To say that Rodney and I (Lydia) were very excited for our first team meeting was an understatement. Seeing all the members of the Madison WI team come together for the first time definitely made this trip more of a reality! There were a few new faces to Calvary as well as students who had been attending the 7/8 grade programming all year ranging from 13 years old to almost 15 (not including Rodney or me. Ha!)
While we were eating our pizza lunch, we got to spend a lot of time playing get to know you games. It can be challenging and awkward at times to force yourself out of your friend group to meet others. We challenged them to do just this and play the game two truths and a lie. Our team had to work together to figure out what each student was lying about. It was very comical and surprising at times!
Afterwards, we watched a short video explaining briefly what YWAM is and all of the work that they do. The link to the video can be found below. Rodney taught us a few fun facts about Madison Wisconsin while I explained a bit more of what we will be doing there while we serve (ministering to the homeless, working with inner-city kids and international communities, etc.) I taught the team a term that they would be hearing a lot in the days leading up to the trip and during the trip. The term is FLEXIBILITY. Things can change in a flash on these trips, so being prepared for anything is essential. During this time we also discussed the support letters that each member was supposed to send out asking for monetary donations and prayer. We were very impressed with how far some of these students got already!
To finish out our first meeting, we introduced a few games that would encourage team building. The goal for each meeting leading up to this trip is to grow more comfortable with each other. Team building games can help with that goal. The best game that was played during this time was the “human knot.” The goal of this game is for everyone to form a close circle and grab hold of someone else’s hand who is not the person standing directly next to you. Once this is done, the team must figure out how to un-tangle themselves without letting go of hands. This was tricky!! At one point, Rodney and I were contemplating quitting this game early… we didn’t think they’d be able to finish! These kids definitely proved us wrong. They persevered and these clever kids were able to untangle all 15 of themselves before our meeting was finished. What a great way to end our first meeting! We are looking forward to the next. -Lydia
Below is all 15 students working together to untangle their human knot!
YWAM informational video: