A Day at Endeavor East

Saturday afternoon, the golden Georgia air was filled with exclamations of delight and laughter as girls from around the nation arrived for TeenPact Endeavor East. With the door swung wide open on the huge lakeside house, new and old friends were joyfully welcomed to the space we’ll be calling home for the week. While girls distributed their suitcases throughout the myriad of rooms upstairs, downstairs buzzed as the Endeavor staff team and girls mixed and mingled during a game of twenty questions.

The evening began over plates of lasagna as our small groups for the week, Wisdom, Kindness, Strength & Dignity, talked and laughed through a series of get-to-know you questions. Throughout the week, these groups will be meeting to discuss the sessions, working together in team building activities, and attending breakout sessions.

Our theme for Saturday was “God is Holy.” We start here because knowing who God is, is the only way of discovering who we are and what we ought to be. With Proverbs 31 open in our evening session, Endeavor Program Director, Serena Walker, explained that while these verses do teach us how to be better women, better wives, better mothers, etc, more importantly, they teach us about Jesus–who he is and what it looks like to follow Him. It is only then that we can move outward to those other significant spheres of life.

Sunday morning started off quietly as girls scattered around the lakeside property for our first day of Bonjour and Mon Ami time. (Bonjour is a guided time with God centered around each day’s theme. Mon Ami is a time when girls are paired together to discuss what was read and learned during Bonjour.) In the dewy morning light, girls explored Sunday’s theme– “God is Creative” –as they read Psalm 8, Hebrews 1, and 1 John 4 and reflected on the creativity of God and how they could mimic such creativity in their lives.

Each day at Endeavor, we focus on a unique relationship sphere in our Endeavor girls’ lives. On Sunday, our focus was on mother/daughter relationships. The conversation began with a devotional from TeenPact mentor, Rita Seldenrust. She encouraged the girls to seek out relationship with their moms as God has given each of us our moms for reason.

In our morning session, Serena encouraged the girls to start proactively studying the Bible–“Because if we want to feel deeply about God, we must want to think deeply about God.” (Jen Wilken – Women of the Word). With a heart of passion, she inspired the girls to see the Bible as a book about how we should be and recognize that that in turn is what changes our actions. After explaining how to study the Bible Inductively the girls broke into their small groups again and practiced going through the three steps: (1) Comprehension, (2) Interpretation, & (3) Application.

Gathering the girls up on the spacious terrace, Event Director Cindy Cocks taught the art of small talk and how to gracefully manage a standing reception. They were then able to immediately practice this skill over lunch. The house was filled with chatter as the Endeavor girls mingled and chatted with punch and plates of tarts, cheese, and fruit in hand.

Sunday afternoon, we kicked off our breakout sessions with small groups rotating through workshops on poise, flower arranging, hair care & styling, poise, basic auto maintenance, and self-defense. Later, girls enjoyed their free time by talking one-on-one with each other or the mentors, participating in casual rounds of volleyball, swimming, and playing games. While some of the activities offered at Endeavor may seem random in choice, they are carefully chosen to show the girls how they can glorify and enjoy God in all they do.

Our evening session with Cindy Cocks encouraged the girls to seek to live graciously. As Cindy explained, grace is the love and mercy given to us by God. And gracious living means living a life filled with receiving grace from God and giving grace to others. After reminding the girls what it means to be loved and forgiven by God, the evening closed out with the beautiful sound of voices rising in worship proclaiming “My name upon on your heart, my sin upon your shoulders, the power of sin undone, the cross for my salvation. The lamb of God in my place, your blood poured out, my sin erased, it was my death you died, I am raised to life, hallelujah, the lamb of God.”

As we move through the week, our goal is to inspire and equip our Endeavor girls to enjoy and glorify God in all they do – whether through worship or working on a car, flower arranging or bible study.