At home around the world

Grief counselling in Hesse/Germany

When a loved one dies, it is completely normal for people to be devastated. The loss affects both body and soul. Even people who have faith in God feel great pain and are devastated that they will never again be able to be close to their husband, wife, or child and feel their nearness. Reactions such as shock, disbelief, anger, guilt, despondency, depression, loneliness, fear, and panic can determine people’s lives who have lost someone they cared for deeply.

Grief counselling is a field in which specially trained counsellors take the bereaved on a journey and look back on the time they were able to share with their loved one. The aim of grief counselling is to help handle and understand emotions in as much time as it takes and give the bereaved back some quality of life. The District Church led by District Apostle Koberstein in Germany has started a new grief counselling initiative, which is now a firm component of pastoral care. Specially trained brothers and sisters can be contacted around the clock. This service complements the pastoral care that is offered by the ministers in the congregation.

Youth prevented from attending the Day of the Youth in Lima

The youth from Ecuador and Peru travelled up to 40 hours by bus to attend their Day of the Youth in Lima, the capital of Peru. More than 400 participants came together in Lima with District Apostle Kolb for their “EYA – Encuentro Juventud Andino” at the end of February 2015. A group of twenty youth, however, had to turn back before ever making it anywhere near Lima, because they did not have valid entry documents.

Music, sports, seminars, and question-and-answer sessions with District Apostle Kolb were only some of the activities that were offered in Lima. Some one hundred members who live close to the grounds where the Day of the Youth took place attended the service on Sunday morning and enjoyed the fellowship.

Congresswoman Alvarez inaugurates a new school

When super Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Pablo, hit the southern part of the Philippine archipelago in the year 2012 it not only caused enormous destruction, but also a great deal of suffering. When it made landfall, Bopha with winds of 280 kilometres per hour left behind a trail of devastation. Thanks to the cooperation between two relief organizations of the New Apostolic Church—NAK-humanitas (Switzerland) and NACSEARelief (Philippines)—the Carol-an Elementary School in Hulugon, Negros Occidental, was rebuilt and could now be inaugurated following the completion of the last three classrooms.

Congresswoman Mercedes Alvarez, the district representative of Negros Occidental, presided over the inauguration at the end of January. Apostle S. Catan addressed the pupils, their parents, and the teachers at the opening ceremony and spoke a special prayer.