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  • Africa
    • South Africa: Regular prayers
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    • Meeting in Cape Town
      • Cape Town 2019: Meditations by Brother Alois
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      • Documents for registered participants
      • Music and Prayer resources
      • Next African stage of the Pilgrimage of Trust
      • What is at stake in the Cape Town meeting?
      • Background and reflection
        • Taizé and South Africa
        • Cape Town 2019: Some material for reading/watching about Cape Town and South Africa
        • Cape Town 2019: A reflection on silence
        • Archbishop Tutu and Taizé
        • Visiting the Eastern Cape province
        • “Giving birth to a new people” - Jaco Botha
        • “All began with a step of trust...” - John de Gruchy
        • Reflection: “Next year gathering can be a place of healing..." Ntombekhaya
    • Africa 2009 - 2017
      • Algeria: A meeting at Tlemcen: August 2011
      • Burundi May 2009: Building new relationships
      • Democratic Republic of Congo: A visit to Goma
      • Meetings and retreats in Nairobi : program for 2017
      • Mauritania: A journey from Dakar to Nouadhibou
      • Rwanda: Visits in November 2010
      • A Brother Visits South Sudan
      • Two Taizé brothers in South Africa
      • In South Sudan, summer 2013
      • Tanzania: Meetings in June 2010
      • Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso: Visits and meetings
      • Visits in Uganda
    • 2016: Meeting in Cotonou
      • Cotonou 2016: Photos
      • Benin: International young adult meeting in Cotonou
      • Cotonou 2016: Echoes of the Preparation in Bénin and Neighbouring Countries
      • Video clip: The preparation of the meeting in Cotonou
      • Spring 2016: The Preparation Continues in Cotonou and Elsewhere
      • Cotonou 2016: Looking for Paths of Hope Together
      • Cotonou 2016: Hope and joyful gratitude
    • 2012: Meeting in Kigali
      • Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth
      • How to prepare for the meeting
      • Kigali: Echoes from the Meeting
      • Preparation of the meeting
        • Practical information
        • Rwanda 2011: A new stage towards the meeting in Kigali in 2012
        • Kigali: The preparation in March
        • February-March 2012: Travel Log
        • June 2012: Travellog
        • Rwanda, September 2012 : News of the preparation
        • Kigali : Testimonies from Young People
        • Kigali Meeting: The last stage of the preparation...
      • Contacts
      • Photos
      • From Kigali to Rome
    • 2008: Meeting in Nairobi
      • With 7000 young Africans in Nairobi Taizé creates a sign of peace
      • The meeting in Nairobi: Day by day
      • Nairobi: Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Photos: Meeting in Nairobi
    • Africa 2006 - 2008
      • February-March 2006 : In East Africa
      • February 2007 : In East Africa
      • November 2007: A visit to South Africa
      • April-May 2007: In West Africa
      • Malawi: "A house that’s complete"
  • Americas
    • Argentina: An important small step forward in reconciliation
    • Prayers with songs from Taizé in Panama
    • Bolivia October 2009: Meetings in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamaba and El Alto
    • Pilgrimage of Trust in the Caribbean
    • Chile: A new stage in the pilgrimage of trust
    • Haiti: Messages from young people
    • Spring 2014: Pilgrimage of Trust in America
    • Mexico: Faith is alive everywhere
    • Visits in Peru
    • USA: Pilgrimage of Trust in St. Louis
      • Spring 2017: Pilgrims of Trust in Saint Louis
    • USA: Meeting in Pine Ridge
      • Pilgrimage of trust in the USA: Taizé at Pine Ridge: “Our pot is empty - you have to fill it”
      • Photos: Meeting in Pine Ridge
    • 2007: Meeting in Cochabamba
      • Day by day during the meeting
      • Photos: Meeting in Cochabamba
      • Taizé and Bolivia
    • 2010: Meeting in Santiago
      • Taizé and Latin America
