Is it really that time Already?

Today, yes today 4th June, 2009 is the anniversary of the 2008 Big Hope World Youth Congress held here at Hope Park. I do not think there was a single delegate at the Congress who did not go away a somewhat different person, and in some cases a very different person!

As Bill Chambers, the main driving force behind the Big Hope, said in an email earlier today:

"I have just got up to a new day and my immediate thought has been today is the first anniversary of the Big Hope, an event which for me was one of the most significant personal and professional experiences of my life. Please keep on with all we discusssed and acted upon during that wonderful week in 2008. "

Ken Pye, another key player in bringing the event to fruition adds:

"(Today) will remind me of what a wonderful experience it was for me, to work with you all - even though it was for just a short while. But what particularly delighted me was the knowledge that, as long as there are people like you in the world, there is much more than hope; there is certainty."

There is no doubt Big Hope was a magnificent achievement. No one involved in planning the event could have imagined just how special it would be and indeed become. I am still today in contact with many people from the event, although I must admit that more than a little of that sand has already slipped away, forced out by the day to day demands that life subjects us to.

In 9 years from today the 'alumni' of the Big Hope will hopefully reconvene here at Hope Park for their Reunion... What changes may we be witness to then I wonder. . ?