Tears, saying goodbye, and a ...

Now, this is the end. The last day of this year’s youth meeting. After everything is packed and tidied up, we got to say goodbye. After some tears already we walked to the train station together to have some last hugs and the last goodbye. Plans are made already to see each other again. We are proudly looking forward to planning the next youth meeting in two years. And maybe there can even be ways so meet each other in between. Love.  

Our very last day

On our last full day here, we got to go to Munich again in the morning. Right after breakfast, we all had the chance to do the things we couldn’t do yesterday or to buy the shops empty we couldn’t buy empty yesterday. Some of us used the time go the BMW world and have a look at fantastic cars of the last decades made by BMW. Others took the time again to relax, enjoy a coffee or buy a last present for their secret friend, a game we played for the last days where everyone gets a name and…

Dancing in the rain

On our second last day, we went to Munich again. After some inspiring group work in the morning and lunch we took the train to the city. We parted into small groups to do whatever we had in favour. Some went to see the Allianz Arena, to have a tour inside and buy merchandise of the FC Bayern MĂŒnchen. Others tried to buy clothes from every store that exists around the Marienplatz (they really gave their best) while others enjoyed the time relaxing in cafes or on the streets. After dinner at Munich‘s best Falafel & Shawarma Shop we headed…

Artproject, Day 2

Today was the second day of our art project. To get some photos for our exhibition, we split into groups and went to Gauting. The goal was to take some pictures or videos to set the scene for our artworks. First we went to the train station and met some local people who were interested in our artworks. They asked a couple of questions and we had a short chat with them. It was really nice and a little bit unexpected to get in touch with people through this. Afterwards we went to a playground and took some of our favourite pictures. We were always looking for new ways to highlight another aspect of the artworks. Most of us had never done something like this before. It was fascinating to look at everyday settings from this unusual perspective. A lot of ideas were put into action right away. On our way back we stopped almost every 50 meters for some more pictures. Because of this we were a few minutes late. It seems that creativity and punctuality don’t work together that well. After some spare time we started to prepare the exhibition. We had to make a decision on which pictures we wanted to use. For some of us that was really hard ? The exhibition itself was a really nice event. We had some snacks and got to know more about each others artworks. All in all the â€žSign it out loud“ exhibtion was a big success!    

Artsy-Dartsy Artproject, Day 1

On Monday we welcomed a guest that some of us knew from the past of the youth exchange. Anna-Lena, who had been a part of the leading team in the past years, arrived for an art project with us. The very political project started with the visit of a member of the „Fridays For Future“ – movement in Munich, who talked about climate change and the origins of this movement and answered all our questions about global warming and the activism against the destruction of the environment. In the afternoon we asked ourselves the question: „What do we stand up…

Meeting with the deanery

Oh, hey there, person reading this, it‘s us again! We‘re back again from our family stay and we‘re ready to share everything with you! So we went to church with our host families on Sunday morning to attend the service. After lunch we all came to Bad Tölz, the capital of the deanery, to meet the deacon and other people from the church and the Lutheran youth to introduce our group and the youth meeting to them and also the parents. We also shared the experiences in the families while having coffee and cake. Many of the Germans wore traditional…

A fantastic family stay!

We started our wekeend with a brunch, to which we had invited the German hosting families.  The food was a mixture of our typical „German“ breakfast and Palestinian dishes that a group had prepared in the morning. After that, there was time to get to know the German families better. Groups consisting of two to five Palestinians got to go home with the German participants and their families. One group vistited a middle ages festival and got to learn about the era of knights. They also got to take a look at some of the local churches. Another group enjoyed the beautiful nature that can be found in the alps. In the evening a big part of the group met up at a music party that took place in a corn field. We enjoyed…

The Dachau memorial site

This morning we started a little bit earlier than the other days. After breakfast we went to the train station and took the train to munich. In munich we went on the train to Dachau and took the bus to the concentration camp memorial site. When we arrived we met Maria Stettner who is a member of the lutheran church in bavaria. She works in the oecumenical department and is responsible for our partnership. She joined us to see how our partnership looks like. We split our group in two and had a guided tour through the memorial site. We…

Growing together as a group ...

Our day started off as usual. A delicious breakfast from 8 to 9am. We gathered at 9:30am, Volker gave us an overview about the Dachau concentration camp, which we will be attending tomorrow. Afterwards we took a walk to see a really interesting sculpture about the death march of the imprisoned people. Until lunch we enjoyed our free time. Until 2pm, Sally prepared a spectacular arabic food for us (makloubeh). With more free time some of us rested, meanwhile others ate icecream. At 3pm, we wandered a little further than before (which some of us took as a possibility again…

Rain, rain & sometimes without ...