      • The evening before Palm Sunday
      • A welcome that is warm, close and simple
      • Celebrating life with the people of Chile
      • In Argentina: An un-hoped for joy
      • For a fraternal world: Meeting in Santiago, Chile
      • In Chile: the pilgrimage of trust continues…
      • Photos
    • 2012: Meeting in Chicago
      • Meeting in Chicago: An interview with two of the brothers
      • Meeting in Chicago: Taizé-Chicago: Three-minute version
      • May 2012 meeting: Taizé in Chicago
      • Photos of the meeting in Chicago
    • 2019: Two Taizé Brothers in the USA in September-October 2019
  • Asia Pacific
    • Video: An introduction to Taizé
    • Australia: News of prayers, meetings and gatherings
    • Cambodia: Visits of Brothers
    • Taizé and China
    • China: Regular prayers in Shanghai
    • Taiwan: Meetings with a brother from Taizé in April 2015
    • Hong Kong: Prayers and meetings to "uncover the wellspring of trust in God"
    • Hong Kong: Preparatory Prayers for International Meeting 2018
    • Visit by two brothers to Indonesia
    • Indonesia: October 2011: At the World Christian Forum in Manado
    • Visits of Brother Alois in Asia
    • Japan 2014: Meetings with a brother from Taize
    • Japan, spring 2016: "How to awaken in us the courage of mercy? "
    • Kazakhstan : A visit in August 2010
    • Laos: Young Laotians and the pilgrimage of trust
    • East Malaysia: Easter in Kuching
    • A visit in Mongolia
    • Myanmar: “What is the source from which we draw life?”
    • The Courage of Mercy in the Philippines
    • The Philippines, 2016: Living the Courage of Mercy
    • August 2018: Two brothers in the Philippines
    • India, February-March 2013: Visits to Vasai and Mumbai
    • India 2018: Visits and prayers
    • Several prayers in India on the pilgrimage of Trust 2019
    • Sri Lanka: Visits in 2012
    • Thailand: Next prayers in Bangkok
    • Timor Leste: Visits in 2012
    • In Vietnam
    • Aotearoa-New Zealand: 2019 Pilgrimage in Aotearoa
    • Regular prayers in Asia
      • Regular Prayer in the Philippines
      • Regular prayer in Macau
      • Regular prayers in Hong-Kong
      • Regular prayers in Indonesia
      • Regular prayers in Singapore
      • Regular prayer in Malaysia
      • Japan: Regular prayers in Japan
      • Regular prayers in India
      • Prayers in Vietnam
    • 2018 Meeting in Hong Kong
      • August 2018: Pilgrimage of Trust in Hong Kong
      • Meeting in Hong Kong, August 2018: Practical information
      • Hong-Kong 2018: Meditations by Brother Alois
    • 2010 Meeting in Manila, Philippines
      • Philippines: Meeting in Manila: "Most simply I am grateful for life"
      • Pilgrimage of trust meeting in the Philippines
      • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Photos
      • Brother Alois 2010: Liham mula sa Ttsina
      • Brother Alois 2010: Sulat gikan sa Ttsina
    • 2006 Meeting in Kolkata, India
      • Pilgrimage of Trust in Kolkata: On the Road of Trust, Towards a Future of Peace
      • Kolkata: Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Taizé and India
      • Photos: Meeting in Kolkata
    • September 2017: Visits and prayers in India
  • Europe
    • European Meeting in Wrocław
      • The Next Taizé European Meeting Will Be Held in Poland
      • Meeting in Wrocław: Provisional Programme
      • Practical information
    • At the end of every year
      • Madrid 2018
        • Registration
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Madrid 2018: Photos
        • Messages received for the meeting
        • Madrid 2018: Programme of Workshops
      • Basel 2017
        • Next European Meeting: At the end of 2018 in Madrid
        • Basel 2017: Next European Meeting of Young Adults in Basel
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Basel 2017: Photos
      • Riga 2016
        • A novel European meeting at Riga in Latvia
        • Riga 2016: Film
        • A short history of Latvia (1)
        • A short history of Latvia (2)
        • Riga: Photos
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Valencia 2015
