Lebanon: Moving Toward the Genfest – Let’s Bridge!

“Hi to all! We want to let you know how special this year is for the young people of our country. We are sharing wonderful moments in preparation for our long-awaited Genfest.

Last September we agreed to set our sights on a unity that would gradually envelope all of us, our friends and also our great Focolare family. And we see it happening.

To raise funds for the journey – which is very costly – and also to have opportunities to spend some time living together and starting already to build some “local bridges” (in accordance with the title of this year’s Genfest), we’ve come up with a schedule of many activities, some of which have already taken place and others that are still being prepared.

“Unight”: An evening with a hundred youths at a pub in Beirut, including a presentation on the Genfest event.

“Unight Your Talents Show”: A talent show with songs, dances, musical numbers, theatre, storytelling and creative performances. There were 550 of us on March 3, 2012 for a two hour show in a large hall at the university.

Fundraising: We began a taxi service for accompanying people to the airport and other places. We also began a babysitting service. We set up a refreshment stand at the Mariapolis Centre. We make and sell jewelry and special occasion cards. These are not only opportunities to raise funds for the trip to Budapest, but also occasions to know one another better and to “build bridges.”

“Unite in Depth“: March 23-March 25. Three days of preparing for the Genfest through deepening and strengthening our faith. Eighty young people have already signed up, including 20 from Syria.»

We have encountered many difficulties along the way: The young people from Lebanon are in suspense becuase the airline from whom they purchased tickets for their flights to Budapest has gone out of business. Together with them we continue to believe that with the help of everyone and with the help of God, a way will be found to overcome even this obstacle.