lakes, I realized that I would love to visit a similar summer camp. So in 2020 I came to Krapanj for the first time and felt what it means to be in a “heaven on Earth”. The changes and challenges that followed in my new school only amplified my desire to find that place that would be a safe haven in which I feel loved and accepted, just the way I am. Everything was wonderful on that island because it is filled with beautiful nature, and I met people with friendly smiles along the way who drew me so much that I myself wanted to have that happiness, in Christ. Christ showed me that He truly lives in each man and that he is present with me in all moments. He showed me that I was not alone, and before that I was always afraid to show the world that I am a Christian who chose a life with Jesus, which many consider insane in the 21st century. It was right here, on Krapanj, that I felt the courage to persistently live my faith.
I’ve always had the desire to join a religious community and to evangelize. After my first summer on Krapanj, I felt that God called me to join Cursillo to testify to people how He worked in my life and to show them in my example that Christ is really present for anyone who seeks him. I went to Samobor to an animator formation after which I answered the call to serve Cursillo and started going to my first Cursillos for confirmation candidates and to meetings for animators. There I had the opportunity to meet approachable and open people with whom I’ve had honest conversations about all sorts of topics, we shared joys and sorrows, leaned on each other’s in moments of confusion and all that experience shaped us into the people we are now and who now volunteer for Cursillo. By volunteering on Cursillos for confirmation candidates, I made friendships for which I am so thankful to God. He gave me real friends in faith who filled me with joy because they confess Christ with such joy in my life. They encourage me and entice me to trust in God in every opportunity and to fearlessly go through life with them and with Him. I learn how to transform negative thoughts into good ones and I try to see God in everything. On the courses I most like the connection between animators and confirmation candidates that is apparent in the bright eyes of those whose lives change on those three-day Cursillos as they realize who Jesus, who is always here for them, actually is. I am thankful to have the privilege to watch Him change many hearts, just as He changed mine.
The biggest realization about God’s love and goodness I have discovered through Cursillo was how much I am worth. I realized that I am truly his beloved child and that He cares so much about me that he wants to celebrate himself through my life. Touched by that love, I decided to give over my “wings” to Him so that He could put them on me through others and give me what I need to fly to Him again.
