Kaj mi je bilo dano v zadnjem letu ...

Bilo je kakšne tri tedne pred taborom in Mirjam je vsake toliko časa povedala, da gre na nek tabor, zato, da so si pri nas doma sploh zapomnili. Mirjam sama ni o taboru pravzaprav nič takega povedala, jaz pa tudi ne vem, zakaj je sploh nisem nič spraševala, kaj se na taboru dela. In čez kakšen teden je Mirjam ta svoj stavek iz "jaz grem" spremenila v "midve greva." Meni pa seveda nič ni bilo jasno. In prvi teden sem se še upirala, ampak sama pri sebi sem vedela, da bom šla. Upirala sem se samo iz principa, ker me je prijavila brez mojega vedenja. No, potem se je zgodil tabor. In ja, bilo mi je zelo všeč, nad pričakovanji... pravzaprav nisem imela ravno najboljših pričakovanj, glede na to, da nisem skoraj nikogar poznala, razen Mete in Mirjam, za kateri pa sem vedela, da bosta kar naprej skupaj :). Ampak ja, kot sem že rekla, bilo mi je res všeč (valda :D).

Takrat je nekdo rekel: »Ni važno, zakaj, kako se prišli, Bog je želel, da ste tukaj in zato ste tukaj. Tako sem tudi spoznala, da naše želje ne sovpadajo nujno s tem, kar potrebujemo, ampak Bog nam vedno dá to, kar potrebujemo. (Kar želimo, pa ni vedno dobro za nas!)

Ko gledam zdaj na to preteklo leto, se čudim, kako vse stvari delujejo in kako Bog deluje. Vsakič ugotoviš, da še zmeraj ničesar ne veš in da so Božja merila čisto drugačna in vse se ti zdi tako nedojemljivo... ampak ravno zato moramo dati v vsako dejanje vsaj malo zaupanja. Pri sebi lahko vidim, kako sem v zadnjem letu veliko več zaupala Bogu. Saj ne, da prej ne bi hotela (ko še nisem bila YFL-jevka), ampak preprosto se sploh nisem spomnila na to možnost. Zdaj pa, ko bolj zaupam in več molim, je vse čisto drugače. Najprej sem spremembe opazila v šoli – ko so se vsi okoli mene na koncu leta pritoževali, kako jim gre slabo, sem jaz pogledala na svoje ocene in svoj trud (in nisem se ravno zelo trudila), pa se nisem imela nad čim pritoževati. Tudi drugod mi je šlo bolje. Če me je bilo za kakšno stvar ali dogodek strah, da ne bom zmogla, sem res zaupala Bogu in na koncu se je vse prav obrnilo.

Pa še ena stvar, ki sem jo pridobila v YFL-ju... težko je biti kristjan v današnji družbi in v tej skupnosti sem dobila ravno to. Da se postavim za Boga, ne glede na vse. Zato, ker Bog je Car. In to tak, ki ima mene in tebe najraje na celem svetu.

Lucija T.

KaSam on the streets of Stockholm

I have always been told that when God gives you a gift, you should always use it for his greater glory. However little did I know, if you do this, you get so much back in return. More than what you ever could have imagined.

Like many others, Karly and I both wanted to go to the YFL European Congress and the World Youth Day in August. However, by doing so, we knew that we needed to raise a lot of money. We had many ideas but I guess the idea that appealed to us the most was to sing on the streets of Stockholm.

We started off with a music festival called “Make Music Stockholm” on the 6th of June (the Swedish National Day). Maybe this is finally that opportunity we were waiting for to play on the streets? We gave it a shot and applied, and to our surprise, they gave us more than what we expected. They gave us a 45min concerts lot in the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm. It would be a free concert and as for Karly and I, it would be our very first official gig ever. Since the 6th of June, KaSam was born.

A month passed, it felt like it was already starting to become too late to register for the Congress and the World Youth Day. We still hadn’t earned any money through singing on the streets. We decided that if we ever were going to do this, then the right time would be now. It’s not too late yet and it’s summer anyway. We decided to take the songs we had from our concert a month ago and hit the streets.

We met at 8am on a Monday morning, and decided to sing in the Central Station. When we came to our designated spot, we realised that this was easier said than done. I still remember how Karly and I looked at each other in embarrassment as this was definitely outside our comfort zone. After a few minutes of standing there awkwardly, looking at all the busy people pass by, we gathered courage and together we said: “Let’s do this.”

 I still remember setting up my small camping chair for the first time and placing it on the floor of the station. Afterwards, I took out my guitar, gave Karly our small sign saying: “Help us go to Madrid in August” to hold, and placed our plastic bag on the floor where people would place their money. Then we started singing Wonderwall.

After less than an hour, we earned over 800kr (thanks to one woman’s 50 euro bill) which already paid nearly one entire congress fee. We sang until 6pm and by the end of the day, we were asked to sing at a woman’s club, was trend spotted by TopShop for Stockholm Street Style and we managed to earn enough for the YFL European Congress and the World Youth Day registration fees. It was definitely more than what we expected! We went to church during our singing break during that day in awe. In awe for His amazing love.

Since that day, when Karly and I have time, we would go to our regular spot and sing. Day by day, God continues to bless us with such unimaginable things. Day by day, we encounter so many nice people on the streets. Each day is a gift from God filled with surprises and adventures. For example, we could have never imagined that we would be able to get money for singing worship songs on the streets of a secular country such as Sweden. What can I say, our God is an awesome God!

I remember that during the congress in Norway last year, it was said that if you show God that you are thankful for what He has given you, it would only make Him want to give you more. Karly and I could have never imagined that our gift of singing from God leads to yet more blessings. So, to all those who think it’s impossible to be able to go to the Congress or World Youth Day because of the costs, don’t give up - God will provide! Use what He has given you with your best and God will do the rest.

I hope to see you all in Madrid in August! 

Sam Valles, YFL Stockholm