by Dika from Indonesia. The photo above are the hands of my two friends, Joseph from Tanzania and Andro, my friend from Indonesia. I took the photo right on August 17, 2019, under the Eiffel Tower. August 17 is the day of independence for us Indonesian people. During that date we were in Paris. There was a small conversation when we walking on the streets of Paris, between me, Andro and our friend Josephat from Tanzania, and that conversation made me more aware of the diversity of Indonesia. When Josephat asked “Why do you, Andro, Frans and our travel partner from Indonesia look physically different?“ I am from Javanese ethnicity, Andro is a Batak ethnic who lives in Lampung, Frans is my friend from ethnic Papuan and our traveling companion on a bus are

By Josephat Seleman Hema from Tanzania On the evening of 16 th June 2019 we were gathered at the Protestant Church Congregation Hörde with the international guests from Africa, Asia and other parts of Europe for an evening service at the Luther Church before the schedule of the next day was disclosed. When the schedule was announced we were all excited! The next day three workshops would take place: Sailing on the Phoenix Lake with the Sialing Boats of Sail Together e.V., a Bicycle tour and the so called “sky walking”. The word “Sky walking” grabbed my attention and stocked my interest. I was even more convinced to join that workshop because we were to climb up the upstairs of the old steel industry in Phoenix West and that the keys to the gate

Guest Blog by Emily Dervisevic from England. Emily Dervisevic came to Kirchentag as part of the Salford group. She already knew Dortmund quite well, having spent a year studying at the city’s university as part of her BA German Studies degree. She is a Christian and has a broad ecumenical background as a member of an Anglican Church in Salford, a volunteer for the Salvation Army church and with connections to the Quaker church for many years, including spending a year as an employee at their central offices. She occasionally attends Quaker meeting in the Salford area, which is where she first heard about Kirchentag and was asked if she would like to come along. Since returning from Dortmund, Emily has become a member of the Salford – Lünen Churches Partnership Committee, who are

by Josephat from Tanzania What I cannot forget about my first month in Germany is the Kirchentag. To me it has a verspecial meaning and it met more than my expectation. I was being overwhelmed by the last service at the Signal Iduna Park. Leave aside the fact that it took place in the Home Stadium of my favourite German football club and it was my first time to get in there. The service has more features to make it special and I can’t really tell it all. Well, it was a morning of 23rd June; 2019 at Strobelallee. Many people gathered around the stadium with their tickets at hand. I was one of those many people. I finally got a place to seat with my colleagues from Evangelische Kontaktstelle and my housemates at

by Josephat from Tanzania I was with my Tanzanian friends in the Friedensplatz enjoying the music performances during the Kirchentag when we heard a Swahili song performed. Swahili is a Tanzanian national language. We were excited, it was a good feeling. As we were getting back home after the closing of the service that day, we went to Dortmund Stadthaus Bahnhof waiting for the train. We were talking in Swahili. Then suddenly we heard someone asking us in Swahili: “Are you talking Swahili? Are you coming from Tanzania?”

by Gentille from the Democratic Republic of Congo He talks to us about his creatures, he crosses borders just to talk to us and show his greatness. It was a day when I wondered where all the people living in this world can meet. A little later I said again, „Can there be a place where we could meet before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?“ My heart doubted, but with faith I answered myself: God is the Father of Miracles, He will do all things so that my heart never doubts again. When I heard people talking about Church Day, I thought that maybe the Kirchentag could be an answer to my question.

by Yeremia Dika from Indonesia The Kirchentag in Dortmund in 2019 is my first Kirchentag. This event is held every 2 years, which is a big church day celebration in Germany.  I feel lucky, because during my volunteering service this time coincided with the Kirchentag event. On the first day of Kirchentag, which was July 19th 2019, me and other volunteers from UEM (United Evangelical Mission) gathered at Hauptschule Scharnhorst. Then after that we went to City Center to sing together and to promote VEM activity during the Kirchentag. Together we were singing songs from many languages in the middle of the city and were watched by many people.  There have been a lot of people who saw our actions being courageous, and then the people watching also join singing and dancing with us,