The Ice Breakers

For those of you who have never been in a new place or have never met new, interesting people, I feel sorry for you. You are missing out on a lot. But, I doubt that many of you reading this are one of those people. Everyone, almost everyday, has experiences with people they have never met, or don't know very well. When you come to SOUL, it is more than likely that you are going to meet a lot of people that you don't know. Meeting people can be hard. It can be awkward. That is where ice breakers come in.

Ice breakers are games that the staff have come up with in which the participants are forced into getting to know one another, at least on a surface level. For example, my favorite ice breaker of the summer (and it's pretty high on the list of being my all time favorite ice breaker) is called "Make a Date". To start with, everyone gets a paper plate, which they draw a clock on. Then at every number they have to find someone that you don't know, or don't know well, and put their name down. Once all 12 slots have been filled, the real game begins. Now it's time to go back through the numbers. As the numbers on the clock are called out, you must find the person whose name you wrote down, and that's your "Date". Each number has been assigned a question to serve as a conversation starter.

Now, after having met 12 new people, at least that can serve as a starting place for the week to come. Another bonus from this game is that the questions can be used to get to know the kids that come to Sports Camp also.

Unless a connection is made with the campers, the impact that we are able to have in their lives and on the community is minimal.

Meet Our Speaker - Goldsboro Edition

The speaker for our last week of SOUL was Rad Jordan. He spoke at Tremors last December, and is also the campus pastor for the Friends Campus Ministries in Raleigh. That includes NC State, Meredith College, William-Peace College, Wake Tech, and basically anyone who wants to come and can find a way there.

Rad is attending Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, majoring in Christian Studies as well as Pastoral Ministry. Not only does he study, but he also makes sure that he is there for everyone in his family and his friends. While attempting to learn guitar, Rad enjoys photography and most sporting events. This week we were fortunate enough to hear his testimony, which is an amazing story. It's not my story to tell, so I'm not going to tell it here. But, a lot like Zack, Rad was amazingly real and honest with everyone at camp this week. If anyone walked away without learning something, it's their loss.

Starting Our Last Week

Realizing that SOUL finished about a week ago, I have finally been able to relax and reflect on the last week to put my best efforts into writing about it. If you have been following this blog all summer I apologize for the delay. If this is the first you are seeing of my SOUL blog then please, go to the beginning and start from there. I promise it will make more sense that way.

Once again, we had a prep week before camp started in Goldsboro. Which is nice, don't get me wrong. It's great to be able to make sure that everything is lined up to run smoothly, to be able to relax a little bit before more participants come. But, at the same time, after 3 weeks of living with the same people and having little to no time to yourself, things get a little tense. Again, it's not like we were in each other's faces about everything, or even anything, but spending that much time with someone nonstop, little things start to get aggravating.

And maybe that's just me. My beaver personality means that every once in a while I need to step away from everyone, get away from the place I've been cooped up in, and spend some time BY MYSELF. Since our only vehicle was the van, and New Hope is off of the highway, there wasn't really anywhere to go.

Let's just say, I was super excited and ready to hang out with the participants and campers that were coming to Goldsboro. At the same time though, I was ready to begin heading home.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Over the past couple of weeks some of the NC staff has visited meetings in Goldsboro, and in Yadkin County. These visits took place while my school year was winding up. Meaning final projects, papers, and exams were under way. As anyone in school can tell you, exams are often the hardest time of the year. As such, it is always stressful. These visits were a welcome distraction, and a wonderful chance to hang out with some of the staff. Not only did I get a chance to meet and/or deepen my relationships with some of the people that we will be working with this summer. I also got a chance to worship with them, in their own churches.

Both of the messages that I heard were amazing, and each was extremely relevant to this summer, but also to my life in general. I'm going to start with the message given at Branon Friends. The title of the message was "A New View" and the objective of the message was to examine many of the ways in which Saul's life was changed after he was converted (and later became known as Paul). First of all, the mission of Saul's life changed. He was no longer a man persecuting Christians, instead he was sharing his faith with anyone and everyone who would listen. Another point being that the lens of persecution has been turned, Saul is now the one persecuted rather than the one persecuting. Thirdly, Saul became a member of the family of God. The people who knew him were probably afraid at first, given his history among the Christian people. Over time though, that changed, Saul became a great leader among them. Lastly, the Holy Spirit came to live in Saul's heart.

Over all, Saul was a changed man. It was visible in the way he lived his life. Applying that to myself, I sometimes wonder, when people look at me who are they seeing? Do they see me? Or do they see Christ? The change that comes can be drastic, it should be drastic. The entire way that we view the world around us should be changed when the burden of the sin of this world is taken from us.

That leads me into the message I heard at New Hope. This one was titled "Keep Calm and Carry On", and I'll admit that when I read that in the bulletin I wondered if it was a reference to the poster that has become so popular lately, or just a coincidence. As it turns out, it was a reference, not only to that poster, but to the set that it belongs to.

As some background, keep in mind that these posters were issued by the British government in 1939 to keep morale up during the war between Great Britain and Germany. They also offer great lessons for Christians today as well.

Starting with the blue poster on the right, it was pointed out that three things that I should have the church should have, are courage, cheerfulness, and resolution. Without these there is no chance that the Christian faith will spread in the manner God intended. I took notes during the service, but the exact scripture references for each of these traits I did not catch. Let's remember that while Jesus was alive, he and the disciples were radical. They turned the lives of the people they encountered upside down. The same thing happens today. Even though in the US Christianity is the dominant religion, when someone truly becomes a disciple, a follower of Christ, their life is turned upside down.

Moving on to the green poster in the middle, remember that Christianity has been in peril for centuries. In order for us to be able to defend it, we must know where it comes from, which means that we must know the Word. Inside and out, we must take in everything that God has given to us.

And finally, the one that has become popular again recently. It's become a meme, and is often used and misused, with words being replaced and such.  - I am able to carry on because the Lord has given me his power. He has given me peace, a peace that I cannot find anywhere else. Just as Moses told the Israelites: "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." (Exodus 14:14) 

I know that the Lord has a plan for me, and that He will lead me if I am willing to follow him. All I need to do is keep calm, and carry on.

Morgan