At home around the world: Of cans and bicycles

Collecting for a good cause: five tonnes of foodstuffs

The members in the working area of Bishop Naude in Pretoria, South Africa organize regular collections for charitable organizations—and they have been doing so for four years. Every Sunday, each member brings along a can of food. This year alone they have already collected over 12.000 cans of food. This amounts to five tonnes of foodstuffs—more than double the amount collected the previous year! The groceries are given to various organizations for distribution to people in need.

There is yet another collection of foodstuffs in Pretoria, however. Every month, members in the working area of Apostle Jeremia Martinus Joubert prepare so-called “hampers”. These are gift baskets that are given out to needy members of the congregation. One such gift basket can support a family for a whole month—and there are over 100 families who currently benefit from this programme. Although a single collection site had sufficed in the past, it has since become necessary to set up three collection sites. Otherwise the countless donations could no longer be logistically coordinated.

Finding and making friends: Youth weekend in Spain

Two days of free time in the Centro Maristas in Guardamar and then off to church in Dénia. This year’s youth weekend took place in South Eastern Spain from 11 – 13 September. Also in attendance: District Apostle Markus Fehlbaum (Switzerland), Apostle Erhard Suter, and Bishop Rolf Camenzind, along with all the district leaders of Spain. After some meetings, sports, and games, not to mention various choir rehearsals and instrumental practices, the young people travelled to the church in Dénia, some 100 kilometres away, on Sunday morning.

At the beginning of the divine service, the young choir sang a popular Church song, namely “Kennst du den Freund?” (Do you know the friend…?”). District Apostle Fehlbaum expanded on this and asked, “Does each one of us have a true, genuine friend?” He went on to explain that they had just such a true friend in Jesus Christ. But in addition to this Friend, the District Apostle also wished them friends in the circle of their fellow youth.

Later the District Apostle told the youth about a survey which had found that 70 per cent of all women had a friend, but that only seven per cent of all men could confirm the same. The District Apostle noted with a grin that this might well be the reason that women live an average of five years longer than men: true friendship not only creates joy, but also brings with it a longer life.

Ratcheting up the gears in refugee aid: young people help along with bicycles

For hours the young people worked together to assemble bicycles, and then… “It is more blessed to give than to receive” — it was this motto that captioned a youth weekend in Hamburg-North (Northern Germany). They came together at the start of September in order to put what they had learned in a youth discussion into practice: 65 young participants visited a former school that is currently being used as a centre for refugee aid. It was here that the young people spent hours assembling bicycles that had been collected from their church district beforehand. The bicycles were made roadworthy and suitable for use in traffic, the existing bicycle workshop was revamped, and the spare parts warehouse was sorted. Both the refugees and city of Ratzeburg were visibly enthused.

The contact with the refugees begun in the bicycle workshop continued that afternoon over soccer and many conversations. This was followed by a scavenger hunt and a barbecue together. The youth had learned the true meaning of the words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” On Sunday the youth weekend came to a close with a divine service conducted by the responsible District Elder Fritz Göller in an 800-year-old Protestant church building.