Hello there!

I am finally beginning to recover from jet lag... it has been a very long few days back in the States. During this time, however, I have been able to begin sorting my jumbled thoughts and memories about the time I spent in Germany, and it has been truly incredible to re live some of the amazing things God did while we were there. God did some amazing things while we were there, and really opened the door for another trip in which we will be able to do even more! This was kind of the preliminary run in which we were able to test the waters and see how the community responded, and they did so in such an encouraging way. For me personally, I was astounded to see such an interest in dance from many of the girls I met. There is absolutely no dance in the area, so there were dozens of girls who approached me after I performed, asking all sorts of questions about Belhaven, dance workshops, etc. We were performing at a school called Black Forest Academy which is essentially a boarding school for missionary teens, so there were many girls there who had danced in the past but weren't able to anymore due to the lack thereof. Knowing this now... I've really been praying about what kind of opportunities I might have in the future, to possibly go and teach, whether that be for a few months in the summer, or even for an entire semester after I graduate. I don't know if that would even be a possibility, but I will certainly continue to pray and see what doors the Lord opens up in the next few years. In terms of the immediate future, however, I know that many of us are planning on going back next summer so we can do even more than we did before!

I am enclosing a link for a video compilation of highlights from our trip. Germany Video Though so much of what we did was not caught on film, this is at least a glance into the beauty that we saw during our journey. Enjoy, have a great summer... and keep this blog bookmarked, because it will certainly be reopened in the next year. :)

Our group and our gracious and lovely hosts, Rick and Mary Beth Holladay, on our last day in Kandern.

One of the girls from Black Forest Academy, during our worship/dance improvisation.

Anna and Ethan, working with some of the BFA kids during the Acting workshop.

Another shot from the worship/dance improvisation.

Kandern, Germany from afar.

~Chelsea Stembridge

A little thought from Stephanie...

Dear family and friends,

It seems unreal that we are approaching the end of our time in Europe. In three days, we will be hopping on a plane from Basel to Amsterdam and then back to the United States.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have prayed for us over the last week or so (or long before as well!). God has been incredibly faithful to keep us together as a group, and to give us supernatural peace and love for one another in every circumstance. I KNOW it is because of your prayers. We felt covered and completely blessed by your spiritual support.

I know, as far as I'm concerned, it will be an experience I will never forget....I know my other teammates would agree. We could not have done it without you.

God used this trip to show me many things about Himself and myself as well. The majority of our job at the Art Factory has been to clean and reorganize. The building is full of things either belonging to the Holladays or to other people. Our job seemed a hopeless case. But Rick Holladay owned the vision for each space. He showed us where to move things and what to organize. By the end of the day, not a whole lot appeared to have changed. But in the evening, the Holladays would pause to thank us for the work we had done. They assured us it made a world of difference.

Isn't that what God does inside of each of us, friends? We look at ourselves, or we look at the world, and it seems like a truly hopeless case. But when God looks at us, He sees the "vision" and sees us as beautiful vessels. He sees the end result.

Maybe God brought 11 people from the United States all the way to Germany just to show us that. Who knows? It certainly opened the eyes of my heart.

I'd say the encouragement from that lesson would be to keep God's perspective on things. When He looks at us, He doesn't see the mess, but rather the beauty. He sees Himself in the mess. And though it may take months, years, or all eternity to complete, He will complete it.

Like the Art Factory, we are all works of art; in progress and ever changing. But we have the Master Artist as our renovator. His changes (the cleaning, reorganizing) may seem small and insignificant sometimes (He can do drastic ones too!), but it makes the world of difference in the end.

Keep His perspective, which is high above the clouds of the world. He sees the horizon.


Thanks for letting me share a bit of my heart.

In His love ~ Stephanie

Germany, Day 1 (and 2)

Hey all,

We just completed our first day of Germany Trek! It was a long day of traveling; all the way from Jackson, Mississippi to Kandern, Germany! I don't think we could have asked for a smoother day of travel. God really blessed us with easy transitions between flights, clear communication between team members, and even a little extra time to get to our flight in Atlanta (which we weren't expecting). He is good.
By the time we reached the Art Factory, we were all very tired. We were also, however, insistent on staying awake. "Yay!" for defeating sleep deprivation and jet lag! When we arrived at the airport in Jackson, it was about 10am, May 1. By the time we got to Germany, it was approximately 2pm, May 2. You do the math. But again, I see how God blessed our team with supernatural strength and endurance to bear with one another and love one another even though we were all extremely tired.

The only thing we had planned for today was a "first day orientation" of sorts. The Holladays (owners of the Art Factory) made us a delicious snack for us upon our arrival and also gave us a tour of the facility. They have lots of work for us to do over the next few weeks, but we're so excited to see what God can do with our time and effort to help the Holladays in their ministry!
Here is a picture I took today of the Art Factory. It truly is a beautiful place:

We also got to take a quick walking tour of Kandern. Here are some pictures I took during our walk today:

Anyways, I know God has us here for a reason. Thank you for your prayers, dear supporters! He is doing mighty things and I know that He will accomplish all He's set out to do through the Germany Trek team.