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Photos
      • Prague 2014
        • Prague: Some clips on the European Meeting
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • The meeting from day to day
        • Photos
      • Strasbourg 2013
        • Strasbourg: 30,000 young Europeans make “a large community of friendship” visible
        • Strasbourg meeting: Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Words of welcome from representatives of the Churches of Alsace and Ortenau
        • Strasbourg: Echoes from the Strasbourg Meeting
        • Photos
      • Rome 2012
        • Rome, January 2013: Some weeks after the European Meeting
        • The meeting from day to day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • 45 000 young people in Saint Peter’s Square to pray with Pope Benedict
        • Rome 2012: The faith of a scientist - one of the afternoon workshops
        • Photos
      • Berlin 2011
        • Meeting in Berlin: 30 000 young adults on the road towards a new solidarity
        • The Meeting Day by Day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Photos
      • Rotterdam 2010
        • 30 000 young people invited to reflect on joy and solidarity
        • The Meeting Day by Day
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
        • “The party is over but the legacy remains.”
        • Photos
      • Poznań 2009
        • Photos
        • “Poznań, capital of European Christian youth”
        • Meditations by Brother Alois
      • Brussels 2008
        • From the newspapers
        • Meeting in Brussels: Meditations by Brother Alois
        • Two addresses by Cardinal Danneels
        • Photos
      • Geneva 2007
        • Geneva elated to have welcomed the 40,000 young adults of Taizé
        • Photos
      • 2006: 40,000 young Europeans fill up with hope
      • 2005: Milan filled with the spirit of Brother Roger
      • 2004 Lisbon: The Urgency of Peace
      • 2003 Hamburg: The Face of the Church as Communion
      • 2002 Paris: A Larger Europe Breathes the Good News
      • 2001 Budapest: Hospitality, A Face of God
      • 2000 Barcelona: Sharing a Hope
    • Lviv 2018
      • Lviv 2018: Provisional programme
      • Lviv 2018: Practical information
      • Lviv 2018: Prayers with songs from Taizé
      • Meeting Booklet
      • Lviv 2018: End of April, First Taizé Meeting in Ukraine
      • Lviv 2018: A first meeting of Taizé in Ukraine in the spring sunshine
      • Lviv 2018: Pictures
      • Lviv 2018: Meditations by Brother Alois
    • Albania: “Visits from abroad”
    • Austria, March 2011: Meeting in Vienna
    • Austria: Meeting in Graz
      • Graz 2018: Graz 2018: Sharing the Future
      • Graz 2018: Practical Information
      • Graz 2018: program and songsheet
    • Belarus, September 2014: Discovering the Source of a Unity Beyond Borders
    • Autumn 2016: A Visit to Belarus
    • Bosnia-Herzegovina: After the meeting in Sarajevo
    • Bulgaria: 2010: Welcomed as long lost friends
    • Croatia: “Something that they want to share with others”
    • Czech Republic: Preparing “Vigils of Trust” in Prague, November 2012
    • Denmark: Visits in May 2010
    • Estonia 2012: Renewing trust
    • Hamina, City of Peace
    • Finland : A Chain of Friendship
    • Finland: Meeting in Helsinki
    • Germany, 2012: A visit to Cologne
    • France, All Saints 2016 : The testimony of refugees in Taizé
    • Present day Greece: a land of contrasts
    • Spring 2016: On the island of Lesbos with those who had to leave everything
    • April 2016: A Volunteer on a Boat Saving Refugees in the Mediterranean
    • Hungary: Accompanying the refugees
    • Hungary Octobre 2009: Meeting in Pécs, October 2009
    • Ireland: News from Ireland
    • Italy: March 2011: Prayers and visits
    • Mantova, September 2012: Brothers and volunteers visit a sorely tried region
    • Riga, September 2014: To the Baltic Countries as Pilgrims of Peace and Trust
    • Latvia 2012: Seeking signs of hope
    • Lithuania: Meeting in Vilnius in May 2009