Oh, hey there, person reading this, it‘s us again! We‘re back again from our family stay and we‘re ready to share everything with you! So we went to church with our host families on Sunday morning to attend the service. After lunch we all came to Bad Tölz the capital of the deanery to meet the deacon and other people from the church and the Lutheran youth to introduce our group and the youth meeting to them and also the parents. We also shared the experiences in the families while having coffee and cake. Many of the Germans wore traditional…

A warm-welcome second day

Hello to everyone reading this! We’d really appreciate it if youtook some time out of your day to read about what we have experienced today in the youth meeting. Most of us had a great first night in the institute, we we are all well rested and less tired than we were yesterday After we had breakfast at 8 we had a meeting, where we played multiple games to help us all to get to know each other better to make it less intense and more comfortable and welcoming to make everyone feel more at home. We had lunch at…

Our very first day

Today was our first day! Sadly there was rain, which was unusual since the weather was hot all week long before. We all came together in a group for the first time and got to know each other. After a really long day for the palestinians and the germans we finally got something to eat. And we played some games to get to know each other even more. After that we got the keys to our rooms, we could have free time to rest. Then we had dinner, and after that we discussed the rules for the two weeks. We…

Going back home

Today was our last day so after packing our stuff and eating breakfast most of us gathered in the courtyard one last time for a short service and a reflection while some stayed with the few of us that had gotten sick :(. In the short service some of us prayed for each other: Dear Lord, on our journey we have experienced many new things. We take these situations with us as memories. The view over Palestine, many different kinds of food, many many churches and arab words. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet new people, old…
The final day

The final day

In the morning we started taking the bus to Bethlehem and visited the organisation „wings of Hope“, wich works with traumatized persons in palestine. It was very interesting to hear about the work they are doing and the traumas that are caused by the political and cultural situation. Afterwards all of us decided to visit the Banksy museum and hotel next to the Wall in Bethlehem. Visiting it was a really special experience, it was a museum full of the history of palestine and banksyÂŽs drawings and graffities. The building is full of paintings about peace and the deep hope for…
The "long" walk

The "long" walk

After a great night in our guestfamilies, where we enjoyed the possibility to sleep longer than throughout the last days, and where we had a delicious breakfast and arab lunch we all met again in Talitha Kumi. From there we started our hiking trip to the valley of Battir. We walked through the fantastic nature of Makhroor to learn about fields where the Romans used to grow plants by building irrigation systems and terraces, some of them still existing today. We could finish the hike nearly without any casualties, still the whole group worked togehter to get everyone to the…

The centre of religions

Because of us having breakfast at 7:30 we had to get up early. After breakfast we drove by public bus to Jerusalem, where we first went to the western wall, there we saw a jewish festivity. Afterwards we went to the Al-Aqsa Mosque on top of the Temple Mount. There we were told, that not only the buildings are mosques, but the whole Mountain is holy and all of the small openair buildings are mosques. The next stationon that day, was also the second station on JesusÂŽ way to his crucifixtion, so the Church of the Condemnation, here Jesus first…

Hebron

After our second night at Tabgha we woke up early to have breakfast and pack our stuff. We really enjoyed our time there together and saying goodbye was really hard. Three and a half hours later we arrived in Hebron, where our first stop was a traditional glass factory. Back in the bus we started our citytour, which was interrupted by a short lunch-break. By foot we continued our tour and went to a rooftop, where we had a first glance at shuhada street, a part of the city palestinians are not allowed to enter. We also visited Machpela, the…

Sea of Galilee

Our first night at Tabgha was very nice. Those who woke up early were able swim in the pool to wake up properly. After breakfast we started another church rally. First we went to the beatitudes church which has a very beautiful architecture. The flowers in the garden and the awesome view made it even more enjoyable. We also went to Caphernahum (the town of Jesus) and Saint Peters church. It was very touching to see the places where Jesus lived and bulit his church. After lunch and another jump in the pool we went on a boat ride on…

Where Jesus walked

We started our day by leaving Talitha Kumi at 7:55. We drove to Nazareth. We visited 3 churches on our way, the first one was built on a place where Maria saw an angel who told her that she will be pregnant. Then we walked through the old city and visited the synagogue church after that we went to the basilica of the annuciation. It was a big church. It has 43 national mosaics of Mary. Then we drove to the jumping mountain. There we had Manakesh for lunch and we enjoyed the panorama view. It was amazing so we…

Jerusalem - a city of ...

Today we had to get up very early after a short bus drive we visited a service at the church of the redeemer, then we went on a trip with a guide of ICAHD through east Jerusalem. He told us, what the isrealian goverments official reason for building a wall in a completely different place than the border from 1976 is. But seeing all the illegal settlements, hearing about them and the weird location of the wall makes clear that there canÂŽt be a good explanation for all of that. And he told us some things about the organisation he…

A roller coaster of emotions

Today was a day full of several diversified emotions.Our first step today was the lutheran school of hope in ramallah where pastor Imad sharedwith us the problems faced by this school being built in an industrial area where a lot of loud noises and bad smells are present. We also had to remember how important education is for new generations. Because it needs a lot of strength to not reply to the conflict of their reality with anger. Around noon we went to visit the graveyard of the former president of palestine which had several symbols all around to resemble…

