Strengthened and enriched we enter the new school year
September 4th–5th, 2023
Today’s times pose difficult challenges for children in schools. Day after day, week after week, month after month… the Healthy Youth Workers are persistently bringing healthy life impulses and values into the classrooms. What empowers the HY Workers? What gives them support in these difficult times?
The machines are ready. The teams are ready. A quick refresher on the game rules and the battle for planet Earth can begin.
We can say without exaggeration that the nineteenth year of the Annual Workers Conference worked out pretty well. It was excellent and unforgettable. The weather was good. The sunshine beckoned for walks in nature and for personal meetings, sharing and conversations. The pleasant and open atmosphere was certainly helped by the friendly and sympathetic environment of the Immanuel Conference Center, where we traditionally hold our Workers Conferences.
You are here because I chose you! was this year’s theme that ran through the whole conference like a red thread. It connected the different parts of the program and touched all 50 participants.
“Men to the machines!” Will the tennis balls hit the can? At least one of them? Not this time.
We reflected together on the important questions. How did you get into HY ministry? Did you ever want to quit? And why didn’t you quit? What is IT that you bring to children in schools?
Each and every question led to honest and open sharing of personal joys and sorrows of HY workers’ lives. The program was actually built on personal sharing, testimonies and stories. This is what makes each conference unforgettable and unrepeatable. The HY workers openly, truthfully and with humility open up about their struggles and sorrows. They can thus encourage each other. The matadors in ministry can give some advice and help the younger ones in ministry. The successfully fought battles of the elders encourage the newcomers not to give up at the first difficulty.
Some of the participants wrote us in their feedbacks:
“Ladies to the machines!” The ladies chose to fire tactically, one tennis ball at a time… No hits this time either.
“Thank you so much for doing this for us. It is a tremendous blessing and a reinforcement to our work.”
“It’s great! It’s the best conference I’ve ever been to.”
“Thank you for the support from many directions and the excellent organization.”
“Thank you for the opportunity to be here and be with you. I look forward to the next time.”
Already the opening outdoor activity has led to deep reflection. Each team was tasked with “saving our planet from a monster invasion”. The group that shot down the most cans of monster eggs with an artfully crafted catapult would win. The final battle of all the teams at the last can standing was almost touching. Each team wanted to win and get the monster. In the end, it was the yellow team. The ovation was spectacular, the planet was saved! It’s funny when you realize that all the teams were actually fighting together to save everyone in the end, so it couldn’t have mattered who took down the last alien.
After a successful activity in the fresh air, the INCZ Executive Director, Petr Horacek, is opening this year’s Workers Conference.
After the warm-up activity, we opened up the topic of HY Worker’s struggles and challenging moments in ministry. Although the speakers shared some very difficult moments, the atmosphere was pleasantly relaxed and open.
It is these hard-won battles that ultimately provide much needed reassurance to each HY Worker that they are standing in the right place, that they should persevere because there are so many children in Czech schools who still need them.
We stepped boldly into the challenging days of another school year with the HY workers – with prayer and blessings; refreshed, empowered, and with the knowledge that we never go alone.
We wish the HY Workers nothing but enthusiastic children-listeners for the next school year, joyful encounters at HY programs, and the school doors and hearts of the children wide open. And also, to remember where to turn if any black clouds and difficulties suddenly appear.
