After driving for hours and hours, what we all looked forward to finally arrived. Voices of Youth Orientation at Ferrum College was about to begin. The youth were filled with excitement having a good idea of what was to come and others were a little apprehensive and worried about spending 3 1/2 weeks with complete strangers.
After signing in and finding ourselves in what seems to be a luxurious dorm, the youth started to settle in and get acquainted with each other. Later, we had a commissioning service led by Laura Douglass at the chapel.
This service included giving each member of the Voices of Youth team a cross made by a parent of a Voices alumni from Messiah UMC in Springfield, VA. The cross consists of wood gathered from a mission site in Mississippi and a blunt masonry nail. Tom Dickinson shared with the group about the significance of the crosses and that they were to eventually give the cross to someone they come in contact with during the trip.
We also had communion that was consecrated by District Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hundley (one of the cabinet members that will be traveling to Mississippi to work with us on the rebuilding portion of our tour). Then it was time to say goodbye and the parents made their way back home. Now that the youth were all alone, the youth staff had a few skits and songs that brightened the mood and effectively conveyed some important messages for the trip.
Afterward, we went out to have our first rehearsal to realize that we sounded very good. After dinner, we broke off into our "family" groups and introduced our concept of the "Tribal Wars" each team started dressing up in their colors and doing wacky things such as painting their faces, wearing capes, and for the guys wearing pink shirts and hats.
We bonded together making our own flags, chants and victory calls. After all the excitement and a failed attempt at Tug-of-war and some other games, we had an evening devotion where we stood outside and listened for the voice of God.
We look forward to tomorrow where some have already made plans of walking around campus and admiring the beauty of Ferrum college.
David and Jordan - Voices of Youth Blogmasters
Thank you for such a quick post. It means so much to me to be able to peek in and see my son during this time. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Voices website @ www.VoicesofYouth-VA.org for more info, links, this year's mission project, and concert schedule.
ReplyDeleteYou can also apply for next year's trip (youth & adults), donate, see the history of VOY, and learn about next year's 25th Anniversary tour!