The Whole World - in a Village

Hey all

Here's an article written about Global Village - the aspect of Teenstreet I was involved in this summer.  Have a read :)

http://www.teenstreet.de/stories-articles/2012.html  (web address for article)

The whole world – in a village

By Katie McCay · 31 July 2012

The Global Village at TeenStreet is an exhibit designed to shock and inform. It aims to open our eyes and make us aware of the struggles other people face in today’s world. This year, the Global Village takes on an airport theme, where participants can 'fly' with 'OM Airlines' to one of four different 'lands'- land of the captives, blind, poor or oppressed, and discover what life is like for the people living there. Martin, from Sweden, who has worked at the Global Village for seven years, explained the main idea behind the Global Village, as well as what to expect if you take a 'flight' with 'OM Airlines.'
Martin explains that the main idea behind the Global Village is to bring a "broken world to the teens." Operation Mobilisation (the organisation behind TeenStreet) organises short-term missions around the globe, giving young people the opportunity to go and discover the needs of others. At the Global Village this is reversed, as the broken world is brought to the teens and they discover God’s heart for those in this world who do not know Him or are suffering. Martin believes it is important that the teens learn about what is happening in the world around them, as well as knowing that all people are loved by God: "Few people are living and working amongst these people, and therefore only a few are able to reflect God’s love in these places. God loves the people of a broken world, and we must love them also."
So what did the teens make of the Global Village? Anniliina and Lida from Finland remarked: "It was shocking. We felt really helpless." Leanne from Ireland had a similar reaction: "It was different... and shocking." Martin and Simon, from the Netherlands, who visited the country of the blind, also described the experience as "shocking," and the Global Village was "definitely worth visiting." Perhaps the few words the teens used to describe the Global Village is what speaks the loudest- the Global Village has the capacity to shock us with the sad reality of the world today.