Day 3 - Orientation Continues

Morning came quickly and everyone prepared for our first full day together!  We met in the lobby of the dorm to make sure everyone had woken up and was ready to go.  The youth staff used their family group calls to find out that everyone was there.  We were off to a good start and now it was time to get some nourishment so we headed over to the dining hall.

 After breakfast we headed back to the chapel for a morning devotion led by Jim about taking time to reflect and refuel on our own with God.  We listened to Psalm 46 and learned a new song.  The words were simple but meaningful..."Be still and know that I am God".  We then sang the song in a round, eventually fading out into a time of silent prayer.

Group building came next and everyone went down to the practice field behind the chapel.  The first activity was the "Animal Game".  The youth were secretly assigned an animal and had to line up from smallest to biggest animal and the only form of communication they were allowed to use was the noises their animal makes.  Next was a game that involved family groups crossing the field using only the provided materials.  The groups had to use mats to transport themselves from one of the field to the other without touching the grass.  If they weren't careful, their mats were stolen from them along their voyage across the field.  Each family group and the adults had the opportunity to try this activity.

Let's just say the animals became a lot more aggressive at stealing the mats once the adults were taking their turn.

Then we had the opportunity to learn more about each other through a game called Cross the Line.  We adapted it a little and used a circle instead for the group to become more aware about their fellow team members.  The game worked like this:  If a statement applied to you, we asked you to step forward.  If not, you would stay in your spot.  The statements ranged from details about family life, the trip, and ourselves.

Every day we will have the opportunity to award the FFP button.  The FFP stands for Fun and Flexible Person. Yesterday, Emily B. went all day without receiving her VOY button and the staff didn't even realize it.  Therefore, today she received the FFP award and gets to wear two buttons for a day!

Now knowing each other a bit better than we had before this morning, we went inside and began rehearsing again.  Each rehearsal sounds better and better as the group prepares to share their music in worship on Sunday morning at Trinity Episcopal Church in Upperville, VA.

During rehearsal, Rev. Chip Giessler arrived on campus to come and speak to the group.  He is the pastor at Evergreen UMC in Leesburg, VA and also serves on the Culture of the Call committee.  We discussed Jeremiah 29:11-13 and how God has a purpose and a plan for each of us.  The group was asked to consider where they would be in the year 2020 and to determine how sure they were of that future.  We had people ranging across the spectrum and it was interesting to hear what they felt God was calling them to do.

In an effort to understand ourselves and our team members better, Rev. Giessler had everyone complete a Spiritual Autobiography Graph.  The x-axis was the span of time (our lifetime) and the y-axis was our sense of closeness to God throughout that time.  Each person started working to create a visual representation of their spiritual journey, including both ups and downs. 

We continued our conversations about our Spiritual Autobiography at lunch, staying in the groups we had formed in the chapel.  This was helpful in allowing the group to learn more about each other's spiritual journey and the events that have had the biggest impact their relationship with God.

After lunch the family groups met to check-in and see how everyone was doing.  Each group did something different such as sharing scripture, making shirts and picture frames, and just spending some quality down time together.  Later, the group gathered back in the chapel to review some trivia about the Dominican Republic.  One interesting fact we learned was that the D. R. is the only country that has the bible depicted on its national flag.

 Another round of rehearsal followed and improvements continued to be made with each song.  Everyone seems to be enjoying the music and the opportunity to use the gifts God has given them to glorify Him.  After rehearsal, we headed downstairs for some mission education led by Drew and Chad.  The first part was led by Drew and we talked about what we think of as mission.  Then Drew went into the history of mission and the implication it has in our faith.  Then he talked about how we can actually live out our faith through mission in our daily lives, not just on a specific trip designated for that purpose.

Then Chad discussed the Virginia Conference's involvement in mission and handed out a conference missions packet to everyone.  He talked about many  how we are involved in mission internationally through the Initiatives of Hope, covenant relationships with missionaries, and through short term trips like Voices of Youth and others through our home church.  We also reviewed the many mission sites and opportunities located within our own conference and how we might be able to plug into some of them.

The mission education time ended and we surprised the group with their tie dye shirts washed and ready to wear!  No two shirts were the same and they all looked great.

We had a little down time and then met for dinner.  Each meal in the dining hall seems to be more in order as they finish parts of the renovation.  There was some lively conversation and great anticipation for our next activity.

Most of the group went to the Alamo theater to see the final installment in the Harry Potter movie series.  A few others stayed back and bought some food for our lunch and dinner on Sunday.

We came back to campus and gave the youth a few different activities to choose from.  They could play ultimate frisbee, board games, or just hang out and get to know each other.  There was an intense frisbee game, a competitive game of Dixit, and the rest of the group continued to develop their new friendships.  Afterward, we gathered in the lounge for our daily debriefing and devotion led by Chad.  He reminded us of some missionaries from the bible and how they were passionate to share what they had learned.  We were all encouraged to journal three sentences about what our call to mission was on this trip and then sent everyone off to bed to get some rest for another busy day tomorrow.