TAIZÉ

Kigali 2012

Echoes of the meeting

 

Some of the young people who took part in the “Pilgrimage of Trust” answered two questions at the end of the meeting.

What was the strongest experience you had during the meeting?

Rachel (Kenya)
Meeting people from different cultures and visiting places of hope.

Voahirana (Madagascar)
Praying to God together, even if our languages, our cultures and our churches are different from one another.

Monalisa (Kenya)
The prayer, especially the long moments of silence which are rare in everyday life.

Julia (Germany)
Seeing all these people from different countries, especially the Africans, dancing and singing to God. I’d never seen anyone live their faith like that before. It was unbelievable!

What responsibilities do you hope to be able to take up when you get home?

Christine (Rwanda)
I am going to take a few minutes of silence with God each day. And share all the good things I’ve learnt here with my family and at my church.

Voahirana (Madagascar)
I want to tell people the good news of peace, to be welcoming and show hospitality to people. I also want to learn other languages to be able to communicate with others.

Grace (Kenya)
I would like to work more closely with young people, and especially to encourage them to be ambassadors of peace in our nation and in other countries – to announce the Kingdom of Heaven and to always be an instrument of peace.

Rosolofoarinony (Madagascar)
I would like to get involved in working for unity, to search for unity between peoples. Thanks to the meeting I am more convinced, as I’ve been able to experience it here in Kigali, that when Jesus is in us, we are "one", like a single family. In Christ their is only "love". That’s why I want to announce the Gospel. I’d like to share that love of Christ through my life.


Reactions from the Young People

Some young Rwandans share their experiences of the last few days, from the last minute preparations to the welcome of the participants to the meeting.


Uwineza (from Cyahafi)

I hope that that participants, from different parts of the world, will be living witnesses of hope and trust to each other, during the meeting and afterwards.
 
To my knowledge, this meeting of thousands of young people is the first to organised jointly by the Catholic and Protestant Churches of my country. For me it’s a very strong sign that to work together, to live together and to seek the unity of our Churches is possible, if everyone makes an effort.

Jean-Pierre (from Kicukiro)

The meeting of families planning to welcome guests, before the beginning of the meeting itself, was very fruitful. Everyone was happy and expectant for this international youth meeting, and prepared to do their best so that the visitors would feel welcome in the families and in our parish.

Elyse (from Cyahafi)

This meeting is a very good opportunity to meet young people from different countries, which helps me to remember that I am not alone, that other young people struggle, too, for the same causes as me. Through our being together I will be more conscious that I am part of a great community of faith, which will give me the strength and courage to practice my faith more fully. I’d also like to experience again that silence that I found during the meeting in Nairobi: it was then that I realised the importance of silence in going deeper into my relationship with God.
Last updated: 18 November 2012