Below is a post written by Susan LeGrand, a chaperone who accompanied Yates Baptist Church at PASSPORTmissions at Averett University. This was first published in the Yates Baptist Church Newsletter.
On Monday, July 21st, I departed the Yates parking lot in the pouring rain with 20 youth from Yates and Mt Hermon Baptist and three other chaperones to embark upon a week’s adventure at Passport at Averett University in Danville, VA. When folks heard that I was going, they said, “Aren’t you brave!” or “Bless you!” I had never been to Passport. What was I getting myself into?!
Yes it was fun. Yes it was tiring. And yes we all followed the road together with Christ, growing together in friendship and faith. Let me tell you what I discovered about Passport, not only as a parent and chaperone, but also as an adult on a spiritual journey of my own. I discovered that Passport is…..intentional. Every Bible story, song, skit, worship activity, etc. had a purpose that revolved around the week’s theme of “Follow the Road”. The Bible verse for the week was John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But in the contemporary translation from the Message, Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. “ Then using lessons from the movie, “The Wizard of Oz”, Passport helped us all to understand how Jesus is the road on which we need to travel in order to have a perfect relationship with God.
We learned that we are not in Kansas anymore. We met new people, we encountered new ideas, and we learned that God is eager to make us a new creation in Christ. Even when the road takes an unexpected turn and we realize we don’t know where we are going, we can trust that Jesus is always with us.
We asked, “What do they got that I ain’t got”? We explored the courage needed to step out in faith, especially when God calls us to do things that we think we can’t do. We explored taking risks to be a voice for others that have no power or influence….to be Christ for them.
Passport is….holistic. Passport has a saying that they received from a camper’s quote. “At Passport we learn the Bible in the morning and we do the Bible in the afternoon.” Passport is a complete experience. There is time for worship, for group Bible Study, for active missions, personal time with God, time in devotion with your youth group and of course, bonding and fun. Each day we split into groups and spent about 3 hours on several mission sites throughout Danville. This was especially meaningful to the kids. Each night as our group sat in a circle and shared a moment of the day when we saw Christ, that encounter was most often while painting alongside someone, or helping a child, or listening and getting to know someone.
Passport is….full of worship. Worship was a highlight. It was music-filled, creative and contemplative, wrapping together the day into a relevant message. Every night there was a participatory piece that was especially meaningful. It was the braid that we wove together and placed in our Bibles as a reminder that we need to connect with Jesus with our hearts, our minds and our souls. It was the anonymous prayer for someone in need that we placed on the prayer wall knowing that someone would take that prayer and pray. Likewise, we each have a prayer to hold close to our hearts.
Passport is….a fun, bonding experience. Of course, Passport is fun, complete with games (can you say paint, water and slime?), the costume dance called the Emerald City Ball, the volleyball tournament (made it to the semi-finals, yes!) and the talent show (Let it Go!). But the joy was watching the kids bond….sitting and having conversations at free time, helping each other through a difficult moment, or laughing uncontrollably at a joke. This bonding was reinforced in our circle during Affirmations on the final night when I heard kids say, “I am so glad I got to know you better.” “I am really going to miss you when you go away to college.” Passport helped our group grow not only in faith, but be vulnerable with each other and grow tighter as a group of friends.
Passport is…..a gift. Personally, I loved the opportunity to put the rest of the world and the busyness of my life aside and to focus completely on my relationship with God and with each of these kids. Your kids got to do the exact same thing. They set aside the social media, the gaming, and any thoughts of school to grow their relationship with Christ and with each other – face to face.
It was a privilege to be on the road with your kids…to watch them make discoveries in their faith and to share with them the joys of doing so. I am thankful for the opportunity.