The hot weather

The day began very early and we headed directly through a checkpoint to Jericho. It was very hot and we reached the Sea Level, we saw the desert and the Israeli settlement too. In Jericho we went for a 15 minute walk to buy some fruits, and the bananas itÂŽs known for.  After that we walked to the tree of Zacharias, and we discussed his story. Then we went to the mountain of temptation, where a church was built. We had a very beautiful view, because the church was built very high, so we were able to see Jordan. After…

Bethlehem & Refugee Camp

We started the day visiting the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, located south of Bethlehem, where we talked with a man, who grew up in the camp. He told us the stories of the refugees, their eviction from their orignal homes and their struggle for the right to return. After a small walk through we took the Bus to the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, where we saw the place where Jesus was born. We also visited the Milk Grotto. Then we had a rest to eat the wonderful falafel in the shadows of the trees of the manger square.After splitting into small…

Exploring the surrounding area

After the germans finally got some sleep, we started the day with some good breakfast. Then we had a look around Talitha Kumi and went on a very long hike to the winery Cremisan. On our way to Cremisan we took a break from the sun and the heat, as we enjoyed our Falafel in the shadows. When we finally arrived at the winery, we got to take a look behind the curtains. We basically melted on our way from Cremisan to the lutheran church of Beit Jala. There we were provided with cold drinks and Ashraf told us more…

The beginning

Our day started really early when we left home at 3 am, to get to the airpot in Munich.After a short waiting session at the airport, where we watched the sun go up, we took the flight to Vienna, where we waited another two hours and then flew to Tel Aviv.Because we woke up very early or some of us didnÂŽt sleep at all, most of us slept the whole flight. When we got food, everyone was awake. At 14.50 we finally arrived in Tel Aviv. After we went through security, where we had to answer some questions, we went…

Pray for each other

Pray for each other Friday, 2017/08/11  Dear Lord, thank you for being the one that is always there for us, we come from the Holy Land, from the place that you have lived and died for our salvation. We would first like to thank you for the nice people we have had the chance to meet in this conference. They have made it home away from home for us, so for that we are thankful. We would like to pray for our German partners, friends and companions to keep them healthy, safe and sound. We would like to pray for…

Finally - Shopping in Munich!

  Finally – Shopping in Munich! Thursday, 2017/08/10  In between a visit to the BMW World and eating the best Falafel in Munich it was all about Shopping, Shopping, Shopping. The last money was spent on new clothes and one could even say there was no chocolate left in the supermarkets in Bad Tölz. In our final reflection we were thinking about what we want to take with us – what we want to leave behind – What is expecting me when I get home and are there any changes of perception because of all the impressions we had. We…

10 years of partnership

  10 years of partnership  Wednesday, 2017/08/09 „10 years of youth meeting with Palestine“ 10 years of youth meetings What is the summary of those 10 years? Let me point out 4 topics related to the photos we just saw: International youth meetings are sponsored of course by the Lutheran Church, and also by the German government. Every time before the program, we have to discuss aims with our sponsors. Afterwards, we have to evaluate what young people learned when they participated in this programs. 1. Palestine and Bavaria – culture and society We learn about culture and society. We…

Enjoying Bavarian nature

  Enjoying Bavarian nature   Tuesday, 2017/08/08 On Tuesday, we went to lake Kirchsee where we had a lot of fun swimming with our friends. We also had a lot of fun playing card games with each other. Later at night, we had a nice time watching ‚Little Miss Sunshine‘ with popcorn, nachos and coke, which is a nice movie to watch all together. Then we sat to hang out all together with each other and went to sleep (more or less…) Bashar  

Just another journey

  Just another Journey  Monday, 2017/08/07 On Monday was the time for the big farewell in Neukirchen. After breakfast and cleaning the rooms we went outside to send good wishes with balloons. With one last goodbye-hug the first part of the group left to the train. The other part left some time later with the cars. After we had arrived in Bad Tölz and settled in, we drove to the Marktstraße, had some icecream and went down to the river Isar and enjoyed the evening. Paula  

How can you be the ...

  How can you be the light of the world?  Sunday, 2017/08/06 This day was all about the sunday service and the phrase of …. Every nationality was asking themselves how they can be light of the world at their homes. Jakob (Germany): „You are the light of the world. ThatÂŽs what Jesus told the people listening to him. This was a great promise. But also an obligation. Light ist essential for life. Plants need it to grow. Humans need it too. But itÂŽs not important to be the biggest light. ItÂŽs to spread the light across and along your…

Workshop "Speed-Dating": How is your ...