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In His love ~ Stephanie

P.S: Keep an eye out for more posts/pics to come!

     Through the rush of final assignments and tests, I am finding the importance of searching for moments of rest. As a team, I know we are all tired (and admittedly somewhat stressed), but we are not defeated. The end is near!

       

      This past Sunday, I attended Redeemer Church's Easter service, and I was so blessed by the message. Instead of approaching Easter the way I have heard it spoken of my entire life, the pastor preached from 2 Corinthians, specifically chapter five, verse eighteen which states, "All this from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." This is such a beautiful thought, and I found it so incredible because this has been somewhat of my "theme verse" in preparation for the Germany trip. Because we are going to Germany with the theme of reconciliation in mind, I have been constantly meditating on this particular verse, and so it was amazing to hear it in such a powerful way on Easter morning. Resurrection is by far the most significant message of Easter, but I believe that Reconciliation goes right alongside this miracle. New creation is the message of Easter. Through the death and resurrection of his son, God has given us the opportunity to renew our relationship with him. God has entrusted the act of reconciliation to us: this is our agenda. We are ambassadors for Christ: even to those we would rather not connect with. 

       In preparation for our trip, I have been working on a piece of choreography to bring along with me. This piece explores the idea of reconciliation, specifically drawing from Gomer, who is a prostitute written about in the Old Testament chapter Hosea. Throughout the story of Hosea and Gomer, we see the groom constantly pursuing his unworthy bride, completely disregarding her blatant sin. This story greatly parallels Christ’s relationship with his people, the church. Throughout biblical history, no matter how many times God’s people sinned, God has continued to pursue a relationship with them, and even today he continually reconciles our past and present errors with his glory. Despite this recognition, we live in a fallen world and, therefore, we continue to live adulterous lives, giving into sinful thoughts and believing ridiculous lies. Being a Christian is not about immediately throwing off sin and becoming “clean” in the eyes of the Lord. It is a daily renewal that is incredibly painful and difficult at times. This piece is still in the process of being developed, but I thought I might share a glimpse into my thoughts. :)

       On an entirely different note, I am enclosing a link to a video I made for a Comedy Improvisation workshop we held at a local church last Saturday. Comedy Improv Workshop The few hours we spent there were entirely successful, and I think it was a very encouraging experience for our team to teach such an enthusiastic group of teenagers! I know we are all looking forward to doing the same thing  awhile we are in Germany!

      I’ll leave you with this encouragement; something that was promised to Moses in the Old Testament, but has been continually fulfilled from that day forward because God is faithful to the covenant he made with his people; “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged’” (Deuteronomy 31: 7-8). 

Good night. :)

~Chelsea

SETC highlights

Germany Trek members Dave and Ginny participated in SETC's Rubber Chicken Improv Festival in March.  Here are some of the games they did...

Ginny as the translator:

Dave and Ginny as hobbits in "Golum in Love" the musical.

Dave and Ginny's team won the rubber chicken for best comedy improv team!

Raising Cane's Fundraiser

Hello!

Chelsea here again. :) This past Thursday we had a fundraiser for our trip at Raising Cane's, and it was a wonderful success! We arrived as a team at 4:00pm and when we got there, we found that the employees had put up signs to promote our team for the entire day! I was only able to stay for an hour, but in that time period, around 15 Belhaven Students stopped by. The Lord is continuing to bless our team so incredibly! We leave in 22 days- about 3 weeks, and everything is finally coming together!  

 

 Alice and team members Murphy and Anna, enjoying some yummy chicken. :)

 One of the wonderful signs the employees put up for us!

Our fearless leader Joe, leading fearlessly.

Infamous team shot! There will be plenty more of these to come. :)

Our Fundraiser today at Swirly Treats was a great success! Though there wasn't a huge turn out, there was a steady flow of highly enthusiastic Belhaven individuals who came to show some love. We are looking forward to our Raising Canes Fundraiser taking place next Thursday! Go Germany Trek! Yeah!

 

 Anna and Dave!

 Some happy Belhaven friends!

 Some of our wonderful team. :)

 Beautiful dancer friends!

As we wind down for the end of a very busy semester, the Germany Trek Team is winding up for the last leg of preparation before we cross the big pond!

We've been working tirelessly organizing our last fundraisers here in town, (Swirly Treats today in Lakeland! See facebook for more info.)

