Workshop In Beaverton

What an amazing time I had at the Simply the Story workshop in Beaverton, Oregon. We had 8 people who came which made it fun. All of us were able to give and receive lots of training and practice. Normally these workshops are attended by 20 or more(sometimes hundreds) people. We were called a one of a kind, very unique workshop. Well, what else could we expect. Each one of us there was unique in our own way. One of the women that attended was blind. What great insights she brought to the discussions. God sure showed his sense of humor. This wonderful woman was in my small group and the first story we were assigned to learn was Blind Bartemaeus. We didn't skip a beat. We just went with learning the story and preparing for leading a discussion. Later she told us that she appreciated us not changing the story because she was blind. One of our large group observations was that he didn't have to be able to see to believe in Jesus. This woman shouted, "Hallelujah" at the top of her voice. Another woman has a ministry in Togo helping to bring tools for those who minister there to use in evangelism. She shared how she could use this method there in West Africa. Another woman is going to the mission field in Guatemala. Two others take ministry teams to Iraq and Lebanon. One couple from Seattle(they are Korean) go to China every summer for two months to minister to Koreans living there. Finally, another woman works in the church she attends in a big children's ministry. Everyone shared the various ways they can use this in their individual situations. We had so much time to just share about our lives over meals that we all felt that we had established new friendships. One of the most interesting stories came from the couple from Seattle. The husband really wanted to attend the workshop but he didn't want to come alone. So, his wife agreed to sign up and come along. She told us later that she thought she was going to just come and observe but all of a sudden there she was telling stories in small groups, sharing in the large group, and leading discussion groups. I was able to watch these 8 people blossom as each day went by. They grew in confidence and in their storytelling abilities. I saw the Bible stories they told come to life as they made them their own. I was witness to the outpouring of God's blessings as these amazing men and women opened their hearts to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I discovered through all of this that my niche is working with small groups teaching them the basics and then having time to tell the stories as often as possible to their families, friends, neighbors, and to anyone willing to listen. I found that I enjoy facilitating the discussions and sitting there listening intently to all of the discovered treasures in God's Word and having all of us together digging into the stories. Those at the workshop told me that my gift was telling the stories from my heart. They said they could tell that each story I shared had touched me personally. They also said I had the gift of truly listening and being able to remember the things that were shared and going back to those who had shared and asking them if they would be willing to share more. I look forward to using what I learned when I go to Tanzania. My desire is that the stories God chose to put in His Scriptures will be told orally with passion around the world and I feel so blessed to be a small part of His plan. Please pray as I learn more about sharing Simply the Story.

Preparing For Assisting At A Workshop

Next week I will be an assistant instructor at a Simply the Story workshop in Beaverton, Oregon. The workshop is 5 full days and I have stories, teaching points and illustrations that I will be doing in front of those who are taking the workshop. Believe me, learning all of these things and having to teach them all without any notes is a challenge for my 57 year old brain. I now know the true meaning of "brain freeze". Sometimes as I go over them in my head while I am driving (no, I don't take the papers with me to read while I am driving), I seem to jumble some parts of one story with some parts of another story. Combining the Good Samaritan story and the story of Jesus Calming the Storm makes for an interesting "new" story. But, the Holy Spirit has been present as I prepare in various ways. I decided that posting videos of myself doing the stories, etc. on YouTube would be a helpful tool for me to use. I could record myself using the Camera App. on my iPad and then post the videos. First of all, have you ever tried to tell a Bible story to an iPad? It is very comical. Well, at least for me it is. I had to find a place in our house that was high enough so that when I recorded the stories the "audience" could see my face and hands. That is very tricky for someone who is tall. I tried one spot after another until I finally found a place that would work. I guess I could have taped the iPad to the ceiling and told them while lying down on the floor. Next, I had to figure out how to use the camera application as a video recorder. Half an hour later and I was able to get the camera so it was recording me and not what I was seeing through the camera. You know how when you watch movie directors on the set and they say, "Action, take one"? Well, for me it was Take One, Take Two, and by about Take Twenty Five I was able to actually make it through telling one five minute story without having to start again. Now came the time to post the videos on YouTube. I had to create a YouTube account and then give my video a title and tags so that people could find the video and watch it. In case you don't know what a tag is I will tell you. Tags are short, descriptive words that people can type in their search engine and then, hopefully, they will be taken to your video. I tried to use as many tags as possible to ensure that my videos could easily be found. For my recording of the story of The Terrible Storm I used the following tags: shawknee(a nickname), storm, bible story, and terrible storm. I thought that if anyone typed in "shawknee" in their search engine it would take them right to my video. Boy, was I wrong. There were so many items that came up when I typed in "shawknee". I quickly learned to type in "shawknee" and another of the descriptive words. After watching several of my videos over and over again I was able to learn how to make the presentation not come across as robotic or as just a memorized recitation. My lead instructor was able to view them and give me valuable suggestions. With practice, I am now much more relaxed about presenting at next week's workshop. Well, about as relaxed as I can possibly be in front of a group of adults. I will pretend they are kids and I should be just fine. Actually, I am really looking forward to this opportunity to share God's word and to dig deep into the Bible stories. I will post more after the workshop and keep this blog updated with my continued adventures in Oral Bible Storytelling.