  Workshop „Speed-Dating“ – How is your live in…?  Saturday, 2017/08/05 We had breakfast at 8:15 to 10 oÂŽclock and like everyday it tasted well. Then we had a meeting at the big tent where some leaders presented their workshops. They offered workshops like: sports, music, drum course, songs and meditation. In the workshops we played soccer, badminton and tried to juggle. After that we had lunch at 12:30 where a kind of Asian food was available. In the long spare-time we enjoyed the good weather. In the afternoon we „were invited to…“ different things. So everyone offered things to…

Trip to Wittenberg

Trip to Wittenberg  Friday, 2017/08/04 On this day, we spent a loooong time on the bus to visit Wittenberg. The city where Martin Luther knocked the 95 thesis at the door of the Castlechurch. It is also the place where he lived, studied and taught at the university. Because of the 500 Years of Reformation there was a big 360° Panorama of Wittenberg in the Middle Ages. The Artist Yadegar Asisi found a few great words about Martin Luther: „For me, the significance of Martin LutherÂŽs legacy is his demand for self-determination.“ Anna-Lena

Freedom and responsibility

Freedom and responsibility Thursday, 2017/08/03 The day began with different workshops, we chose the workshop about the life in the holy land and everybody enjoyed listening to personal stories and experiences, told by the Palestinians.  After eating a more or less delicious Pizza, we continued with another workshop, our workshop was a roap course combined with games for team building. It was a great experience for the group and everybody worked together well. We also had a challenge for the day: Every room had to design their personal doorsign with their names on it. The most beautiful one will win…

A day in Coburg

A day in Coburg Wednesday, 2017/08/02 Through our trip to Coburg, we learned a lot of new things about Martin Luther and his life. We also learned about other stuff, like the weapons they fought with and the things they used in their daily lives in the Middle Ages. Throughout our visit to the castle, we learned that Martin Luther wrote many letters about the Reformation and they still licated in the castle until this day. After the castle we went to the church that Martin Luther preached in. Then at night, we had a disco party with black lights…

The first day all together

The first day all together Tuesday, 2017/08/01 We started the day with a fun art project about the Reformation. Then we played football with the Malaysians and everybody. Later on, in the afternoon, we painted and made our own custom gymbags. The most fun part was when we got to learn each others traditional dances. First each nation presented its dance, then everybody joined in! Charlie & Lasse

Youth meeting 2017 with start-up ...

Youth meeting with start-up difficulties Sunday, 2017/07/30 & Monday, 2017/07/31 In anticipation of picking up our friends from Palestine at Munich Airport, bad news came to us: because of a thunderstorm between Vienna and Munich, the participants, who had to travel via Amman, were unable to make their way to Munich. Only the four travelling via Tel Aviv arrived in Munich on Sunday evening and drove with Volker across Bavaria to Neukirchen near Coburg, where the German part of our group was already waiting longingly. Meanwhile Charly, Claudia and Jakob waited for the others near to the Airport. On Monday…

Remember the past - create ...

Remember the past – create future 24. Mai 2016 Wenn Sophie, Hans und all die anderen das wĂŒssten: Begegnung mit Ruth & Michael Smuss in Tel Aviv Unser letzter Tag ist angebrochen. Am Vorabend sind wir aus Jerusalem mit dem Zug wieder durch die wunderbare unberĂŒhrte Berglandschaft ganz gemĂ€chlich zurĂŒck nach Tel Aviv gerattert. Wir passierten die Stelle, an der wir auf unserer Wanderung auf die Bahnstrecke gestoßen sind. Die Erinnerungen an die letzten acht Tage zogen vor meinem inneren Auge vorbei und vermischten sich mit dem einschlĂ€fernden „tack-tack, tack-tack“ der Bahnschwellen. Wir erreichten die „KĂ€seglocke“ Tel Aviv, unser „Partyhostel“…

Ost-Jerusalem, wo ist das?

Ost-Jerusalem, wo ist das? 23. Mai 2016 Eine StadtfĂŒhrung der besonderen Art… SpĂ€t vormittags machten wir uns erneut auf den Weg nach Jerusalem, um mit unserem Tourguide, Yahav von ICAHD (Israeli Committee against house demolitions), eine Stadtbesichtigung der besonderen Art zu machen: Eine Tour durch Ost-Jerusalem. „Welches Ost-Jerusalem?“ möchte man zurĂŒck fragen, denn neben vielen anderen Dingen, fĂŒr die uns Yahav die Augen öffnete, fiel auch ziemlich schnell auf, dass es keinen offiziellen Stadtplan von Jerusalem gibt, in dem der Ostteil der Stadt ĂŒberhaupt vorkommt, in dem die palĂ€stinensischen Wohnviertel liegen und die Mauer verlĂ€uft. Auf der dreistĂŒndigen Tour bekamen…

Sonntag in der Himmelfahrtskirche

Sonntag in der Himmelfahrtskirche 22. Mai 2016 Der letzte Tag in Jerusalem Heute Morgen machten wir uns auf den Weg zum Ölberg, um gemeinsam mit der lutherischen Gemeinde Gottesdienst mit Abendmahl zu feiern. Anschließend gab es noch Kaffee und kalte GetrĂ€nke und wir bekamen sogar den SchlĂŒssel zur Kirche, um auf den Turm zu steigen und die phĂ€nomenale Aussicht ĂŒber Jerusalem, das Tote Meer und sogar Jordanien zu genießen. Wieder am Damaskustor angekommen, trafen wir auf Volker, hatten wieder mal Falafel zu Mittag und starteten dann in Richtung Mt. Zion, um Oskar Schindlers Grab zu besuchen. Nach ein paar kleinen…

