WinShape

Today we got out of the classroom and did some activity!! A group from WinShape came up and did the training for the day. It was raining, so we spent most of the day in the little community gymnasium across the street, but it was physical activity, and it was good!!
Of course, it was all about teamwork. We broke up into teams and began doing activities that required cooperation, communication, leadership, and a bunch of other critical stuff that we are learning about. To give you an idea of what the day looked like, I'll describe two of the activities that we did.
One activity was to get into the middle of a small contraption described as a jail. We were to "escape" from this jail, but we had to devise a strategy based on some rules that were given to us by our facilitator. We lifted some people over the top bar, helped others through the middle, and cheered others on as they squeezed under the lowest bar. There was lots of cheering, and by the end, some of us were a little smelly:)
Another one of our exercises was to do a trust walk with a partner. First, I was blindfolded and my partner led me around the campus, up and down hills, under bars, through trees, all without any words, only physical guidance. We had to accomplish certain tasks, which was difficult without any verbal guidance, but not impossible. Next, my partner, Jim, put his blindfold on, and I got to lead him around, only this time, I was not allowed to touch him at all and had to guide him with verbal guidance only. Without the physical contact, the tasks were a lot less comfortable, but a little easier to accomplish. Surprisingly, I think it took more trust to follow verbal commands than to follow physical direction.
It was great fun, and we learned a lot about ourselves during the debriefing time at the end of each exercise. Three things I want to take with me from these experience are to listen with the purpose of really hearing those I am communicating with, to trust and be trustworthy, and to use the gift of encouragement better.
A bit of trivia: WinShape is an organization formed by the owner of Chick-fil-A, a fast-food chain specializing in chicken. The owner is a Christian, and part of the profit from the business goes to support WinShape.
A group of us made the 35 minute drive to the nearest Chick-fil-A for dinner tonight as a show of support for the organization, and as an excuse to go have fun together:) YUMMMM...