slot aRt festival (PoLaNd) & mIdDlE eAsT cOnvOy

An amazing festival where it’s almost impossible not to create …
It all started about 10 years ago when a group of Christians wanted to express their art and give others the opportunity to share their art as well…it started has a 140 people gathering and now it comes to more than 4000 people from all parts of Poland and also foreign countries…
70% of these are not Christians and this was also the goal of those who started…
Jesus is expressed in many different ways, through arts , through relationships and other forms…
He’s there enjoying the party !!! :-)

There’s lot of dready people…artistic people…different subcultures together…different generations…
And the venue is simply amazing…
inviting creativity to arise!!!
It’s an old monastery from the XII century, apparently abandoned, but during those 5 days it comes to life as art is spread in all shapes and forms…
The atmosphere is simply amazing !!!
I was seated one day in the main cathedral, watching a friend (Uli) practicing her dance, and I was just led to contemplate the scene around me…Uli was dancing and I was amazed how she could bring out so many emotions from herself and from all of us who were watching… I let my eyes wander around and I notice how the cathedral seamed abandoned and naked from all its past religiosity…symbols were gone, statues were gone, walls were broken, gold was gone, not even a single cross was left from the old days when the monks use to live there (I’m imagining here)...
Suddenly I realized that place was full of life, living saints were walking back and forth, Uli dancing in front of the altar, preaching with no need of words…a child approached her, amazed with the freedom of the dance…the father of the little child took a picture of the moment…there’s laugh and freedom…the music fills the ancient room…paintings and pictures fill the walls…sculptures are spread here and there…Communication is everywhere…God was there, that’s for sure…that “dead” place was full of life … religiosity was gone, life and freedom breathed in… everything was expressing Love…God in us, the One who created us after His own image and likeness ?
I feel I don’t have enough words to describe this festival, so I ‘ll leave some pictures of what my eyes have seen ? Hope you enjoy !!!

Slot Tv "studio"...
these guys worked hard!!! really hard...they spent all day in this room around the computers to present a 15minute Tv show about each day in the Slot Festival...everyone comes to the main stage to watch Slot Tv...definitely the big high light for most of the peopleeven though I couldn't understand most of the jokes, I really enjoyed the famous "Slo T Man", a really "shantii" and cool polish "super hero" :-)

The main cathedral...


The Czech Reggae tent..

for me, one of the best hang out places in the Festival...nice teas from "Godarchy" team, the anarchic czech group



Djembe workshop...

who says is too late to learn new things ?!!! :-)


People were juggling all day, during and after the workshops...beautiful to see !!!


a lot of Freedom to express ourselves...











Freedom even to sleep at the exhibition place :-)



a lot of different materials to "play" with ...







music recording workshop...


Chanting workshop....simply amazing !!! the place also offered wonderful acoustics...


other expression of worship...


Different and creative Prayer rooms...



Beautiful atmosphere...on the last day, there were different presentations at the main cathedral....no words to describe !!!


For me it was also a meeting place …actually, I missed most of the workshops because I was mostly hanging out with people :-) of course I didn't mind at all :-) I had fun just walking around and taking pictures (as you notice I took a bunch...spoiled by the digital technology)

Sweet and funny Agata ... I really enjoyed being with her, praying with her and goofing around as well :-)


Ola and Marcin (in this picture), Agata's brother...the couple who missed the plain in Lisbon on their honey moon (for those who read last years' posts)...they were busy with Slot Tv, but we had some time to chat...next time hopefully we'll have more time to hang out :-)


Gosia, the gipsy polish woman :-)... another wonderer, going with The Wind of The Spirit...blessing each place she passes by...


Uli ... my butterfly sister...the one who blessed me with a dance, and so much more... a networker...


Miri...my german/brazilian sista... a sweety...she might go to Portugal during the winter to help with construction in the land...she's a carpenter :-) just finished her studies...


Edi will also go to Portugal to help in the constructions...he's also a carpenter and is on his practice time...I might write a post about this...it's pretty cool, but this post is getting tooooooooo long already :-) sorry !!!



Louise, from Speak network (UK)...it was a nice surprise for me to see her there !!! Actually, me, Louise, Uli, Gosia, Agata and Emma all heard about each other last year, and we met in different times and circumstances, and now we could be all in the same place... really amazing !!! God's network !!!


Mik (on picture), one of Jesus Freaks leaders...Andrea(next picture) and many other Jesus Freaks also showed up... It's always a pleasure to meet them anywhere !!! I feel more and more as family with them :-) I'll be with most of them in Freakstock soon :-) !!!




Sylvia (the one I met at Willow Freak...laughing a lot...) and Miri saying good bye...



I already mentioned Emma...Yes, she was there with the CONVOY THAT IS GOING TO THE MIDDLE EAST......it was their first stop, after leaving from Lueneburg, 2 days before they got to Slot...
They came in one van with 5 people, Emma (Irish), Karen (UK)Jonathan and Anna, and Mathias(Lueneburg)...Tom (Scotland), who came on the same flight with me from London, join them after Slot...They were going to meet with the other van with 3 more germans...Pray for unity in all these diversity !!!

They reached yesterday the romanian-bulgarian border and God has been blessing them alreday in many ways...Be praying for them if God brings them into your hearts...

Their second stop was at the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where more than a million jews were killed in gas-chambers by the german nazis. A time of prayer and reflection...
Their third stop was at high tatra mountains in slovakia, a time for worship in creation...there they also met an israeli couple right from jerusalem...God has His ways to set up meetings :-)
Another amazing meeting that thrilled me as I read their e.mail...they met a priest from an armenian orthodox church who gave them coffee and invited them to his church building... AND GAVE THEM COMMUNION!!!
orthodox churches NEVER give communion to non-members of the church and often persecute born/again christians!!! imagine the situation!!!
that priest invited them into his church, looking like dirty criminals (their own words, not mine), and two other romanian non-christian guys they met (drinking alcohol)... there they were, in this very old church with very strong rules and having communion!!!!!!!
They sang worship songs , praising Jesus and started to cry...

pray that God keeps guiding them and showing them were to go and what to do !!!
May PEACE keeps following them...
They are having technical problems with one of the vans...and because of all the situation in the middle east, they don't know if they will even reach Israel...
But their focus is on the journey anyway, not on the destiny...