A maths test had to be rescheduled at short notice, so we had to come up with a new format for the planned navi4life event at a large secondary school. And suddenly, within the school’s tightly scheduled system, there was time. I’d brought some cake with me. We sat together in a small group of teachers. Trust grew visibly. “Life has really taken you to the ends of the earth. Was there a special moment there that you’ll never forget?” I was asked. I told them about the two months I’d spent in a bunker in Sarajevo after the war in the Balkans, trying to connect with the city’s young people. And I told them about a night when I fell into a deep hole and began to doubt everything I was doing there. It was a difficult and tearful time. And I told them that, looking back, it was through that experience that I’d come to understand the mystery of the grain of wheat. “I couldn’t feel anything anymore – just the cold, the humidity, and the darkness. No light. No hope… And today, the large John Paul II Youth Centre stands on that very spot, right in the heart of Sarajevo.” When I looked into the eyes of the person who had asked the question, I sensed his deep gratitude for this shared experience.