As we draw closer as a team, I find myself amazed at the desire in each of our hearts to be servant artists. It's hard to be in an educational atmosphere and also try to make a real difference in the world around us...it's even harder to come out of our own bubbles and reach out to those around us...
...this team does it all.
Whether its Anna Shelton and Chelsea working so hard to get fundraisers up and going,
or Dave and Anna Rebmann's ever-enduring positivity,
or Murphy and Courtney pretty much OWNING the Comedy Improv Floor,
or Sarah and Stephanie's stunning creativity in every process we approach,
or Ethan who is fighting a harder battle than the rest of us as he works from home,
or Joe who is at the head of a department, a family, and this team,

or me! And all I feel I can do in the face of so much beauty and love, is write this blog post, so you know what is happening; the amazing, beautiful, and hard things that are happening.

-Ginny

For the past couple of weeks, the Germanytrek team has been learning the art of comedic improvisation.  Comedy improv involves going on stage and making up a scene on the spot….which everyone expects to be the funniest thing in the world.  Great stuff!  In the midst of creative juices flowing and people going crazy, there are rules in comedy improv that help maintain some order/prevent an onstage cataclysm. 

Standard Rules:

1)   Avoid Negation—The word ”NO” or negating ideas

2)   Avoid Questions—‘?’s or ambiguity

3)   Previous Relationship—avoid meeting for the first time

4)   Decide how you Feel—always improves the scene

Anytime you are in an improv nightmare and the scene is going nowhere fast, these rules will be your lifeline.  Let’s start with the first rule.  Nothing will kill a scene faster than negating what your improv partner is giving you.  If you are waddling like a duck, and your partner calls you grandma, you are now grandma duck.  Trying to correct your partner by saying, “I’m not grandma, I’m a duck” kills the scene almost instantly.  What is said onstage is truth.  The audience has nothing else to go on. 

Asking questions (second rule) in a scene will severely slow down the overall scene and more than likely halt it altogether.  Questions like, “What are you doing?” ”Who are you?” and “How are you doing today?” will put your partner in a bad spot.  It forces your partner to carry the full weight of the scene and makes you a dead weight.  Turning questions into statements makes them much more powerful. Good alternatives are, “I have told you a thousand times don’t do ________”  “I can’t be seen with You!” or “You look like you got run over by a bus!”

The third rule, Previous Relationship, is key to instantly successful improv scenes.  A scene between a husband and wife of 20 years is much more interesting than two random people in the checkout line.  There is much more backstory that has to be explained in random encounters while an old married couple already has a clear and universal backstory that allows you to get to the action quicker.

            The fourth rule, Deciding how you Feel, will get you out of just about any pickle imaginable.  Apathy doesn’t play well in improv.  It’s just boring.  If you love/hate your partner or are scared/obsessed with your partner, it raises the stakes of the scene and gets very funny.  One classic move in a quickly dying scene is to pronounce your obsessive love to your partner and your need for them in your life.  That is a sure fire escape route in a scene. 

            Comedy improv can seem daunting at times, however it is good to remember that the audience is always….well…mostly on your side.  They came to laugh and they want to see you succeed.  These are just the very barebones, elementary, and unembellished basics. More to come later!

Hey everybody, here is a lovely video detailing the work going on at The Art Factory in Kandern, Germany!

The Art Factory Revealed from Rick & Mary Beth Holladay on Vimeo.

Watch team members Stephanie, Ginny, Anna, Chelsea and Ethan, talk about Germany Trek 2012!

Say hello to Germany Trek Team!

  Top: (left to right) Stephanie, Anna, Murphy, Anna, Joe

Bottom: Ginny, Sarah, Chelsea, Courtney, Dave

Hello from Jackson, Mississippi!

We have some exciting news to share with YOU: we are a group of students from the Belhaven University Theatre Department, planning a trip to Kandern, Germany in May 2012!

We will be working alongside a local arts outreach called The Art Factory, an organization serving artists in Europe and around the world. Located in a converted roof-tiling factory, the Art Factory hosts art shows in their gallery space and invites artists to spend up to a month’s time to rest, relax, and create. It is an excellent and innovative opportunity to share God’s love and creative gifts. It was founded and now run by Rick and Mary Beth Holladay who worked with Campus Crusade for Christ for over thirty years and have now devoted their time and energy entirely to The Art Factory Corporation.

So what will we be doing at The Art Factory? 

Our team is preparing to undertake a wide variety of endeavors. We will be involved in meeting some great needs including construction projects that will immensely further the continuation and growth of the Art Factory ministry, making
improvements to some of the housing, as well as preparing the performance space within their facility.


Along with these construction projects, we are preparing to teach a wide array of performance workshops including acting, dancing, and comedic improvisation. These workshops will be in conjunction with Black Forest Academy, an international middle and high school in Kandern, highly regarded in Europe. Finally, we are preparing to perform several theatre
and dance pieces at several locations in the Kandern area (including in France and Switzerland). Our central piece, which explores forgiveness and reconciliation, will be largely based on Shakespeare’s, “The Tempest”.

Stay tuned for updates and pictures of the Germany Trek Team!