21 February 2011
THE YOUTH FESTIVAL
from a JET (young overseas volunteer) living in Divinopolis
O Festival de verão
We have just taken part in this summer's Youth Festival that was held in Belo Horizonte from 20 to 23 January. Nearly 100 young people got together in a magnificent setting to praise, to sing and to be together. The mornings were devoted to teaching and prayer times, the afternoons were for relaxation (football, swimming pool, choral singing, dancing), and the evenings for praise and reconciliation.
I was touched by the joyful prevailing party atmosphere. Brazilians have the ability to get close very quickly. This frightened me at first, so much kissing and hugging even with people you didn't know. But here, greeting people by taking them in your arms is a great sign of respect and affection.
In addition I was happy to notice that with God there are no barriers, no frontiers. No matter if you come from a rich or a poor family, no matter if you went to a good or a poor school, we all have the same goal: to share and to meet one another, as we follow Christ. Being in a fraternity (sharing group) allows us to express what we are experiencing at home, with our family or our friends...times of joy s well as moments of difficulty. This is place to be listened to, where each person can express himself freely without being judged. So the relationships that we build allow us to understand others in many ways, personal, social, spiritual; The festival is a favoured time when we meet others but where we can also confront ourselves in the light of the word of God.
Gaël
(You can real the whole of Gaël's testimony in French on the Chemin Neuf web-site The Chemin Neuf Community, under "jeunes' then "JET" (Gaël in Divinopolis, January 2011)
