Go(o)dSeed

Being together, having fun, enjoying the evening and worship God.  Words which describe best the youth group at EFS.  „ KUL , Kyrkans Unga Luleå, är en ungdomsgrupp som träffas på EFS fredagar 18:30 - 22:00. En samverkan mellan Skolkyrkan, EFS och Svenska kyrkan i Luleå. “ - Instagram describtion Every week, we plan different activity. Let me demonstrate what we've done so far.   Two weeks after our arrival, we went bowling at Oleary’s . We had every bowling row because there were so many of us. We also had a music night. A lot of young people are really talented at playing instruments. But that night was more about our knowledge of music. Since we had to guess the answers to every question except when Nena's song 99 Luftballons was playing, it   was amusing for us Germans to have at least one right question.   On another Friday, we held an open stage for them to demonstrate their musical talents. Visit Instagram to take a peek if you're interested. Additionally, to open s

Two Sundays ago we observed the ancient Jewish tradition of the Festival of Shelters, or Lövhyddohögtid på Svenska. In the fifth book of Moses is written a description of what the tradition focuses on. God calls his people to remember that they were homeless wanderers in the desert for forty years before God led them to a permanent home. During this time they were totally dependent on God´s protection and mercy. They could not have survived on their own. But they did survive and God provided food and water for them in the desert .  When we settle down and accumulate wealth and possessions it becomes easy to forget. The tradition calls it´s observers to not become too comfortable. It is a human tendency to let selfish pride sink into our thinking. The rich can easily begin to think that their riches come from their own cunning or hard work.  When you eat, get full, build nice houses, and settle down,  and when your herds and your flocks are growing large, your silver and gold are multip

Two weeks ago we went on a little journey with some experiences and moments I didn't expect. Sunday evening, we took the train to Stockholm to participate in the On-Arrival-Training for Monday. Through the first trip by train 2 months ago to Lule å , I have learned to love the train rides, especially the night trains. At least when there are no snoring people in the same compartment with you. On the way to the folkhögskola, we met the first volunteers. Already then, the openness and curiosity of the other volunteers was noticeable to me. Something that I welcome very much, because I always need some time to open up to others.  Within the first hours in the folkhögskola I realized, that we get along pretty well with the other volunteers. We laughed and talked together while we shared some of our experiences and moments from our months here in Sweden. We were all eager to get to know each other better and just to have a great time in Stockholm. I noticed that maybe we get along so we

New country, new responsibilities, new people, new place to call home.  Sometimes you can feel alone but this week we realized that we are not the only ones with those feelings. During our On-Arrival-Training, we met seventeen people who are also doing a volunteer  year with the European Solidarity Corps. To be honest, first we didn’t want to leave Luleå. But now, we are glad we did.  During our project, we are having two trainings which is our right and obligation to attend. The first one is the On-Arrival-Training at Bromma  folkhögskola. Basically, the main purpose of this training is to give us a good start of our time in Sweden as a volunteer. We got an introduction about the YouthPass  and worked with our own personal learning objectives. We also discussed practical questions concerning rights and responsibilities for us as a volunteer.  Therefore, we stayed four days at First Hotel Brommaplan in  Stockholm. Twelve hours by train once more seemed like an hour.  Departure was the

Autumn in Sundet Our week started with relatively good weather. The autumn here in Lule å was very notable these last couple of days. It was possible for us to observe the trees changing their colours. However, it is unfortunately a process you can just see for a few days. The autumn sun is not rare to see and it even brings you a pleasant warmth (you can almost feel it in your heart too). If you close your eyes for a moment, you can even feel it tickling your skin. One of the most beautiful sights of autumn for me is the trees in the change of their colours and the sun shining through this sea of golden looking leaves. We are so lucky to have one of the best views of  Lule å right infront of our windows. Sometimes I forget how beautiful autumn can be. It is a beautiful time of year when the animals in the forest prepare for the cold, dark winter. Last week Tuesday was the first time for me to drive home alone in the dark. When I drove with my bicycle home, something crossed my road. A

By Josh Armfield Another important value of the Go(o)dSeed project is Solidarity. Wikipedia defines solidarity as " an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration. It refers to the ties in a society that bind people together as one. " For me solidarity is the practice of compassion and remembering our connected-ness. We all need each other. Another example of Solidarity is described in the Bible as the people of God being like a body.  " The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."  (1 Corinthians 12:13). The text goes on to explain that each part of the body needs the other. Each part of the body has something important

The day of departure (30/08/2022) finally arrived after much planning.  Valeria boarded the train at 20.3 0 , in Berlin. I joined her at 23.59 in Hamburg. It was time to say good-bye to the family and welcome the adventure.  We were both quite exhausted after this emotional day. But neither of us anticipated that we would have such a unique night ahead of us.  To begin with, getting to the bed was, at least for me, an adventure. We only discovered the leader an hour before we arrived in Stockholm, so I had to cli mb up. Furthermore, it was a little loud and constantly wobbled. After some time, we finally experienced sleep. Around 2.00, I heard someone pounding loudly on the doors and calling “Passport, Police”.  Obviously, we crossed into Denmark.   After presenting our passports , we tried to sleep again.  At 7 o'clock, we arrived in Sweden. There is no control this time, only a drug dog.   Well, up to that point, we were fully awake. Especially because we could explore the beauti

Josh and Alicia harvest potatoes and Leeks One of our goals for the Go(o)dSeed project is to use care for God´s creation. We see this as a very clear calling we have as followers of Jesus. The health of the earth is in crises, and thus even the health of human beings is in crises! Our own health and the health of the earth and all of it´s creatures are connected. As a part of the our learning process, we are currently reading a book together called "Making Peace with the Land" (by Fred Bahnson and Norman Wirzba). In the first chapter the author writes, "Human life simply makes no sense apart from the life of all creation. We live only because the worms, plants and bees do too. And they live because God loves them." One of the ways that we believe that we can actively contribute to caring for God´s creation is through how we eat. We believe that eating is actually a very deeply communal and ecological act, and even sacred when we look at it from a theological perspec