“Have talent, will travel.” It seems like the biblical version of the saying would go like this: “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)” That verse came alive this summer as we traveled to Switzerland and Bulgaria and simply did what we are skilled to do.
We are trained dancers. For most of us, it is a skill we have been practicing and honing for most of our lives, certainly most of our recent lives. Using those skills in which we’ve been training, all we had to do was choose to go and dance; the Lord took care of the rest.
In Switzerland, we taught a summer dance and mime intensive similar to the one we hold here in Houston every summer. This was the fourth year in a row we were able to staff the intensive organized by the amazing team at YWAM Wiler [Special thanks to Sara, Rebecca, and Sue - We love you guys!]. With around 25 participants, we enjoyed eight days of dance classes, performances, worship, and life-giving devotionals.
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| On the last morning of the Switzerland intensive, just before the student showcase |
Every year, it is a blessing to see new faces and to recognize familiar ones (especially, Ad Deum alum, Daniel Cosette and his wife!) as we stumble from the hard-to-miss red YWAM van into our new home for the week, faces overcome with a look that can only be described as jet lag. It is hard to say how the Lord manages to bring us together as family; build such strong relationships; challenge, grow and move in individuals’ hearts and minds in just those few days, but He does. And we are so thankful for the opportunity to use dance as a vehicle to travel and share Who we love while we share what we love to do.
While Switzerland was new to some of our team, for others of us we had an idea of what to expect during the week (especially Randall who used to call Switzerland home!). Heading to Bulgaria, however, we were all in the same boat: What are we going to do? All we knew was that we were part of a team of artists helping to teach a creative arts camp run by dear friends of Randall’s. By the end of the camp, they were dear friends of all of ours and we were glad we trusted the Lord to go, even without all of the details.
For the first time ever, Sofia Life Camp was held in Sofia, Bulgaria. Once again, we simply came as “the dancers”; and we relished in the privilege of connecting with the beautiful people in Bulgaria, working alongside the ridiculously talented arts staff and watching the Holy Spirit move like only He can. We had deep conversations, prayed with the staff and some of the campers, and watched the atmosphere of a prison change from chains and bondage to freedom in Christ. We were inspired by the warmth and love shown to us and were able to encourage our brothers and sisters living in Bulgaria and all over Europe as we did life together throughout the week. Dance was the vehicle; God took the skills He gave us; and the outcome was inexplicable.
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| We gotta have a camp photo! Photo credit: Eli Deli |
Needless to say, we are so excited about what the Lord allowed us to be a part of this summer during our time in both Switzerland and Bulgaria. In the midst of lots of teaching and performing, we were still able to tour more of beautiful Switzerland's mountains in Gstaad and learn some traditional Bulgarian dances that kept us on our toes, quite literally. We can’t wait to go back and to have some of our new friends visit us in Houston as our new season begins TOMORROW!!!
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| Beautiful Switzerland... Need we say more? |
The arts, dance in particular, is a universal language that crosses cultures, nations, tongues and backgrounds. It brings people together who might not otherwise have a reason to associate. It is a bond that is powerful and strong. As dancers, we have a platform that provided us entry into unique places to which we might not otherwise be invited or even think to go. That was so evident to us. As we went in faith, we were able to simply share dance and share Jesus.
The truth is, we’re all given a platform. What is yours? We encourage you to share it; and share Jesus.
Fun fact: We were asked to teach hip-hop in both Switzerland and Bulgaria. When asked who teaches hip-hop, none of us would volunteer. In Bulgaria especially, we were scheduled to teach hip-hop for for hours each day….! Let’s just say we got to see a whole different side of Randall Flinn, and we have video evidence of the result. ;)
