Desert Flower: Last meeting before Cracow

We, the youth of Desert Flower, met for the last time this year, the last meeting before the flight to the World Youth Day in Cracow. All he members of the group are very excited. The meeting took place in Jaffa. What was different in this meeting was that Father Piotr was not there as he had flown to Poland to prepare things for our arrival and among other things he went to meet the families with whom we will be staying in his city in Poland.

When we arrived at the monastery of Saint Peter, we gathered together with Father Apolinary, who explained to us about the prayer that is called lectio divina and how to pray with this method. After that, we ate dinner. After the Friday meal and a short break, we again gathered for an evening prayer using lectio divina. At the end of the prayer, we went out for a walk around the city of Jaffa and on the promenade along the sea and with that we ended our first day together.

On Saturday in the morning, we began with morning prayer and breakfast. Afterwards, we assembled for a long meeting to talk about the trip to Poland. Father Apolinary explained to us the program during the three weeks that we will spend in Poland, about the World Youth Day, about the flight, and about things we need to bring with us to Poland and other matters. In this same gathering, the youth were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire regarding the meetings that had taken place over the course of the past year, ideas for the next year and how each one felt in the group. After this discussion, those that wanted to could go to the beach while others exploited the time to get some rest. When we returned from the beach, we had lunch.

At the end of lunch, we gathered again and divided into two groups for a time of discussion, the older ones with Father Apolinary and the younger ones with Daniel. In this discussion, we talked about the questions that we might be asked in Poland (by the families that we are staying with, by the other youth groups we will meet, etc)… When we ended this meeting, some had to leave already while others stayed on for the mass in the Jaffa kehilla.

We are all very excited as the time to travel to Cracow and to participate in the World Youth Day gets nearer and we anticipate the day we will meet together again on the day of our flight!