    • Malta: “A silent cry that no one hears”
    • Moldova, February 2016: Come Back in the Spring!
    • Norway, Spring 2013: "We are truly one in Christ"
    • Pilgrimage of trust in Norway: Weekend meeting in Oslo and Trondheim
    • Sweden: Pilgrimage and apples
    • Taizé in Brussels: New paths of trust
    • Poland, October 2014: „Days of Communion” in Katowice
    • WYD 2016: Praying with the Songs of Taizé in Kraków
    • Portugal: Evening prayer in Porto
    • Romania, Easter 2016: Pilgrimage to Bucharest
      • Pilgrimage to Bucharest
      • Getting ready to take part
      • Celebrating Easter in Bucharest: Day by Day
      • Echoes from participants: To the Wellsprings of the Romanian Orthodox Tradition
      • Pictures from the Pilgrimage
    • Romania: Brother Alois’ visit in May 2008
    • Russia: Pilgrimage to a second springtime
    • Russia, Easter 2015: A Pilgrimage to Moscow, in the Light of the Resurrection
    • Russia: Easter 2011
      • Easter Celebrations in Taizé and Moscow
      • A Pilgrimage to Moscow
      • The pilgrimage to Moscow day by day
      • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Saturday 23 April
      • Pilgrimage to Moscow: Sunday 24 April
      • Message from Metropolitan Hilarion
      • Words of thanks of Brother Alois to Metropolitan Hilarion
      • Short film of the pilgrimage
      • Russia: Easter 2011: What did you experience in Moscow during the pilgrimage?
    • 2016: Continuing pilgrimage in Russia
    • Ljubljana, May 2012: A mosaic of encounters in the midst of the Slovenian springtime
    • Spain: Meeting in Seville: May 2009
    • Sweden 2016: Refugees, coffee and prayer
    • Sweden 2016: Prayer with Brother Alois in Lund
    • Istanbul, January 2013
      • Taizé and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
      • Pilgrimage, day by day
      • A word of welcome by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
      • Meditation by brother Alois
      • Photos of the pilgrimage
      • Young People’s Impressions
    • Turkey: Prayers in Istanbul
    • UK: Birmingham 2017
      • Echoes of Birmingham 2017
      • Workshops
      • Birmingham 2017: St. Chad’s Sanctuary
      • Birmingham 2017: Changing Tunes
      • Birmingham 2017: “Bringing Hope”
      • Birmingham 2017: Meeting Christ in the discarded
    • UK: Weekend in Edinburgh
      15-16 March 2014
    • Ukraine, October 2014: Faces of Hope
    • Ukraine, April 2015: An Eastertide Pilgrimage, between suffering and hope
    • Europe 2006 2007 2008
      • Austria: A journey through Austria
      • Bosnia-Herzegovina and Taizé
      • Denmark: “The great day of prayer"
      • Germany: In the North of Germany
      • In Greece and the Republic of Macedonia
      • Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina
      • In Latvia and Estonia: 2008
      • Russia: Brother Alois in Moscow in 2006
      • Russia: In Moscow in 2006: Taizé’s gratefulness for the Russian Orthodox Church
      • Russia: A visit in October 2006
      • Russia: A visit in November 2007
      • In Spain: 2008
      • Sweden: 2007 Meeting in Stockholm
      • Sweden: 2007 Stockholm meeting day by day
      • UK: 2006: Prayers in Bradford Cathedral and Westminster Abbey
      • Ukraine 2006: Just before the elections
  • Middle East
    • Visits to United Arab Emirates (UAE) 2019
    • Lebanon 2019: International Ecumenical Youth Meeting in Beirut
    • 2017: Pilgrimage of Trust in Egypt
    • Egypt 2017: Taizé on Pilgrimage to Egypt with Coptic Christians
    • Egypt 2017: Pictures of the pilgrimage
    • 2017: A Christian-Muslim initiative of hope in northern Lebanon
    • A Jew’s prayer for the children of Gaza
    • Prayers in Jerusalem
    • Israël, Palestinian Territories, Lebanon: Journal of a pilgrim of trust
    • Lebanon 2013: Visit of a brother
    • Autumn 2015: Two Brothers in the Middle East
    • International ecumenical meeting of young adults in Lebanon (22-26 March, 2019)
    • Beirut 2019: Testimonies from young people
    • Beirut 2019: Meditations by Brother Alois
    • Beirut 2019: Photos
Timor Leste
 

