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At home worldwide: children need space

July 29, 2016

Author: Peter Johanning

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Being able to go to kindergarten or pre-school is something that is important for a child’s development. In fact, it is of tremendous importance to consider the needs and desires of our children. They still have their whole life ahead of them; the future is theirs.

Plans for a new kindergarten in Koreti

Georgia is not exactly a rich country. To make matters worse, it has been suffering from terrorism and wars over the last years. In Koreti, for example, a village with a population of 600 in the province of Kakheti, there are no paved roads. The living conditions are bad. Empty and condemned buildings can hardly be distinguished from buildings in which people are still living. Everywhere one looks there are broken windows and large holes in the roofs. Chechens fleeing from conflicts in their republic are trying to make a new life for themselves here. Kindergartens and schools are in a state of disrepair. The wooden floor of the village’s primary school is rotting. And all that is keeping the children from being cold in winter is an open wood-stove.

The kindergarten is not in any better shape. “Miserable” is probably what describes it best. NAK-karitativ, the aid organization of the German District Churches plans to do something about it. “By building a kindergarten in Koreti, we want to give the children in the area a chance at an education and provide a secure environment for them,” it says in a press release. A building that belongs to the New Apostolic Church and that is not being used will be converted into a kindergarten. The house will be redesigned and repaired and completely refurbished.

Children’s Day in Vienna

Summer holidays, at last! Children, parents, and teachers gathered in our Vienna-Penzing church for a divine service on 26 June 2016 to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer holidays.

The divine service was based on 1 Corinthians 15: 57, our 2016 motto: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The children were asked which victories they think they would be able to gain? There were various answers. Coming out as the winner of various online games was one of the answers. A Priest encouraged the children not to let themselves be misled by all the things around them, and told the story of a deaf frog to illustrate this. The frog won a race because he could not hear the booing on the sidelines and people calling to him that he would never make it. .

The service was followed by lunch for everyone. In the afternoon the children had to work their way through five different stations and received a small gift at the end of the day.

Forty years ago in Indonesia

Chief Apostle Ernst Streckeisen visited the members of the Church in Indonesia forty years ago. He was the first Chief Apostle to visit the country. He was there from 26 July to 13 August 1976 and visited the congregations in Lampung, Yogyakarta, and Bandung.

July 29, 2016

Author: Peter Johanning

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