Stadtralley und Wanderung

Stadtralley und Wanderung 21. Mai 2016 Entwicklung einer Stadterkundung in Jerusalem Heute haben wir uns in zwei Gruppen aufgeteilt. Aufgrund der gesundheitlichen Situation vieler von uns entschieden wir uns gegen die gemeinsame Wanderung im Wadi Kelt und letzten Endes brachen nur Charly und Laura gemeinsam mit Paul dorthin auf. Der Rest der Gruppe blieb am Vormittag in Abrahams Herberge und beschĂ€ftigte sich mit thematischen Planungseinheiten, die man mit zukĂŒnftigen Jugendgruppen durchfĂŒhren kann. In Orientierung an den relevanten Bibelstellen entwarfen wir eine Stadtralley durch Jerusalem der Via Dolorosa, dem Leidensweg Jesu von der Verurteilung bis zum Kreuz. Danach brachen wir nach…

live, laugh, love, party, plan

live, laugh, love, party, plan 20. Mai 2016 Besuch in Ramallah Leider startete unser Tag damit, dass wir Tascha und Volker in der Herberge zurĂŒck lassen mussten, da beide sich nicht gut gefĂŒhlt hatten. Wir machten uns nun zu sechst auf den Weg nach Ramallah, um zunĂ€chst die Konrad Adenauer Stiftung zu besuchen. Dort angekommen, erzĂ€hlten wir in einem gut einstĂŒndigen GesprĂ€ch erst von unserer Partnerschaft und unseren PlĂ€nen und erhielten von unseren GesprĂ€chspartnern Klarheit und BestĂ€rkung fĂŒr unser Tun. Sie erwĂ€hnten ebenfalls, dass unsere Partnerschaft etwas sehr Besonderes ist, da es nicht viele Partnerschaften nur mit PalĂ€stinensern gibt. Sie…

Erinnerung und Name

Erinnerung und Name 19. Mai 2016 Besuch in der GedenkstĂ€tte Yad Vashem Nach dem FrĂŒhstĂŒck trafen wir uns mit Ashraf in Bethlehem, um mit ihm gemeinsam den Checkpoint zu durchqueren und mit dem Bus nach Jerusalem zu fahren. Die Durchquerung des Checkpoints war wieder eine beklemmende Erfahrung. In Jerusalem angekommen, machten wir uns direkt auf den Weg zur Erlöserkirche. Dort trafen wir Pfarrer Ibrahim Azar, den wir als Barhum kennen. Mit ihm und Ashraf beprachen die Zukunft unserer Partnerschaft mit besonderen Augenmerk auf das kommende Jahr. Zum 500-jĂ€hrigen ReformationsjubilĂ€um organisiert die ejb ein internationales Jugendcamp an dem auch wir mit…

Auf den Spuren des friedlichen ...

Auf den Spuren des friedlichen Widerstands 18. Mai 2016 Das Ringen ums palĂ€stinensische GrĂŒn Heute trafen wir „unseren“ Guide Noor in Bethlehem, um mit ihm Battir (engl. House of Birds) und die umliegenden TĂ€ler zu erkunden. Nach einer kurzen Fahrt begannen wir unsere Wanderung, in der uns Noor erklĂ€rte, dass wir uns ohne jegliche Sicherheitskontrollen auf israelisches Gebiet begeben können. Von der Landschaft beeindruckt, erreichten wir Battir, ein Dorf mit ca. 6.000 Einwohnern und einer sehr interessanten Geschichte: Schon Mustafa Hassan versuchte 1948 mit friedlichem Widerstand zu verhindern, dass Battir unter israelische Besatzung fĂ€llt. Dies fĂŒhrte dazu, dass noch bis…

Unser erster Tag in PalÀstina

Unser erster Tag in PalĂ€stina 17. Mai 2016 Wiedersehen mit Jugendpfarrer Ashraf Tannous Nach einem weiteren halben Tag mit viel Organisation und Planung haben wir mittags endlich wieder unseren alten Partner/Freund (!) Ashraf Tannous getroffen. Bei Falafeln, Shawarma und Softdrinks wurde sich intensiv ausgetauscht ĂŒber die spannende kommende Woche, die Partnerschaft und die Situation im Land. Dabei redeten wir auch ĂŒber die Messerattacken, die in jĂŒngster Vergangenheit stattfanden und die grausam und traurig sind.  Es wurde auch deutlich, dass die Gefahr, dass sich palĂ€stinensische Jugendliche radikalisieren, unter den gegebenen UmstĂ€nden sehr hoch ist.  Von Ashraf haben wir erfahren, dass sich…