Visits in 2012

In autumn 2012, a Taizé brother visited Timor Leste. Here is the account of his experiences.

A nation daring to trust

As I began to write about these ten days spent in Timor-Leste, I asked myself what had marked me the most, what are the images that have stayed with me from the last few visits and from this one ? Without a doubt, it’s one of men and women going forward towards a goal. Outside the city that image would be different, but in the capital, Dili, it’s very striking. Re-reading some of my previous accounts, I notice that I spoke about the stunning contrast between the extreme beauty of the sea on one side, the mountains on the other and all those young men sitting around the bay, in the streets, trying to sell telephone cards. Now people don’t hang around, people are on the move, advancing towards something !

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On the last afternoon, I had a meeting at the YMCA with some young people from different Protestant churches. Whenever you are welcomed by the very generous director, Señor Horacio, it’s a celebration. He invites young people, others less young, or very young, from all over. My visit had been well planned, with a meeting in each of the three dioceses. I had been invited to go to Laga, in the Diocese of Baucau. Arriving the evening before meant I was able to see where the meeting would take place and decide with the parish priest where to hold the prayer. On Sunday morning we were able to take part in the beautifully sung parish Eucharist and to invite the parishioners to join us for the evening prayer. In the afternoon there was time for a song practice and to choose a few songs in Makai, one of the local languages. In the evening, little by little everyone arrived. It was really inspiring; there must have been more than 200 people. The prayer around the cross was a response to a need. During the difficult times, there was much violence in Laga, which means that reconciliation is deeply needed. After the prayer, the parish sister and parish priest said to me : “You know, some real reconciliation was taking place! ". They had seen people making the gesture which in Timor means that two people forgive each other. The Bishop said that the prayer, as experienced as in Taizé, allows the Timorese to express their deep religious devotion.

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In Tibar, too, which although close to Dili belongs to the Diocese of Magliana, the prayer was full of surprises. Initially it was intended for young people linked with various religious congregations. But the parish, and especially young adults and children, arrived in very large numbers. During the time of group sharing, we had to gather the children together for something more adapted to them. In each group this year’s theme, "Opening ways of trust between humans" was discussed. The children gave perhaps the most beautiful replies.

For the Diocese of Dili, the young people met at Don Bosco school. But the most powerful meeting was prayer with 150 prisoners at Becora prison, in Dili. Among them were a few Filipinos and Indonesians. The Timorese are musicians and sang with all their heart songs that they hadn’t known just an hour before. Many of them came up afterwards to say hello, to shake my hand, to say thank you.

A great effort is being made for youth education, both by the government and the Church. Language remains a problem because, while during the first years that I visited, Indonesian was still well known and taught, now it has been replaced by Portuguese, but that is poorly taught because the teachers have not been trained to teach it. Tetum is spoken but is not rich enough to express what all that needs to be. That is why education is a priority. The government has at last been able to unify things and to establish standards and criteria to which all institutions are now subject, schools as well as universities, where the levels were so uneven. The Church has opened a university and the Jesuits are building a junior high school. It’s very striking: a whole year in advance teachers are being trained to the academic level required, learning teaching methods and values. They motivate these people in a remarkable way.

Many young people feel a call to follow Christ in the priesthood or religious life. Gradually you can see the beginnings of a future and we can only be grateful for the courage of these people capable of daring to trust.


2011: “Now we have to get through the present situation”

One of the brothers is a frequent visitor to Timor Leste. Here he shares his reflections on a visit he made there in May 2011.

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“There is great hope for the future, but now we have to get through the present situation”, said a friend I met on arriving in Dili.

“There is great hope for the future”… I went to visit the diocesan commission for youth in Dili. The place is very small and narrow, and you have the impression that the team is only camping there. But Jessica, who is a full time worker, welcomes me and says with great conviction, “Welcome to our office. It is simple but it is full of joy, hope and love.” There was so much conviction in her voice that you were full of admiration as you looked at the place.

The same experience when we met the 190 young people from the minor seminary, with open faces ready to discover something new, although they hardly knew what it could be. Their leaders left me alone with them, with no translator; with a DVD that did not work… they continued to be open, curious and very attentive during the prayer…

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“Now we have to go through the present situation.” When I came last year, I found that for the first time there was a change; a long road had been accomplished. For three years there has been no violence and politically the country is more stable. In 2012 there will be elections and the campaign, like the results, will be a test and an indication for the future of the country.

In 2010, experts and lawyers from Australia were discussing questions of exploitation of petrol in the Timor Sea between Australia and East Timor. The agreement provided for an equal sharing of the revenues between the two countries. The first revenues were paid last October.

Quite practically, the most urgent need appears to be that of training on every level. Things are many years behind and ten years after independence many people say that progress is very slow. Yet there are new initiatives. A “Teachers Training College”, where studies are conducted in Portuguese (the official language) and in English, should provide teaching that develops the creative qualities of the students. It is as if everything is there in fact, but still has to be awakened.

There are other initiatives at grass roots level: the youth commission of the Catholic Church gives courses in computer studies which are indispensable for finding work. The Salesian sisters have opened a bakery so that young people who studying with them can have a job that allows them to earn enough to feed their families.

For all those who are committed in this struggle, it is really an act of faith. And this trust is admirable and contagious.


