By dinnertime on Monday, June 29th, the Embassy Suites hotel was noticeably different as more than 500 people wearing brightly colored yellow and orange shirts were buzzing in the hallways. Team assignments were given out as they all checked in. Lots of questions as many had never done something like this before.
Each evening everyone gets together for FUAGNEM! (Fired Up And Going Nuts Every Minute!), a fun time of music and encouragement from the host of this outreach, Susie Shellenberger. Susie’s been in teen ministry for over 20 years. She’s got a way of really speaking God’s Truth into their lives.
By the end of the program for the night 12 teams were formed and parts were handed out for the mimed drama, “Spellbound”.
I’m a leader on Team 8. Rob and Ben are on Teams 9 and 12, respectively. I know they’re here, but haven’t really seen them–it’s a busy place! Each morning, teams start showing up for breakfast at 6:45 AM and don’t make it back to their rooms for the night until 10:00 PM.
Yesterday, June 30th, was filled with a lot of hard work learning all the blocking for the drama. As I write this, it’s just over 24 hours since they started learning their parts and they’re 90% of the way there. By tonight, we’ll be ready after multiple run-throughs and dress-rehearsals.
It’s exciting to see new friendships beginning to form. My expectations are confidently high that all on this trip will see God work through and in them in ways that they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.