30-satni autobusni put nije spriječio više od 100 portugalskih tinejdžera i volontera da sudjeluju na godišnjem događaju TeenStreet Europe u Offenburgu u Njemačkoj od 1. do 8. kolovoza. “Tijekom putovanja smo se mogli približiti [drugim tinejdžerima] prije nego što smo stigli”, rekao je 16-godišnjak Louiz od dugog putovanja.
Ovo je bio Louizov treći put na ovom događaju. Prve godine otišao je s grupom iz svoje crkve nakon što su ga njegovi roditelji ohrabrili da se prijavi. Vidjeli su TeenStreet Europe na društvenim mrežama i mislili su da bi to bila dobra iskustva za njihovog sina. I bili su u pravu. Louiz je uživao u posjetu događaju i svake godine se vraća, a prijatelje poziva i da mu se pridruže.
Sedamnaestogodišnjak Maria Ovo je bila Mariaina peta godina sudjelovanja na događaju TeenStreet Europe, a svaki put je bila s grupom iz svoje crkve. “Ovdje sam stekla neke od svojih najboljih prijatelja i ovo je mjesto gdje se najviše osjećam povezano s Bogom,” rekla je. “Moj prvi [voditelj male grupe] rekao je: ‘TeenStreet je kao dom’, a danas je to ono što osjećam. Osjećam se kao da dolazim kući.”
Tijekom godina Maria je pozivala prijatelje da s njom budu uz nju i vidjela je kako se ta prijateljstva time jačaju. Osim toga, iskustvo provedenog tjedna zajedno pomaže u odgovornosti i podršci tijekom ostatka godine.
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.”