Visits in 2010

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As you arrive in East Timor, the plane comes in over the sea. The road into the city goes along the bay. Each time I have come, I have had the same reaction: “What a beautiful country”. But as you entered the city, there were always remains of the war: houses abandoned, windows without glass… This time there is a change for the better. There are new buildings, some streets have lighting, there are no more tents with refugees, the people who had been displaced have gone back to their homes.

The youth commissions of the three dioceses (Dili, Baucau & Maliana) had prepared an excellent program. They had invited delegates from each parish. There was often a day with the Letter from China and several hours spent on “how to prepare a meditative prayer”.

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The young adults who had taken part in the Meeting in Manila did a good job of sharing their experiences. It was the first time they had been out of their country and they had discovered so much, they also realize that they have something to offer to the youth of other countries. The week they spent outside of Manila had made a big impression on them, specially those who went to some of the tribal areas.

In addition to the diocesan meetings, there was a half day for postulants and novices from different religious communities.

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How much things have changed since my first visit in 1991. The young people are highly motivated and many of them appear very mature: a mixture of reserve and a clear awareness of their identity as Timorese. In comparison with other Asian countries, there is a great difference of behaviour and way of expressing themselves.

On Sundays the churches are full to overflowing. The young people are aware of the role the Church tried to play for a return to democracy and how much it showed solidarity with the people.

The three bishops insist on the importance of prayer. It is clear that the wounds of the past are still present. A young man told me that there are still outbreaks of violence, in society and in the homes, in the families. I asked him how the very young reacted. He told me that the problem lies in the fact that some parents transmit a spirit of vengeance to their children and it is his generation who have to find the narrow way between “not forgetting” and forgiving.


"Vulnerable and strong"

Visits in 2009

This was the first time that a retreat had been proposed to the young people of the Diocese of Dili. The Sisters of the Sacred Heart offered hospitality in their house in the mountain village of Bazartete. The house includes a kindergarten which was transformed for the occasion into a place of silence.

The youth ministry had invited all the parishes of the diocese to send two young adults, and in the end 45 took part. The centre of the reflection was the Letter from Kenya and in order to encourage the young people to take an active part, they were invited to make posters that illustrated the questions asked: “From which sources do we draw life, and what helps us to clear away whatever it is that obstructs the source?”

On the Sunday afternoon, everyone went down to Dili for a prayer open to everyone, especially those who had not been able to come to Bazartete. Two problems occurred: the place set aside for the prayer was being used by someone else, and torrential rain provoked a power cut. In spite of everything, it was possible to pray together with several hundred young people.

In Venilale, in the Diocese of Baucau, a different kind of challenge was waiting for us. Several hundred young people between the ages of 10 to 25 came not only from the parish and the Salesian schools, but also from nearby Fatumaca. The leaflet containing the songs for the prayer and the Letter from Kenya ran out. The age range of the participants caused concern that the Letter from Kenya would not be understood by everybody. However, the contrary was true and the number of testimonies was so great that they had to be interrupted when the time came for the prayer.

In 2007, the parish of Venilale was the scene of much violence. At the beginning of the meeting, the young parish priest spoke of how great a need there was for reconciliation. In 2007, even the children had participated in the violence. After a reading of the first part of the Letter the young people split into groups. Afterwards, one of the chaplains suggested that they explain to everyone what had been discussed. It was impressive to see how many hands shot up in order to ask to speak.

This is how one of the animators summed up the visit

Your visit to East Timor came after several years that have been quite difficult because of the violence and political instability in the country. The visit confirmed that there is hope for this country because, through the program and the prayers our young people showed themselves to be “good soil”, where any good thing or project could be planted. We have a big responsibility and we are happy that we can count on your solidarity, support and prayer to continue trying to build this vulnerable and so loved country... Everything that we have planned went very well and flowed smoothly … This is also an important sign because so many times here we have the feeling that even a very short step needs so much energy and trust... Your week here was in some ways very easy and joyful ... Thank you for sharing this true hope, and for walking this part of the pilgrimage of trust with us.
Now the young people are sharing a lot about how the silence and the simple prayer helped them to discover their source of life in Jesus... For most of them this is a kind of total renewal of something at the heart of their lives that was nearly dead, because of much suffering and discouraging experiences in their own lives and in the life of East Timor...

Last updated: 18 December 2012

Daily Bible Reading

Thu, 12 December
Paul writes: God has made us able to serve a new covenant, one which is not of written letters but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 3:4-6
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