Petra Acitya was delighted to join the International Youth Mission Conference 2021. It is an annual event, held by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) Indonesia. This year, the theme was Mission in Your Interest Area. Students and Mentors were able to choose one learning topic during the conference.

Four students from Petra Acitya Christian Junior High School joined this conference. Jason Aldrich, the student council chairman, and Kenzo Davidson, the vice-leader of student ministry, joined the Language class, which was delivered by Benson K. Kamary (Faculty & Executive Assistant, Office of the President Evangelia University US). Clara Maylivia, the leader of the student ministry, joined the Creative Art and Design Class, delivered by Petra Little Theatre (The only college that has an English theatre subject in Surabaya). Michelle Valencia joined the Entertainment class, which was delivered by Ps. Sidney Mohede (Creative Pastor at Jakarta Praise Community Church (JPCC).

Petra Acitya Christian Education teachers, Caren Veronica Yemima Gultom, S.Si-Teol., M.M. and Dimitri Januar Bawole, S.Si-Teol also joined this conference. With the other students’ mentors, they expanded their understanding by learning more about mentoring from Michael Holden, the Coordinator of Service Learning at International Community School Thailand.

This event was held on November 9^th and 10^th. The participants of this event were not only from Indonesia, but also Vietnam, The Philippines, and Malaysia. Thus, besides the materials given by the speakers, the participants also learned to be intercultural communicators. Mr. Dimitri said, “It was an amazing experience. I met five Filipino teachers who are keen on using their abilities to glorify His name.” He added that throughout the event, he was reminded to develop and use his talents while mentoring the students. One of the most memorable things during the conference was when they created a reflection and action plan to implement the materials from the conference in school and daily life. Therefore, they hope that the student ministry and student council can bring a greater positive impact to the school.