Salam und Shalom

Salam und Shalom 16. Mai 2016 Auch in diesem Jahr hat sich eine Gruppe von acht frischen, kreativen und motivierten Leuten auf den Weg nach PalĂ€stina gemacht. Die kommende Woche werden wir nutzen, um einerseits die bestehende Partnerschaft zu stĂ€rken und das kommende ReformationsjubilĂ€um zu planen. Andererseits werden wir neue mögliche  Programmpunkte ausprobieren. Wie bereits in den letzten Jahren könnt ihr hier lesen, was wir so machen. Viel Spaß! Nach einer viel zu kurzen Nacht trafen sich Volker, Michaela, Anna-Lena, Laura, Charly, Annette und Lucas am MĂŒnchner Flughafen, um sich auf den Weg zu  machen. Nach einer intensiven Befragung beim…

Time to sing goodbye

Time to sing goodbye 18. August 2015 Leaving Palestine on a Jet plane All our bags are packed WeÂŽre ready to go WeÂŽre standing here in Palestine We hate to leave you and to say goodbye But the dawn is breakinÂŽ ItÂŽs early morn The bus is waiting ItÂŽs blowinÂŽ his horn Already we are missing you we could cry So hug us and smile with us Tell us that weÂŽll meet again And that we will see each other soon Cause weÂŽre leavinÂŽ on a jetplane We know that weÂŽll be back again Oh friends, we hate to go…

Glory in the last hours

Glory in the last hours 17. August 2015 Today it was the last real day in Palestine, so we went shopping in Bethlehem. After we had arrived there we split into little groups to walk through the market on our own. At the ICB we had our lunch – one more time some delicious Falafel. After that we split again into two groups. While one group went back to Talihta, the other continued shopping and spent their last Schekel. At 4 pm we had our final feedback round and thought about things to change or to continue for the next…

Ghost town with the EAPPI

Ghost town with the EAPPI 16. August 2015 We started the day leaving the host families‘ houses, then at 9:00 am the whole group joined the service at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem. After the service we went to „Temple Mount“ in the old city of Jerusalem. Afterwards we headed to the Western Wall. At noon we caught up with the whole group and went to pick some „Falafel“ which are delicious Palestinian sandwiches. We took a bus to head to Hebron. Then we headed to the „Martyrs Street“ where three members from the „EAPPI“ (Ecumenical Accompaniment…

Coming home to Jerusalem

Coming home to Jerusalem 15. August 2015 After breakfast we took the public buses, then we walked to the checkpoint along the wall in Bethlehem which was full of street art. After we passed successfully we took another bus to Jerusalem, where we first visited the historical city and the market there. Then we walked the Via Dolorosa and visited some churches, e.g. the Church of the Redeemer and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. After enjoying the wonderful sight from the tower of the Church of the Redeemer we had some free time to spend in the market together…

Dancing on the Sea of ...

Dancing on the Sea of Galilee 14. August 2015 This morning it was 7:30, when some of us got up in order to go swimming in the lake (Galilee). Breakfast was at 9:00, after that we had free time so all the Germans went to the lake again and the Palestinians played cards near by the pool. We helped preparing sandwiches for lunch, then we prepared ourselves to leave Tabgha. Everyone was looking forward to go to the boat where we all together had lots of fun like dancing and laughing. After that we visited three churches which were very…

Where Jesus walked...

Where Jesus walked… 13. August 2015 We started our day like everyday with a nice breakfast in the magnificent Talitha Kumi before we all got on the bus and started our journey to the Lake of Galilee located in Israeli territory. Our first stop was Nazareth where Jesus grew up. There we visited really interesting places – one even more holy than the other. An Orthodox and a Catholic church and the synagog where Jesus was praying when he was young. The next stop we had was at the fabulous Jordan River where people from all over the world come…

Dead Sea and history

Dead Sea and history 12. August 2015 We had to get up early today so we could catch up our trip today to the great city of Jericho. We took the road to Jericho where we had a nice view of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem from really far away. Then the first location we visited were the ruins of Massada. The most spectacular thing was looking at the Judaean Desert and the fantastic Dead Sea with the stony landscape around the location. Also the historical meaning of Massada was interesting for us and we got to understand…

Hope in Ramallah

Hope in Ramallah 11. August 2015 After experiencing Bethlehem yesterday we started our day by crossing two checkpoints to get to Ramallah. We first visited the Lutheran Church of Hope and the School. Afterwards the German group went to the German Representative Office to discuss some issues with Mrs. Claudia Busch. When we went back to the church, lunch was ready. Not being hungry anymore put us in the mood for playing some „ice-breaking games“. During the following freetime we got to meet and to know Palestinian youths from the Church of Hope in a better way. Then we headed…

Religion and refugees

Religion and refugees 10. August 2015 This day we started early to visit Bethlehem. After we reached the public bus we went to Nativity Church where we touched the Star of Bethlehem. Before we had some Falafel in the Internetional Center in Behtlehem we had some time to see the market and went shopping a little bit. Afterwards we saw the Milk Grotto and visited the Lutheran Church. After this very religious part we went to a refugee camp and met Mohammad who told us interesting and touching things about his life and living in this camp. When we asked…

