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.

Day 2 - Orientation Begins

Greeted by the morning sun, the staff awoke and started the day off with breakfast together at Cracker Barrel.  We were excited to be there but one of our waitresses, Fran, was even more excited.  She took a special liking to our team leader and we had to catch it on camera!

Fran and her favorite customer!

We returned to Shenandoah and Jenn helped us focus with a devotion based on Matthew 28:16-20 "The Great Commission".  The first thing we did was listen to Matthew West's song "My Own Little World".  Jenn encouraged us to remember our calling and how we should continue to focus on other people's needs throughout the trip in front of our own. She also reminded us that throughout the trip we should take to heart the comforting words of Christ, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age".  We are never alone!

After our devotion, it was time to put up our signs for all the incoming youth.  We had to get a little creative in the design and placement of the signs but we all seemed to enjoy the task before us.

All of the preparations were in place and the youth and their families began arriving.  The internal conflict of wanting to follow God's call and stay in our comfort zones started racing in our minds.  It even seems to reveal itself in this photo!

Eventually everyone found their way to the designated parking area, unloaded and were welcomed into Racey Hall.

While all the youth were checking in, new friendships were blossoming as they began to chat and find out new and interesting things about each other.

Once everyone was settled in their rooms, we headed over to Goodson chapel for a communion and commissioning service.  We were joined by the Vice President of Student Life, Dr. Rev. Rhonda VanDyke Colby, who helped to bless the elements and offer words of wisdom to the group.  She also happens the proud mother of this year's music director!

Chad shared a message with the group on the Great Commission before communion.  Then we had a prayer for the Voices of Youth members with family and friends laying their hands on each one as we prayed.  There were both spoken and unspoken prayers sent up on behalf of the team as they begin the 3 1/2 week journey together.

The service ended and then it was time to say goodbye to the family and friends that had brought the youth.  It was hard to say goodbye but the excitement of what was to come quickly took over and some skits led by the youth staff about basic rules and guidelines for our trip lightened the mood.

We gave everyone a quick stretch break after the rules skits and then it was time for the first rehearsal.  Drew and Jim worked hard and were pleasantly surprised at how quickly the group learned some of the notes and nuances within the music.  Everyone left the rehearsal feeling quite good about the next 3 1/2 weeks and gathered into their family groups to discuss "Why are we here?"

The groups enjoyed their first get-together and quickly came to Racey Hall to ensure that we weren't late for dinner.  We found out that the Shenandoah University dining hall is going through some renovations and had to adjust their food service a bit but all of the staff were quick to help with anything that we needed.  After dinner we headed back to the chapel to engage in a Post-It note activity where we looked at things that were holding us back and what the perfect Voices of Youth trip would be like. 

The pink post-it notes were those holding us back and consisted of things like fear of failure, not being good enough, nervous, judging, addiction, homesickness, and sin.  These post-its were placed on the door behind us.

The blue post-it notes were representative of the ideal trip and included such things as love, speaking openly, forgiveness, truth, being closer to God, faithful, and no more hiding.  These were placed on the wall in front of us so that we can look forward to where we want to be and leave the rest behind.

  

Another rehearsal took place after the post-it note activity with renewed energy and excitement to make this the best experience possible.  The choir is blessed to have a dynamic director and an accompanist that can play the tambourine with his left foot while playing piano.

We finished the evening by tie-dying our white t-shirts for this year.  Each family group was given their shirts and the tie-dying kits to see what they could create.  Not only did they have a blast, I'm anticipating some great looking shirts this year!

 

 

 

We then had a group meeting and discussed our highs and lows for the day.  Everyone seemed to be enthusiastic about the coming weeks and their time on Voices of Youth: Awakening the United Methodist Church to Mission!  We will learn a lot and build some great relationships along the way as we share Christ's light and love to the world.

Day 1 - Adult & Youth Staff Prepare for Orientation

After much anticipation, planning throughout the year and a bit of car trouble the day of, the wait was over for the youth and adult staff.  Voices of Youth: Awakening the United Methodist Church to Mission was officially back in action! 

Youth Staff - Alexis, Devon, Mollie and Katie

Adult Staff - Drew, Katie, Jim, Jenn, Jordan, Rachel and Chad

We gathered at Shenandoah University to prepare for everyone's arrival and the rest of orientation.  We checked in at Racey Hall only to find out the air conditioning had not been turned on and would not be turned on until tomorrow.

No worries, this will be a tiny preview of what our nights will be like once we reach the Dominican Republic...and another good reason why the staff arrive a day early to make sure everything is ready!

At dinner we discussed the preparations for our hunger awareness meal that will be taking place later during orientation.  We had a thorough conversation about diet, food distribution, poverty and other issues relating to hunger as we determined what the best way to present this meal would be.  You'll have to stay tuned to see how it turns out.

Once we returned, we began making this year's buttons for all of the participants.  Although we have several VOY veterans, it took quite a while to remember exactly how the buttons are made as it is quite an elaborate process and the directions for the button maker are nowhere to be found.  There were a few buttons sacrificed along the way during the trial and error stage but we were able to remember the process and successfully completed the rest of the buttons.

 The youth staff went off and made posters to guide the participants arriving tomorrow.  They also took some time to discuss the rules skits and other important reminders.

The adult staff discussed the worship service that will be taking place with the whole group tomorrow and looked at some different musical options for the tour.  Finding music that suits all generations and that also has a meaningful message is sometimes difficult but we were able to locate some songs that fit nicely into the worship service during the tour.

 Our meeting time was coming to a close and Jordan led devotions on John 6:1-13.  He talked about how Philip and Andrew reacted differently to the situation of feeding the five thousand.  As staff, he encouraged the group to see the blessings or gifts that we or other members of the group are given no matter how small because we never know what God will have in store for those things!  We are looking forward to the amazing journey we are about to embark upon as we continue to listen to the One who has called us to serve.