A 30-hour bus ride did not deter over 100 Portuguese teens and volunteers from attending the annual TeenStreet Europe event in Offenburg, Germany, from 1-8 August. “During the trip, we could get close with [other teens] before we arrived,” shrugged 16-year-old Louiz of the long journey.
This was Louiz’s third time at the event. The first year he went with a group from his church after his parents encouraged him to sign up. They had seen TeenStreet Europe on social media and thought it would be a good experience for their son. They were right. Louiz enjoyed attending the event and has returned each year since, and inviting friends to join him.
Seventeen-year-old Maria echoed Louiz’s story. This was Maria’s fifth year at the TeenStreet Europe event, and each time she has attended with a group from her church. “I’ve made some of my greatest friends here, and this is the place I feel the most connected with God,” she said. “My first [small group leader] said, ‘TeenStreet feels like home,’ and today, that’s the thing I feel. I feel like coming to [the TeenStreet event] is like coming home.”
Over the years, Maria has invited friends to attend with her and seen those friendships strengthen as a result. Plus, experiencing the week together helps with accountability and support the rest of the year.
Applicable teachings
This year’s theme — PATHS, Wisdom’s Call — explored what it means to walk in wisdom and to make wise choices that shape who you become and how you live in the world. Teaching from the book of Proverbs, Mainhall speakers looked at topics such as where wisdom comes from, the art of listening, the power of words, your heart as the source of life, how to live out wisdom in your life and why who you surround yourself with matters.
Arriving at the event, Maria thought the theme would not be very applicable to her own life. Then, “they started to talk about wisdom and the things that keep us from being wise, and they said our ego…I [realised] I’m not perfect at all. I started crying because a lot of times I don’t make wise choices because of my ego, and God was like: ‘you see, I have something to fix here.’”
“We come here, and we don’t think we have anything to fix, but then God talks,” added Louiz. “And now that we are talking about wisdom, I notice there are a lot of things that I need to change.”
Never too old
At 17, this year was Maria’s last year to attend the TeenStreet Europe event as a teen, but she is eager to return in the future as part of the service team. “I think I’ve been so blessed by people serving me all these years,” she explained. “And now I know it’s my time to do that. It’s my time to forward what I was given.”
The TeenStreet Europe event could not run without the help of hundreds of volunteers involved in catering, food court, leading small groups, communications, cleaning, security, sports, music, Prayer Zone, Art Zone and more. Many volunteers are aged-out teens eager to remain involved in the event that impacted them so deeply. This year, around1,300 volunteers made the event possible.
Laura (Portugal) attended the TeenStreet Europe event as a teen and returned this year to work in TeenStreet Village serving fries. “This experience has been really good. I like to make fries and talk to the teens, and my [coworkers] are now good friends, and I love it so much. Next year, I’d like to do it again and serve more, because this is an opportunity that God gave me and I am learning a lot. The learning and the new experiences don’t stop just because you’re not a teen.”