What a wonderful Easter it was! We (14 members of my CU) travelled to Linz, Austria, by night train to attend a European IFES conference there. The main theme was 'Because of Love'. When we arrived on Thursday morning, it was snowing and ice lay on the pavements. We had to wait a while before we could enter the stadion where the conference was held, because breakfast started at 8 am, and we had arrived earlier. After breakfast, we lay down on our mattresses to rest for a while, because sleeping in a train is not very comfortable. I had had about one hour of sleep, so my dreams started almost immediately. After an hour or so, I woke up, lying on the hard floor: my airbed had a leak. The rest of the day we merely spent waiting until we could subscribe and drop off our luggage at the schools where we would stay.
In the evening, the programme started. First, we were welcomed by two Austrian politicians, and after that, Charlie and Becky were introduced to us. Charlie did the Bible talks in the mornings, while in the evening, Becky gave lectures on how to spread the Gospel.
On Saturday, some friends and I went for a hike in the hills near the city. When driving, we saw the 'real' mountains, but they were very far away. So we climbed hills instead of mountains, swung on loose branches, climbed tree huts, threw snowballs at each other and talked about the conference. Especially the part where Menno was laying on top of the car while Sander drove off was exciting. It looked like fun, however I didn't dare to give it a try. After the hike, I chased someone's plastic bag and fell flat in the mud (don't laugh!). So the rest of the day I had wet clothes; I 'washed' them under the tap, but couldn't go and get dry clothes from the schools; they were closed 'til 9 pm. And the whole time, my rain trousers were in my bag. The irony...
Hearing about the meaning of Easter in a different context was quite refreshing for me, and also gave me more will to go on working for Christ. He gave up everything for us; he didn't just give us all he had, he gave himself. He could have quit the whole time, but he didn't. That's what love is. So when on Sunday morning we were wakened by the song 'Jesus is risen from the dead', I was glad to go to the early morning service. In a large group, we roamed the streets and walked 'zum Schloss', where we stood outside on the grass, proclaiming the resurrection of Christ, singing, praying, and listening to someone speak. Also, Easter hymns were played on a trumpet. This was similar to Easter at home: the same songs were played.
After the service, we went to the stadion shivering and not feeling our feet from the cold. However, we soon warmed up after breakfast, and then we celebrated the Lord's Supper with the 2000 people that were present. How amazing that was!
So many things have happened during the conference, that I could talk for quite a while before every topic would have been covered. The main highlights were Good Friday evening, where we could all confess and be forgiven and healed from sin; sharing and praying with some friends of my CU; meeting people from other places; finding a peace of chocolate next to me when I woke up from a nap in the retreat area (the cooking crew had put it there, because they had made so much noise - so sweet!); going through books that were sold on the conference; worshipping God through song (and sometimes dance); and the mere knowing that everyone present was a real Christian. It was a taste of heaven. I pray we all will keep finding courage and will to go on in our work for Jesus, and to show and share Jesus' love wherever we are.
