Archive for the Category »Merging Souls «
Yesterday we spent 16 straight hours with 58 teenagers. It was delightful! We went to art galleries and museums, had pizza and tacos, watched movies and took in a planetarium.
Why you may ask?
Well we have worked and ministered with young people for over 25 years. We have spoken to over 1 million of them along with their leaders and parents. We have done this in 60 countries spanning various ethnic, religious and income settings. Some might say by now we should be experts, but there are no more experts . . . only explorers. Of which we are only two!
Yesterday we lived life with them. We did not lead or follow, we were just were part of their journey . . . creating moments. We asked questions and listened to their unprocessed answers. We shared stories, concerns, passions and questions. One thing was confirmed to us again. This next generation is an ungraspable people group.
We do not mean that in a bad way or in a manner of “why try to do anything”. This age group is fascinating; they are touchable and distant, honest and self-protective, real and artificial, caring and provocative, predicable and unpredictable, united and divided, complex and simple.
This Next Generation includes 2 billion under the age of 25 people. Around the globe many of them saw the same movie this weekend, downloaded the same song, talked about the same hero, and played the same sport. Many of them struggled with self-identity, their parents and peer acceptance. They hold various beliefs so close and so far from their daily lives.
Family and faith are no longer at their core, (and we are not saying who left who), but they live for compassion and community. Whoever accepts them, hears their heart and creates a better tomorrow will lead them forward.
We want to have MOMENTS with them! There is so much potential there.
I sit on a tattered bench of green long gone.
I look out at this garden where for two weeks I belong.
Palms and ferns, flowers & more.
Stand and wave in the wind of no more.
My bags to the left, birds watch up above.
This is peace . . . a moment I love.
DISCOVER’s begun and we head home.
Amazed, in mercy I roam.
Poem by Dan Potter
I stand at the edge of one of the most majestic falls in the world.
The water roars down into a white abiss. The grass follows the water and guides it down it’s fall.
The mist creates a rainbow and rushes up to refresh my face.
I look across at rocky clifts which peak at red clay and decend into tall gree grass into the wonder of white.
A bird flies free above it all, no fear of falling. Just able to see what my eye cannot. Without limits it sails from Brazil to Argentina – no stops, no costs, no fear.
Stand as close to the edge as possible and sing “How Great thou Art”.
Art . . . It is all art and I am amazed again, then I walk away.
Not to leave, but to another and another again.
Butterflies ride upon my wrist, an iguana crosses my path, a family of “coo-wah-tea” go from bush to bush.
The rain comes and children dance, my clothes turn cold with the heavy mist.
It blinds the eye, but we could remain here for years and not take it all in.
What a wonderful world!
Lisa Bruder, from Germany performs the song she wrote for the Girl’s “I am a Princess” meetings in November, 2009!
I am a Princess by: Lisa Bruder 2009
Verse 1:
D A2 (Dmaj7)
Lord, you’ve created me.
G C D
You formed my heart and gave me life.
D A2 (Dmaj7)
And you’ve made me beautiful.
G C
You know my heart and everything I am.
Chorus:
A2 D A2 G
Now I can run into your arms.
D A2 G
And you crown me with your love
D A2 Bm7 G
Cause I’m a child of the Highest King
C D
I am a Princess – I am a princess.
Verse 2:
D A2 (Dmaj7)
I can find love in you.
G C D
Find peace in you and everything I need for life.
D A2 (Dmaj7)
And I’m made complete in you.
G C
You satisfy me and you make me whole
Bridge:
Em7 G
You are my father, and you are my Daddy.
Em7 C A2
Now I can say: I belong to you – I belong to YOU!
Today is a multitasking day. This morning started out with our United Hospice Servce team meeting (and this photo taken for advertising purposes).
Though I am not working for Hospice these 6 weeks during imagiNations, I still go to the weekly meetings on Thursday mornings, so I can keep up with all the changes that are made.
