YOUTH GROUP

"Hungry for Christ" The Youth Across Europe (YAE) Rome trip May 1-4, 2008

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."

How do we start to explain all the wonderful things that we saw, heard, and felt? I had everyone who went write down their impressions of our days in Rome. Here is what we came up with.

First, I want to give thanks and praise to all who helped make this long weekend in Rome happen. I did a lot of calling and internet surfing, Karen Leube spread the word though Email, Peter Hellbach was able to clear his schedules to accompany us. Andrea Noble and all the other moms did a lot of organising and baking and all of you chipped in and contributed to the fund. We raised about 600Euros at the bake sale alone. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, THANK GOD!!

We were able to send 4 youth; Queenet Onwubuariri, Eric Dillenberger, Jack Noble and Erik Leube, to Rome. The two Funke sisters, who were active in our youth group last spring and fall but have since had to move to Düsseldorf, were also excited about going. Unfortunately, Ella broke her arm the day before the trip and so she and her sister Victoria decided to stay home. We pray that Ella's arm is healing well.



And now to our impressions of the weekend!

What really impressed me the most was that you could speak freely with the other youth. They made me feel welcome and appreciated what I had to say.

Spending nights in a crypt in the middle of Rome with 60 other people was an experience. Does not really compare to 5 star hotels in terms of comfort but excels in keeping social skills in shape.

The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center (In St. Paul's within the walls) gives people a place to be during the day and is the only institution in Rome that offers this service which contains some lunch and recreation facilities.

The best part for me was being able to speak with people from all over the world, whether it was about everyday life, religion or world problems.

It was refreshing to see talented young people collaborate and contribute to fill the theme "Hungry for Christ" with life. Seeing and sharing views with the refugees gave insight to a world that seems to exist in parallel universe. I am sure that everybody had a paradigm shift actually getting first hand information from the group of people who came in for very basic things that go by unnoticed in our busy lifestyles.

We gave the refugees food, but they fed us spiritually.

The United Nations World Food Programme. See WFP Photo The basic idea of WFP is not to organize the smallest local steps but to administrate on a larger logistical scale. They also specialize in emergency response for example in the Iraq not too long ago. We were made aware of the fact that there not only is extreme hunger and poverty left in this world but that it is a problem that spans across the globe and affects a (too) huge part of humanity.

I thought that the World Food Program was cool. I'd love to work for them dropping off food for the needy.

The U2charist. The word says it all, a mix between U2 and Eucharist. It sounds weird and does feel unusual but at the end of this wonderful service the whole youth rose from the seats and paraded through the church. It might not have been the music that inspired us but the unity in Christ in our group was enough to amaze us.

I loved the sermon from Father Michael Vono. He wanted us all to make waves. Like "THE WAVE" in a soccer/ football game, it starts out small, but if repeated it catches on and soon the whole stadium has joined in throwing their arms in the air. We made some waves.: We wrote the prayers of the people to support the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were read during he U2charist as well as at St. Augustine's the following Sunday. We contributed money (60Euros- 10% of the contributions from the bake sale THANK YOU AGAIN!) to aid the Episcopal Relief and Development which supports the MDGs. We helped with the refugees. We discussed what we, theYAE group, could do to help combat "Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty hunger in this world". Spc eak to our youth and they will tell you about some of the actions you can take.



The Community of St. Egidio in Rome also started with a small wave. They started with 5 people and a prayer evening once a week. And now 40 years later have grown to 70,000 members that help the infirmed and homeless in Rome. We also learned about their Dream Project. (A project which provides treatment for AIDS in Africa) They showed us a film about the sick people who were to be left to die. One man, Isaiah, weighed 27 Kilos and couldn't walk. A year later he weighed 70 Kilos and was fully functional again.

A very moving moment was the prayer round. We sat in a large circle in the dark, passed around a candle and prayed, either quietly to ourselves or out loud, offering God our concerns and our gratitude.



I enjoyed watching the youth get involved with each project. Whether talking or playing with the refugees, the interaction was honest and open. They all got involved as best they could. Queenet ushered at the U2charist service on Friday. At Sunday's service, Eric and Erik read parts of the sermon and Jack embellished on his impression of the weekend. I was very proud of them all..

Last but not least Rome...

Walking the ancient roads of Rome; the same grounds that Cicero traversed to give his court speeches was yet another moving experience.

I enjoyed seeing the sights in Rome, like the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain. They were so impressive.

My last thanks go to our hosts Father Michael Vono of St. Pauls' within the Walls and his Administrative Assistant Andrea D'Agosto. We are also so grateful to Tuomas Ala-opas and Christine Housel for leading us through this wonderful Weekend. All in all it was a weekend of Christian companionship that left some deep impressions.


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