Getting to know each other

Getting to know each other 9. August 2015 In the first morning in Palestine we visited the service in the Lutheran church in Beit Jala. It was a little bit different for us but we really enjoyed it. Afterwards we spontaniously decided to play a children’s game: „Empampe“, what turned out to be really funny! Back in Talitha we met the rest of the Palestinians. To get to know them better we played legendary „ice breaking games“. In the afternoon we got up to the roof of the schoolbuilding, where we had an amazing view. From there we could see…

The day has finally arrived

The day has finally arrived 8. August 2015 Although everybody had an early start catching the trains everything went smoothly. All of us arrived on time at the airport and even though the check-in took ages we caught our flight at the very last minute. After a short stopover in Vienna we arrived in Tel Aviv in the afternoon. Luckily, all of our luggage arrived as well and the passport control wasn’t a problem, either! We left the nicely air-conditioned Terminal and directly faced the heat. Fortunately, we already got quite used to it due to the current heat in…

Palestine, we'll be coming soon!

Palestine, we’ll be coming soon! Youthmeeting 2015 8. August to 18. August 2015 Last things are prepared, first things are packed and we are looking forward to 11 intensive and wonderful days in Palestine. In this Blog we would like to share our experiences with you and we hope you will enjoy and LIKE IT (also on facebook)! Best wishes your Team 2015 Natascha, Michaela, Anna-Lena, Valentin, Lucas & Volker

Time to say goodbye

Time to say goodbye 10. August 2014   Time to say good bye… Have a safe journey and see you next year!!!

Back in the hood

Back in the hood 9. August 2014   After the stay in the families our members arrived safely back in Benediktbeuern. Just a few hours of spare time before we started to prepare a „colourful evening“ to celebrate the last evening in a adequat way. The evening was initiated by an awesome barbecue Marion and Ashraf made for us. Then the time had come for a magnificent spectacle the leaders created to summarize the last ten days to begin the colourful evening. All the following acts the members presented were wonderful. A lot of great dancing acts and Maria as…

The day at the families

The day at the families  8. August 2014   We met our families in the afternoon. Then we drank coffee and ate cakes.  Also we looked at the wall we did the day before. As we finally arrived at home, there was a lot to show. The lake of „Tegernsee“, our montains and our house, of course. But in the evening we talked about political situations and the differences in life between Palestine and Germany. The time where we have been enjoying the families was so short. But really amazing! Hannah and Hind

The art project

The art project   7. August 2014   In the morning we started our day with a fabulous breakfast. Afterwards we got some time till everyone finished one stancil to try them on a big sheet of paper in front of the building. Then we painted the wall with black and white colour. This part was very funny because we didn’t only paint the wall but also our t-shirts, throusers and skin. The second part of the day began with lunch, continued with more time for stancils and posters for the wall and ended with the main part of the…

The day on Libi

The day on Libi    6. August 2014     First of all, itÂŽs everything but normal that visitors are allowed to go on the Lindenbichliland. ItÂŽs a big youth camp with around 300 children and leaders which normally donÂŽt want people to come on their island during the vacation. We prepared our day with a big and healthy breakfast and some short introductions by Volker who told us some basic behavior-things for example that we had to wear a sunprotection for the head. We started by car and drove around 45 min. to „Seehausen“ where we were waiting for…

The day in the memorial ...

The day in the memorial site of the concentration camp Dachau    5. August 2014     After we had our breakfast we prepared ourselfes to go to Dachau. At first we went by car and enjoyed looking out of the window at the beautiful places in Germany. But when we arrived in Dachau the thoughts started to be emotional… We met Abba Naor, a Jew who survived the holocaust. He told us his life story from the beggining in Lithuania and ended up with the surviving the death march in Waakirchen where the americans freed the prisoners. After the…

The fabulous rafting day

The fabulous rafting day    4. August 2014     After our longterm getting up we had our fabulous breakfast. Volker told us about Dachau. Then we drove to the rafting and made a stop at the supermarket for shopping. At the rafting place we ate our fabulous lunch and got our introduction for the very exciting rafting. But sadly three people couldn’t go with us 🙁  We still had our fun. After the rafting we were very wet and had a bright smile in our face 😀 We drove home and had dinner and spare time
 In the late…

Another magnificent day

Another magnificent day    3. August 2014     After breakfast, we visited Miesbach for the sunday service. We also had lunch with some members of the parish in Miesbach. After some icecream we went back to Benediktbeuern to do workshops about famous people and a talk about peace. For example Mahatma Gandhi about streetart and its meaning. We finished the day with a movie about Banksy, a famous british streetartist.  Jakob and Johnny

Munich

Munich    2. August 2014     At Saturday the 02.08.2014 we woke up at 8 o’clock. The breakfast was so fabulous. We made lunch-packets by ourselves and it was very funny because the toast wasn’t toasted and there were fruitsticks and everybody loves them. So all the guys were standing around the bowl with the fruitsticks and it was a kind of „fight“ :-). At 9.51 am we took the train to munich. Our tour started with the first problem: we had to find the way to the underground. But we are the „champions“ so at last we get…

The first day

The first day    1. August 2014     In the morning we woke up and went to help making breakfast. Before having breakfast, we always start with singing songs like „pflanze einen traum in den Sand“. After having breakfast we went with the boys to play football together. Playing football with the boys was difficult because they are a LITTLE better than us. We were waiting for the other Palestinians to arrive.In this time, all of us played kicker, ping-pong, and billiard which were very funny. After a couple of hours, they arrived and we all ate lunch together.…

Ahlan w sahlan - willkommen!

