I saw a new app in the App store for the iPad and iPhone, and I wanted to try it out. It’s called Blurb, and it lets you create stories with different media: audio, video, pictures.
So I made this Story behind our Christmas card. I like the app and will probably use it again in the future.
The apps I talk about in the story are: Camera+ and Halftone. And here’s the link for the Blurb app.
Saturday we had our first Youth Ministry Forum at the Seminary. It was a first for many things.
I think it was the first time the format was used for a youth ministry event (at least at our Seminary). We tried to make it very interactive and participatory.
We also transmitted live on the Internet (using Ustream), including the members of the chat in the discussion. We had about as many people participating via the internet as we had in the auditorium.
There were people from Juarez, Oaxaca, Monterrey and all over Mexico watching what was happening. I never heard if there was anyone from any other countries watching the forum. But overall, it was a good discussion.
Here are some pictures we took of the event.
Anyway, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas this year.
We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with some other missionary families here in Mexico City. Our kids absolutely LOVE hanging out with their kids. We had a great day, even though the Dolphins lost (again).
On Saturday, we had our family Thanksgiving. My favorite part of that day was when we sat down as a family and I asked the kids to pray about the things they are thankful for. It’s pretty cool to hear your 3 year old and 6 year old pray and thank God for their family and all the other stuff they have.
Oh…and the turkey was delicious, too.
I just read a great article over on the Fuller Youth Institute blog called “The Science of Storytelling and Listening“.
In the article, Jon Huckins lays out a pretty compelling case for using Storytelling as one of many methods of teaching in youth ministry. He says,
“As youth workers who are passionate about inviting our students into the Story of God, it is important that we follow in the footsteps of our Rabbi, Jesus. Jesus was the master storyteller, and true to Rabbinic tradition, one-third of his teaching was done through the art of storytelling. Similar to Jesus’ parables, modern day storytelling is a method that might provoke more questions than answers. The story becomes a conversation starter, not a conversation finisher. This isn’t always true, of course. As youth listen and engage in the story, they can process some of the answers because the story meets every teenager in a different spot of their faith experience.”
This is a pretty important idea for those of us who are involved in teaching or preaching. It’s worth reading the article, and I might have to pick up his book, “Teaching Through the Art of Storytelling: Creating Fictional Stories that Illuminate the Message of Jesus” (affiliate link).
