After breakfast every morning, students and leaders have an hour for quiet time with God, reading their Bibles, praying, and listening to God's voice. The Mission Adventures (MA) staff encourages them to write in their journals and to share what they heard from God through scripture or prayer during the morning gatherings. At these gatherings, students, leaders, and MA staff split into small groups and spend time in group prayer before coming together again and hiking the short trail to the challenge course.
At the challenge course, the groups divide into several teams and rotate to different stations. An MA leader explains the challenge at each station, and the team works together to overcome it. Teams pass all their members through holes in a web, guide blindfolded teammates by voice through a rope maze, walk across a line of wire, and balance a large, rocking platform. The last day at the challenge course, the churches stay together, forming two large teams, and tackling two stations called, "Escape from Prison" and "The Wall." At the first, the entire team stands within a triangle formed by five-foot ropes. They have to get out of the triangle without touching the ropes, using only a plank of wood and their teammates. The other station is a ten-foot wall, which everyone has to scale with only two helpers on the top and a dwindling amount on the bottom. To make each station even harder, MA leaders will often "handicap" members of the team, restricting their movements, eyesight, or use of language.
Both teams learn a great deal about teamwork and unity during the challenge course, and most importantly, that even if they are not directly involved in lifting a teammate over a rope or wall, they are still a vital part of the team, praying for and encouraging their teammates.
After lunch, the groups begin drama practice. Each student is involved in a drama they will perform at various places in Mexico. The three main dramas are "Redeemer," "Embrace," and "Chains," but there are also a few short dramas used to get the crowd's attention. None of the dramas use words, but they are all accompanied by music, and they all depict a fallen humanity that refuses the love of Christ, going through intense pain until accepting and welcoming Christ, who will provide forgiveness, strength, and refuge from the consequences of sin.
Amy Ferguson is a junior high student and a part of the drama "Chains." She said, "The dramas are not only for good people. Anyone can change to a Christian. It doesn't matter what you've done, God will still love you if you accept Him."
After dinner, I gathered with the MA staff to pray for the students and then lead them in a time of worship. During these worship times, many students feel God's presence and make new commitments to follow wherever God may lead them, and many experience the power of the Holy Spirit and of praying for one another. Some of the students told the groups that they heard God calling them to start a Bible study at their school, and some heard a calling to missions when they finish school. We prayed for each of these students, that they would continue to hear God's voice and obey.Everything the groups learned during Training Week in their quiet times, the challenge course, drama practice, and worship, will help strengthen and encourage them during the following week in Mexico.
During the week of training in Colorado, I have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit moving through worship and prayer. In Mexico, I hope to see the growing work that Mission Adventures does, working alongside youth groups to challenge young people, show them the world of missions, and change the lives of both the students and the people they seek to reach.