Tag-Archive for » mentoring «
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.
We are now preparing to lead the program team in Sydney, Australia for their first TeenStreet 5-10 April 2010. We would appreciate your prayers for us and for those organizing and preparing for this event!
Lisa Bruder, from Germany performs the song she wrote for the Girl’s “I am a Princess” meetings in November, 2009!
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.
This morning, we focused on the Next Generation. It is our TUESDAY FOR TEENS” day, in which we focus on teens anyways. This morning we gave some background history on where the teens of this next generation are at, and the cultural / world changes that prompted the Character losses (or declining decades). Then we proceeded towards one of my favorite NEX GEN topics: Mentoring.
MENTORING is the process and result of a mentor helping bring out the potential in a still to be developed person. It can take place on an occasion, in a season of live, or over a lifetime. Everyone will focus on at least one person to mentor during their 6+ weeks here in Marlette. We have seen such an impact in the past on the impact in the lives of teens with imagiNations mentoring time. So, we are praying for the divine appointments with the right people for these ones here.
In the afternoon, we headed to Cass City, where my parents, Tim & Joan Thomas were waiting for us with a gorgeous healthy meal, much of which was grown from their garden and picked for this meal. We drank watermelon juice that moments before we arrived was picked, cut in half and plopped into a juicer, then to our cup on the table!
We also heard stories of God’s voice spoken to my parents, how we can hear God’s voice and were released to live freely! Dad Thomas reminded us of the importance of learning to hear God’s voice in temptation. Check out the “Hearing God’s Voice . . . from my Dad ” blog entry.
1 CORINTHIANS 10:13
“There has no temptation taken you but what is common to man. God is faithful; He will not allow you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But will with the temptation offer you a way of escape so that you can stand up under it.”
One of my favorite comments driving home after the visit to my parents by Lisa was, “I feel like going into temptation, so I can hear God!” That is a new perspective, but good to see it from that angle!
This afternoon we took an imagiNations outing with the focus of the ‘human.” theme. Looking for inspiration in nature and having our processing time and shhh 0.5 time and “Creation Connection” time.
It was awesome to go to Doris Huntoon’s woods and meet God there. We all took our creative supplies (mine was my watercolor supplies) and books and chairs . . . and we took different trails to go have our time. We all came back when Dan blew his yellow horn. I enjoyed hearing about totally different experiences and interpretations that we all had.
I enjoyed this last scene, and spent my time noticing the details: colors, shadows, shapes, perspective, etc as I began the painting.
We are all trying to do a page a day in our “creative journals”, besides our BIG Adventure & Journaling. I do look forward to these daily creative times to process what we are experiencing!
Today we began the bonding process of getting to know our Journey of what brought us together to this point. We shared our hearts, where we have been, what we have been involved in, and how God made a way to bring us all together.
imagiNations ARTISTree 09 is a 6 week course from Oct 1 to Nov 15, 2009 in Marlette, MI . . . based out of our home! It is a mentoring based conneXellence training focused on NEXT GENERATIONAL ministry and the ARTS.
For this journey together we have:
Dan & Suzie Potter . . . also known as . .. DUZIE (facilators)
Lisa Bruder – from Germany
Giovana Chaves – from Uruguay
Facundo Luzardo – from Uruguay
Roland Reimer – from Uruguay
Our orientation today included sharing our journeys, prayer, worship, eating, and ended with a car tour of Marlette (because of the rain). We popped into various stores and businesses to “show off” the group, let them meet “real Marlettians” and get the feel of our community. We ended at Clarks for ice cream, even though it was a cold & wet day.
We are excited at how well we connected today, and thankful to God for the group He has put together. Our prayer is that we will be able to give and receive (all of us) during this season God has put us together!