Grace Schrock-Hurst's reflections

Brownies, Bibles, and Bonding

Reflections after the summer 2006 !Explore experience

What do fifteen youth from all over North America have in common? That may have been a very legitimate question to ask the circle of youth gathered on the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary's (AMBS) campus on June 19th, 2006.

Fifteen youth, myself included, were gathered to be prayed for by the seminary as we embarked on the beginning of our adventure. We all were members of the first !Explore group of 2006. Most of us came knowing no one else, full of reservations and fears, but also full of excitement for what the next eighteen days would bring. How would fifteen youth from Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Canada get along? Would we bond? We came from diverse backgrounds and different experiences. Some of us had grown up in large cities, others in small rural towns. We all had at least one thing in common:

We were beginning !Explore.

!Explore is a theological program for high school youth interested in pursuing gifts in ministry. Fifteen youth are in each of the two groups that run during the summer, and each group has two event pastors. Our event pastors, Lana Miller and Saulo Padilla, were wonderfully inspirational, full of wisdom, and very fun to be around. They helped lead our group on our adventure.

The first part of !Explore was a retreat at Mirror Valley, in Michigan. We spent the three days in times of worship, group bonding exercises, and getting to know each other. Some were shy at first; others were full of energy and spunk right from the start. Together, we made a "group covenant," each saying what we expected from the group and what we could offer everyone. The retreat was a wonderful way to begin exploring ministry. It was also a fabulous way to bond as a group. After a few days together, we could not believe that we had just met everyone a few days earlier. We all felt like old friends, comfortably joking with one another and sharing our thoughts freely.

Next, we headed back to AMBS and had four days on campus. We met with seminary professors, visited Notre Dame to learn about an early Christian martyr, researched theological questions, and spent more time as a group. In the evenings lively practical ministry skill sessions on preaching, music leading, and pastoral counseling taught us a lot. In the later part of the evenings, we gathered as an !Explore group in Frey guest house to share our faith stories. It was in Frey house that we discovered our group's love for brownies. Many evenings following, those entering Frey house could smell brownies baking in the oven or find evidence of brownies left in pans.

One of the most exciting parts of !Explore began as we left AMBS and headed off to Chicago for a week. On our first Sunday together, we visited Sonido de Alabanza, a large Mennonite-related Hispanic church, to expand our worship experience. Then we began a five day experience with DOOR (Discovering Opportunities for Outreach and Reflection). Each day, we headed off to different service locations, keeping in mind DOOR's question: "Where do you see God in the city?" In the evenings we came back together as an !Explore group, reflecting on the day's adventures and sharing our experiences. Some of us found God in children we interacted with or in the dedicated people serving the poor daily. We shared our frustrations about feeling useless, and encouraged one another to find areas to serve when we got home to our own communities. It was all very inspiring. Sleeping on the floor of an old church building, sharing bathrooms and showers with fifty other people, and taking public transportation everywhere helped us to identify more with those living in poverty. DOOR helped us to get out of our comfort zone and serve. Through DOOR, we learned that we not only came to help others, we came to learn and grow. God had a lot to teach us through our experiences in Chicago.

After DOOR, we headed back to AMBS for more days of research, meeting with our seminary professors, and learning about Mennonites. We had many lively discussions about theological issues, Mennonites around the world, and the future of the Mennonite church. It was inspiring to see youth seeking God and searching for truth. Although we did not all see face to face on some points, we engaged in intelligent discussions about issues and learned and grew. We also visited another church, Grace Community Church, where we were challenged to get our churches involved in our communities and serving the poor. When we returned to AMBS, we split into two groups and planned and led chapels. The first chapel group shared about our !Explore experiences and challenged those in the congregation to look for God's face in their lives and serve. The second chapel group led a reflection chapel, guiding everyone in reflecting on who they are, who God is, and what it means to be created in the image of God. Seeing the future leaders of the Mennonite Church leading chapels was moving. Each youth involved has gifts to use for God's glory.

All too soon, our time as an !Explore group drew to a close as we headed back to Mirror Valley for two final days at the retreat center. There we focused on spiritual disciplines and having closing worship services.

One of the themes throughout the eighteen days was calling, and listening to God calling us. We spent time reflecting on the call of Moses and Jeremiah. In our closing worship service, we sang together our prayer to God:

"Here I am, Lord.
Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me,
I will hold your people in my heart."

I think it is safe to say that many of our lives were changed through our time at !Explore. We felt God at work in our lives in new ways. What do the fifteen youth in this !Explore group have in common?

A love for God.

A passion to do His will.

And a thirst for God's truth.

God is calling. Are you listening?

Grace Schrock-Hurst
Park View Mennonite Church
Harrisonburg, Va.