After the meeting, I joined Dan who was teaching creativity (magic tricks and interaction skills). I stepped in and helped everyone with their ideas of transforming their clothing (from our trip to the thrift stores last week).
They are all at the Jr/High School right now on lunch visits to the teens they have connections with and are mentoring. We meet back for lunch . . . then on to ConneXellence!
Today was SIMPLE communication day, and the day for the imagiNations 2nd talk. They all did very well, and improved from last week. They put a lot of effort into the talks that reflected them and what they find interesting! 
Lisa inspired us that we can dance by discovering our “3 M”s”: Motives, Music, & Moves. She had us all dancing free style & a hip hop she created.
Roland swept us off our feet with whistles, short Uruguayan light blue shorts, and enlarged wallet dress shirt and great smells . . . telling us we should play soccer because of the benefits.
Facundo let us know we could enjoy photography by taking the 3 pictures: 1. Picture of LOOK, 2. Picture of DOCUMENTATION, and 3. PICTURE OF MEMORIES.
Giovana gave the talk that WILL change the rhythm of me in this coming week. She informed us that we all have a “biological clock”, an internal clock called our “Circadian Rhythm”. This rhythm is regulated by daylight. Our nervous system takes the daylight, through our eyes, into our brain, to the pineal gland which secretes melatonin, the sleeping hormone. Basically, if we are able to adjust our EATING and EXERCISE to the natural rhythm of our body, we can enjoy an healthier lifestyle.
So the basics of this cycle (what our body is predisposed to do best) is:
* between the hours of noon and 8pm should be our time to eat (before or after that it should be only fruit or low carbohydrates. That is when we should let our bodies take in and digest food.
* from 8pm to 4am is the time for our bodies to extract the nutrients that we have eaten. It is the sleeping time.
* from 4am to noon is when the body is gathering wastes and preparing for removal. When our bodies are in the right rhythm, we will generally have elimination at the same time daily.
* between 4pm and 6pm is the best time for us to exercise. Our muscles are more flexible, our reaction time is quicker, our blood pressure is lower, and our strength is at it’s peak.
So, I have taken the challenge to try to adjust to the Circadian Rhythm of my body. Let’s see how it goes, Giovana, thanks for the challenge!
We took an imagiNations outing to Frankenmuth, MI today . . . yes it rained and was cold, but we could still have a short tour in Broner’s (the largest CHRISTmas store in the world), have our picnic under a shelter, take group photos in our new imagiNations artisTREE hoodies, and even have an hour to spare walking down the main street.
According to Lisa (our German girl) there isn’t too much like Germany that she saw until we got into the main part of town:) We did our “exibitions” in the car on the way, and on the way back learned about our “human” theme for the week with fire as our symbol: “I am human. I battle. I live connected to my conflicts.” Near home, Lisa gave us HUGE belly laughs as we helped her “choose” here theme for her Wednesday talk: You can dance! 
Today we are experiencing “conneXellence” interaction. Worship and Magic Tricks were experienced in the morning. Then later we went to the basement with the powerpoint visual to learn & discuss INTERACT. We are trying to discover the things that we can use to interact with people . . . who are we? We are on the search together.
The after lunch part of the day was spent with the 4 of them working out details for their church program at Grace Bible Church on Sunday morning!
This morning we focused on making our communication SIMPLE using a Sand Dial as our focus point. We worked on the Subject and Issue that we are focusing on. This is the first of the building blocks we have presented as one of the “tools in their pocket” to equip the imagiNations students for their future in communication opportunities.
For lunch they were exposed to the Marlette Jr. / Sr High School students. It was another great time of introductions. We had a warm reception by the students, as we walked from table to table introducing Giovana, Facundo and Roland from Uruguay and Lisa from Germany. Many of the students remember previous imagiNations students and were excited for a new group today. There are already great connections with some of the teens that these guys have made in less than a week. They only arrived one week ago tomorrow.
This afternoon they planned out the Sunday morning service they will be in charge of at a local church here in town. They have both the worship and the message of the service. It will take a bit more prep time, but good to already have the opportunity.