TeenStreet 2012 - RAG Sponsor Project - The TeenStreet Experience - All Languages

My name is David Samuelsson I am from Stockholm, Sweden
Normally I go to school, but in my free time I dance
My name is Daniel and I am from 'Wangen an der Aare,' Switzerland
I am doing an apprenticeship as a mechanic for heavy duty equipment at 'Ammann Schweiz AG'
I like to be on the slopes to snowboard or ski. I do both and I find both mega cool
My name is Mathilde, I am 15 years old and I am from France
I really like to draw mangas, I like to read, to learn and I like to swim
My expectation was that we would have to work a lot
I did not expect that we would travel and tour that much
I found the landscape a bit strange because there are no big trees
I knew it was Muslim and Orthodox
I knew that not long ago this country had seen war
Most things that I thought I knew were wrong
I am on this trip because of Teenstreet
It is a super week to find European teens who think alike and live their faith
It is not only a camp,
it's one week I can really live my faith like I never did before
This week is so important to me. And I wait for it impatiently
We were the ones who had raised the most money with the Raise And Give project
There was a surprise for us, it was a trip on boat
a fast speedboat
I remember the feeling, a really nice feeling
feeling the wind and that it was moving fast
But then he started to slow down
Unfortunately, the ship had a malfunction after about five minutes
and it ended
He said: "It's ok, it's ok"
We had to wait half an hour till another ship noticed we were there
And it was rainy
One month ago, Ger contacted me and asked me if he can count me in to go to Bosnia
and this would replace the surprise we did not have
So as you can see, he could
We are on this trip
and the main reason is because we all have been part of Teenstreet
I really hope that we will really find out
how we can support ministry here in Bosnia to Bosnian teens
My expectation also personally for each one here
especially for the teens
is that they first of all learn that there is a different side of Europe that we don't really know very well
Bosnia is part of Europe, our continent
where teens have a very different life
and maybe have less hope for the future
There is an interesting song
"It's easier to die than to say I'm sorry"
That's kind of how people feel
With pride and stupidity everybody holds to their side
And he said: "It could be that it's easier to die than to say to people 'forgive me'."
So the war in Bosnia Herzegovina lasted from the start of 92 until the end of 1995
Today on the surface you don't see people fighting or shooting - it looks relatively peaceful
But if you get below the surface you can still feel very quickly
the pain and the betrayal, the hurt, the hatred, the prejudice
It's interesting how the young people today are effected by a war that happened perhaps before they were born
or when they were very young
And it's because it gets passed on from what their parents experienced
That's something that you don't hear
You don't hear people say 'I'm sorry' or 'forgive me'
And I'm not really sure what the future will hold for this country without
without the gospel to bring reconciliation
first with God and then with each other
It was weird to visit this graveyard
with 620 people who were killed during the war
Every time it's about war, I am touched, I am sad
Here you are seeing all the "Delić". All the Families. There is "Delić Emil", "Delić Amir", "Delić Fadil"
A lot of families
And this is kind of a mass grave where they found the bodies and they've put them all together
They just put this recently when they found the gravesite
The fact that humanity kills itself
I felt really sorry knowing that this leveI of cruelness happened here
Welcome to Bihac I'm Jael - Thank you
I'm Jael - Mathilde
Hi I'm Daniel - Daniel, I'm Jael nice to meet you
In Bihac, I realised the people were really open, really warm
Even if we didn't know each other, they came and they were pleased to talk to us
That surprised me, but I was happy
So you put like five full spoons - as full as it comes
And so it makes it really strong and almost thick
And so the cups are like this big, but it's strong
Some people say that the Bosnian coffee raises the blood pressure, others say that it lowers the blood pressure
I don't know
It depends on which cup you get, it can be really thick
or it can be nice, but still strong
Let's see
So you first do a little bit in each cup?
Because otherwise the first cup is just the foam and that is super strong
Then you need a spoon to eat it
I hope I will sleep tonight
Take the sugar cube, dip it inside the coffee, bite the sugar and then drink the coffee
It didn't work
Nice
Bosna Sema High School
Excuse me, do you speak English?
Yes I speak - Can I ask you a few questions?
We are visiting this town
We are from different countries and we just would like to ask you a few questions
Is that okay?
Are you going to school here?
I felt a bit weird to talk to these young people that I didn't know at all
people that don't speak my language at all
It's very quiet here, you know - Ya
I think they are quite friendly
and they find it exciting to talk with people from other countries
They haven't really experienced before
that people from Sweden and France would come to Bosnia
What are you really proud of?
I'm proud to be Bosnian
Yea, I'm proud to be Bosnian too
What do you think is the difference between your country and other countries?
We know everything about them, but they don't know where are we
Ah, that's very good, yes
I didn't know very much before I came here
and I feel a little bit ashamed
I don't live very far from here, but I don't know very much
In Switzerland we also have Balkan and Bosnian teens
and I have rather bad feelings towards them
because some of them are aggressive and wreck things
Here they are different, they are friendly and polite
I noticed that most of the teenagers had ambitions to go to Europe in the future
to London or to the United States
because they don't think there could be a future for them in Bosnia
It made me feel sorry to hear that
In downtown there is a monument
with the names of 700 teens and children innocently killed in this war
I was not shocked, but really sad
It almost made me cry
Children, teenagers, who may have been my age
have been murdered in this war
I felt weird about it
It hit home that they were my age and that it could have been my name on the monument
It was only 20 years ago. Unbelievable that such a brutal war happened
There was a stove, two couches, a table and a TV: There was nothing else
The temperature inside was almost equal to the one outside
It was almost like living outside with a roof over their heads
As soon as we arrived they started to make coffee -- they offered everything they had
They gave everything for this one visit
What struck me most: They don't even have running water or legal electricity
I think it would be hard to grow up in these circumstances, to feel at the edge of society
That might not be easy
In winter they cannot play outside because of the snow
I've been talking around with kids. And they come in the winter
There is absolutely nothing for them to do
They can't go outside anymore, because the weather isn't there
And the indoor facilities - there is only a couple here - are quite expensive
I think it would make a huge difference if a roof was added
then the snow wouldn't be in there
people would be able to go there during the winter
Two badminton courts across this way, you can put a tennis court across that way
Teenstreet can achieve big things with this basketball court
If the court gets a roof, a new floor, new baskets
that could have a big impact on the teens of Mostar
They will see that there are people who care for them too, not just for themselves
I enjoy spending time with the others, it's fun
It feels like we know each other very well by now
What I liked most were all the moments I spent with David and Daniel
It really is indescribable: We are from different cultures, languages
Often we understand each other without words
It's amazing
I don't know why we get along so well even though we do not speak the same language
It's only our faith that makes the connection! That's so cool
During this trip I realized that one can be happy with very little things
I noticed they were very happy in their group
very open, very nice, and very hospitable
Even though they don't have anything
It feels like they have more things to struggle with compared to people in Sweden
When I see what the people have, respectively what they don't have,
it is scary when we dare to say we don't have enough
- Another one - He still has chocolate - Nice
It was fun. Too bad it's over...
This trip really was a very strong experience for me
I didn't expect to feel this level of emotions during the trip
I think I would do something like this again
I would surely participate if there was another trip like this
I really appreciated it and as I already said, it was all new to me
To be honest, I would like to stay longer
to get to know the land and the people better
But I would also like to go home
because I am a bit tired and I need to rest
Have fun collecting donations. See you at Teenstreet
This is good
Good stuff, good food
If you drink too much it will not be good for you heart or your brain, maybe