PalĂ€stina-Jugendbegegunung 2014 vom 31. Juli bis 10. August 2014     Wir hatten es kaum noch zu hoffen gewagt, aber dann klappte es doch: Unsere palĂ€stinensische Partnergruppe von der Lutherischen Jugend der ELCJHL konnte ihre Reise mit einer leichten VerspĂ€tung antreten. Wir freuen uns auf spannende Tage in Benediktbeuern und berichten hier in unserem Blog ĂŒber den Verlauf. Auf dem Bild seht ihr die deutschen Teilnehmer/innen, die ein Willkommensplakat fĂŒr unsere arabischen Freunde malen.

Arabic Evening

Today we had a great Day. We had late breakfast at 9:00 o’clock .After that we discussed about the day that we spent together at Dachau and talked about how we felt ! Then we decided to go to kochel see were some of us canoed and then we swam a bit in the ice cold water ! The people who had to cook and do things for the Arabic evening had to leave earlier then the others , thez cooked and designed a bit the room the our party began the food was really great! we started Dancing and…

Memorial Site in Dachau and ...

Today we went to Dachau. First of all we had a small tour and we saw many places there, were and how so much people died not a long time ago, and also we saw the crematory, which was really sad everybody felt really sorry for what happened. Then we met Max Mannheimer, a 91 years old man, who survived this horrible camp. He told us about his experiences and his history which was really interesting, we enjoyed the time with him and learned a lot, and now we have more information about what happened, and how it was really…

everyday there's sth to learn...!

lection one: as humans and as christian we are responsible for our history! because of that we want and have to raise our voice wherever there is any case of injustice or crime against humanity. lection two: just if somebody tell’s you you’re not clever – that doesn’t mean he’s right. so don’t give a damn he may have no idea… lection three: life is like the weather in germany!! (so go and enjoy every sunny moment!!) … and at least go on dancing and singing inside the kitchen while washing the dishes……….. 🙂 jud

Munich day 🙂

On the third of august, we went to meat Mr. Fouad Hamadan, the leader of the One-World-House in munich and we talked to him and asked him some questions about the situation of foreigners and their problems in the germany. After a delicious lunch we had a citytour in the old city of munich and we watched the cityhall, the „alten Peter“ and the „Frauenkirche“. But at least the important thing for us guests was the shoppingtour in the end. Also the thunderstorm couldn’t stop us here… 😉 on our way back we thought that we lost somebody while changing…

the amazing "we" ;

and like always we’ve been just „selig“!

football-fun

Today, we got to know each other more through games. For example we played a very funny game, where one chair is unoccupied and person is in the middle of the circle. The person has to try to get on a chair while the others move from chair to chair. In the afternoon we discussed the short-movie called “strangers”, we watched on Sunday. The discussion was very interesting, because everyone had a different opinion. When the sun came out in the late afternoon we went to the footballfield and played football. It was a very funny game because, although one…

Ű­ÙŠŰ§Ű© Ű§Ù„ŰźÙ„Ű§ŰĄ/Outdoor life

The third day: In the morning the girls had their laugh While sitting at the breakfast table they recognized that the room was quite empty. All the boys were missing, still lying in their beds and sleeping. Then we had to leave soon to catch the train. Only the ones who had washing mission came afterwards by car. At the Staffelsee we visited Libi the youth camp of the dinary. The leaders said they want to teach the kids there Christian believes in an easy way and then to show our Palestinian guests we played „Daumen raus, Ellenbogen ran,…“ The…

The Arrival

The first morning. The first things where those typical things you’re doing in the first days: Tiredly having Breakfast and playing more games to remember names. Finally we got to know each other more than just by name. Everyone was drawn on paper and you could fill yourself with details of you’re personality. A film was watched: ”Strangers” (“Star of David” provokes “person with Arabian newspaper”, but then they both have to flee of “skinheads”). Lunch was bread again. First wondered as there would anytime something else, but they were calmed in the evening. Some lady showed us a small…

Marhaba w ahlan w sahlan

Hey guys and friends the partnership between our „Dekanat Bad Tölz“ and the congregations is now several years old. after the visit of our youth group last summer(everybody likes to remember these days btw :D) we are happy to welcome our friends here in Germany and spend with them the next days.Together we’ll stay in Benediktbeuern; from there we will go for some trips and have some great adventures. inshallah….:)Yesterday we picked our guests up at the Franz-Josef-Strauss-airport in Munich. In the evening after finally arriving at „Maierhof“ we checked the location and soccered on the table.To see what we…