Post on 18-Dec-2021
transcript
Dear YFC Croatia friends
30.01.2012
1. Advent Labyrinth
Since you got all the information about the
Advent Labyrinth in our last video-newsletter,
we’d like to share some impressions and a story
with you. If you remember, many people felt at
home in the labyrinth, lingered there and kept
returning, sometimes bringing with them their
families or friends, but sometimes they returned
on their own. Here is one of many stories…
One station of the labyrinth is the Christmas
tree, with gift boxes under the tree. The
station encourages and challenges people to
think of a gift they could give somebody this
Christmas, something from their heart and
not necessarily of great or any material value
(e.g. call somebody you haven’t talked to for
a while or write them a letter, volunteer,
bake cookies with Grandma, have more
patience, etc.). Once people decide or come
up with an idea, they can write it down on a
piece of paper and put it in the gift box
under the Labyrinth Christmas tree. Now,
there was a girl about 9 years old who visited
the labyrinth and then came back the next
day. The whole room was filled with candle
lights and smooth Christmas jazz music. But
when this girl marched in, you could see she
was on a mission. She carried a bundle under
her hand, went straight to the tree, wrote
something down and put something in one
of the gift boxes. Later we saw she had
placed a present in the box, she gave away
one of her books and a chocolate. What a
lesson in giving…and in DOING rather than
just THINKING about it…
Thank you for your encouraging comments on our Christmas video-newsletter. We really appreciate your opinion and like to find your emails in our inbox. Especially, thank you for your donations and extra gifts which enable us to serve in full-time capacity. Thank you for your dedicated giving and that many of you have stood with us for so many years. It would never be the same without you! We are grateful for your and God’s faithfulness. Here are our whereabouts since our last October 2011 Newsletter, not necessarily in chronological order.
Advent Labyrinth team
Visitors at the Creative table
Many wrote down their impressions, here are
only a few random ones:
“Beautiful, joyful, touching. It reminds me
of my beautiful childhood and how we
used to celebrate Christmas then.”
“This is our true reality! There is no more
place for Jesus, Christmas becomes just
another big obligation. I wish we’d have a
bigger heart and smaller shopping bags.
Your message and idea are fantastic! God
bless you!”
“Dear all! In a very original way you
managed to show how we “lost” ourselves
and the real meaning of Christmas! In spite
of that, you’ve put up this exhibition so
wonderfully that at the end everybody can
see how GREAT GOD is! Thank you and
Merry Christmas!
“I was not looking forward to this
Christmas. Now I am. Thank you for
returning that joy to me. No more stress
for me. ”
“Every year it’s the same. Rushing,
shopping, baking, and worrying about
whether we can make it all in time. But
only one thing is necessary: to tidy up from
inside, not outside. I enjoyed all the
stations, especially the one where I stood
alone, in silence, with Jesus. Thank you!”
2. Advent ZaŠto?!
This Youth Worship Gathering for the youth of the city of Rijeka was all in the spirit of preparing for Christmas. This time the topic was: “What if…?” Our intention was to pose a question about what Christmas would be for us if we were to take out all the Christmas symbols. Before the service we did a nice job decorating the space. Then we had a little sketch in which, whenever a girl would mention some things she likes about Christmas (gingerbread cookies, the tree, wrapped gifts, the ornaments, the music, etc.) we would remove the mentioned object out of the room.
Approaching the throne
Answering the question “What if...?“
At first people were a bit surprised not realizing
that this was a part of our plan. So, in the end we
were left with us and the plain white walls
around us. We wanted to challenge the young
people to think about this question: What does
Christmas really mean to me if I take out all the
material Christmas symbols? Am I left with “just”
Jesus? The peak of the service was, imagine this -
a room emptied of things, full of young people in
the dark, holding lit candles and singing “Light of
the world” a cappella style, and then praying in
silence… so profound!
3. Crew and ship dedication We had an opportunity for a somewhat unusual event in November. As you might remember, Melanie used to
minister as a Lutheran pastor before she joined YFC Croatia full time. She was asked by the present Lutheran
pastor in Rijeka if she would, on his behalf, pray for the ship and crew at the dedication of a new oil tanker in the
biggest shipyard in the city of Rijeka. The contractor was Norwegian and asked for a Lutheran pastor, which is
quite unusual for Croatia. This event was very important for the economy of the city of Rijeka and all the
employees of the shipyard. Not only was Melanie able to pray for and rejoice with the crew and the workers who
built the ship, but she was also able to deliver a clear Gospel message to all those present, which included many
representatives from the state and local government as well. It is also noteworthy that in the midst of our dire
need for funds, we were happy that this service provided some additional funds for YFC Croatia.
3. 4. Media Ministry Ruben went with the Christian worship band “Kristina” as their V.J. (Video Jockey) to two worship & praise events:
4.1. in Gospić; December 17, 2011 – This evangelization was organized by the Pentecostal Church of Rijeka
which is planting a church congregation in the town of Gospid. This town of 5700 inhabitants is located at
the center of the economically poorest Croatian region called Lika. People who live there are predominantly
strong nationalists and Roman Catholics, which makes it altogether hard to evangelize there. We hope to
be a fruitful seed for that area.
4.2. in Daruvar; November 26, 2011. – the band Kristina held a humanitarian concert “For the angel of
Daruvar”. This angel is actually a boy who lost both of his parents in a car accident. Local civil institutions,
the government representatives, and Christians organized this event, under the leadership of a young
Baptist man. Around 250 people were at the concert which turned out to be a worship gathering, since a
local priest brought youth from his parish and they worshipped… The Youth for Christ Croatia team is happy
to be able to serve those who are in difficult circumstances of life.
5. Action: HELP, FOOD is LIFE! 6. INTeRo ministry
On October 14-15, 2011 YFC Croatia participated in
collecting food for people in need in our city. The
food bank in Rijeka organized this special action, just
before Christmas. Many volunteers stood in front of
many grocery stores in the city, giving out leaflets
and inviting people to join this action by donating
food. After they finished their grocery shopping,
people would leave food in the empty boxes. The
action was rated successful, because 8 tons of food
was collected. The bank food delivers the food to
several churches and organizations in the city which
then feed hungry families.
Since we have not updated you on Intero ministry for some time, this update will include a longer period of time. About six months ago, Mihael had to find a job outside of YFC Croatia and INTeRo ministry (and he is grateful to God that he did) because Intero did not develop in such measure that Mihael could be a full-timer in this peace-building ministry. Nevertheless, during this time the ministry did continue, and Mihael was active, as much as he could be.
Volunteers in a grocery store
He was a TA at a mediation education, a guest trainer at two nonviolent communication and action trainings, had a number of one to one coaching sessions, and did some book-reviews on topics related to peace building and mediation. He was invited to East Croatia to have a workshop on nonviolent communication. This area is still suffering from post-war national divisions and this segregation is very tangible in everyday life, between political and religious leaders. Although very interested, Mihael could not go, because he just could not combine his work and ministry. For a long time, Mihael was (and in many ways still is) somehow stranded between the eagerness to pursue developing INTeRo ministry in full-time capacity and an inability to do it. Now, Mihael will bravely give it another go. Starting in February Mihael will continue to work half-time as a tourist agent (for existential reasons) and simultaneously work on developing INTeRo ministry. It is almost needless to say that prayers, motivational letters or just any kind of support is more than welcome.
Thank you for taking your time to read this looooong newsletter. Thank you all for supporting our ministry and please continue to pray for us. God bless you!!!
YFCC team