aCceLeraTE

Last summer, I made the most of my time by participating in church activities. I registered for “e=cm2 (Established: Creative Ministry) Summer Dance & Hypocrites Workshop 2008”, “Step Up! Youth & Teens Levels” and “Accelerate YSTBS 2008 (Youth Short Term Bible School).” There were more activities like I the Teens’ Sport Fest and Teens’ Camp of which I wasn’t able to take part.
The one I enjoyed most was the YSTBS, held in Cathedral of Praise- Main Campus. I got to spend 2 weeks learning about God, His word, and His people. We had three subjects: Connect System, Pastoral Care & Discipleship, and Biblical Communication. I had lots of fun! We had games and activities in between lessons. I gained new friends and most important of all, I learned a lot.
On the first day, I thought the course would start at 8a.m. It was already past 8 o’clock when I got there. To my surprise, there were only a handful of students inside the River Room. (The River Room is a smaller area compared to the main auditorium. This is where gatherings are held when only a small part of the congregation is expected to attend.) We were told that chapel starts t 9. I was so relieved I didn’t have to wake up so early everyday.
I got my I.D. after registration. A large button pin actually, so much for an identification card. It was black with a black race car on its background. My first name, Karizza, was written in blue ink in the grayer area of the pin. I prefer being called Anika but since I decided not to ask them to change it anymore (that could give them some trouble, trying to erase the ink), my group mates call me Karizza until now. A purple folded paper was attached on the back of my pin. We were asked not to open the papers taped on our pins ‘til later.
When everyone had their “IDs,” the interns asked us to find the persons who got papers of the same color. Later that day, our group received our name: Mufflers. At first I thought our name referred to the kind of muffler you put on your ears. The class soon found out that our assigned group names were actually car parts. Others were named Radiator, Alternator, Spark Plugs, Fog Light, Piston, Crank Shaft, Carburetor, Clutch Disk, and Accelerator. I somehow felt lucky our name didn’t sound much of a car. I also think that it’s one of the best names.
That day we used the NLT and NIV to search for different words that pertain to pastors. Pastor Joey taught about different small group methods after lunch. We had presentation of the groups’ chants next. Ours went like: “Chug chug. Chug chug. Aaah… Muffler!” As far as I can remember, ours was the simplest. We had very simple movements too. We hold fists then punch them downwards in the air in the “Chug-chug” part, first the boys then the girls. We then move our arms in a circular motion at shoulder level, and then we chant “Muffler!”
On Tuesday, my leader asked me to play Guesstures, a game similar to charades. It was quite embarrassing. It was my first time to play the game and I didn’t do well. In the game, the actor picks out two blue and two red cards. A card has two words/thoughts, one typed on each end. I just put in the cards in the box which pulls the card in as time runs out. I didn’t choose the words I’ll play anymore. I didn’t do well in the charades part either. My team got one correct but I wasn’t able to pull the card out. No point. By the end of the week, Muffler still had zero in Guesstures. We had another activity at the end of that day. Food Relay is nothing new, I know, but we had fun. There were 5 food items, namely: ampalaya, butong pakwan, okra, vinegar, and banana. I guess I didn’t listen very well to the instructions. I thought every player was going to have one food item. Since I heard the ‘instructor’ say that the banana would be the last to eat, I fell in the last place of the line. Teams were merged so that we only had 5 groups when the game started. Our team was merged with Group Piston. Our first player took a lot of time. He kind of slowed the team down. Other groups were already having their second player and by the time he finished some had already sent their third player. I did well in this activity. I had no problem with bitter gourd, but I did with okra. What I did was this: I bit the okra to capsule-sized pieces then swallowed them with the help of water. I did the same with the ampalaya, I saved time by not chewing anymore. I did pretty well with the watermelon seeds too. Someone even quoted me as an expert. I chewed the seeds with the banana to save even more time. We didn’t win though. That was my Tuesday.
Wednesday: we made it through Accelerate Idol. Yey!
Yes, Accelerate Idol is based on American Idol. The difference is that we get to perform anything, --we can dance, sing, act, or all three-- we don’t necessarily have to belt out tunes. We had a bit of a trouble deciding what to do that day. We finally decided to dance “Happy Day” using the choreography of the Davidic Dancers. None of the groups was eliminated that day. The following day we had another dance number and still made it. A group was eliminated that afternoon. I was quite nervous during elimination. One of the two groups left standing, waiting for their name to be called, was Muffler. When the verdict was finally given, my leader literally leaped in excitement.
Groupings won’t be complete without the banners. Everyone was given sheets of art paper and a piece of white cloth. Friday, our team ended up with a very colorful banner. We made use of markers, glitters, double-adhesive tape, crayons, and art paper. We had a drawing of a muffler on the far left, coated with silver glitters. Coming out of it was smoke which we colored with gray and black. On top of the smoke were letterings (art paper cut-outs) spelling out “Muffler.” We filled up the empty spaces with torn-up pieces of art paper in assorted colors.
We had a lot more fun activities later. We also had fun learning and making our way through the quizzes. Speaking of which, I did well in the quizzes I even got more than the perfect score in some, thanks to bonus questions. I developed a better attitude during praise and worship and learned a lot about taking care of God’s flock. I also learned new songs and choreography of some of the dances used during the services. Best thing I gained above all was the deeper relationship with God I had.