Three Acteens from First Church, Iva – Kensley Jordan, Anna Grace Horne and Hannah Wilson – were among the nearly 2,350 girls and young women who attended “Blume.”
From left: Kensley Jordan, Hannah Wilson and Anna Grace Horne of Iva First Church, along with other Acteens at the national ‘Blume’ Acteens conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., explore the theme for Acteens this year – “G3: The Power of a Girl to Change the World.”Blume, sponsored by WMU, has been held every four or five years since it was begun in 1972 as the National Acteens Convention. This year’s gathering was July 13-16 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., near Orlando.
South Carolina sent 349 participants to Blume – more than any other state.
The girls had the opportunity to learn about the crime of human trafficking, which is on the rise in America even as it is rampant in the rest of the world.
Through a simulation of choices activity, Horne and Jordan decided to take the “safest route.”
“Turns out it wasn’t the safest way after all,” said Horne, “because I was kidnapped and figuratively put into sex trafficking.
“I experienced the feeling of helplessness. Having to wait to be rescued made me realize that this was not just something across the world. It can happen to anyone, and I plan to help girls be aware of the dangers of this awful thing right here in our own country.”
WMU partnered with Disney’s YES (Youth Education Series) program to provide an interactive cultural experience at Epcot customized for Blume participants.
Jordan said she learned about the countries of France and Morocco, as well as other parts of America. She said she was impressed by the girls from Hawaii who were on the program.
Wilson said many girls made professions of faith during Blume and that the trip was an “awesome experience” that impacted her life and led her to get closer to God.
Lucy Johnson, a WMU member from Iva First Church who chaperoned the trip to Florida, said she was energized by the voices of the girls all singing together during the conference’s general sessions. She described how an artist drew a picture every night while everyone was singing. “It was incredible,” she said.
Related: Teen girls challenged to missional living at ‘Blume’
Missions Education in? Southern Baptist Churches
WMU offers organizations and approaches, as well as ministries, that enable every member of the church to learn about missions, become involved in missions, and live a missional lifestyle.
Through the organizations and approaches, adults, students, children, and preschoolers learn about the work and needs of missionaries. There are opportunities to participate personally in missions projects as well as develop a missions lifestyle.
WMU missions organizations include:
– Mission Friends for children, birth through kindergarten
– GAs (Girls in Action) for girls grades 1-6
– RAs* (Royal Ambassadors) for boys grades 1-6
– Children in Action for children grades 1-6
– Acteens for girls grades 7-12
– Youth on Mission for youth grades 7-12
– Women on Mission and Sisters Who Care for women 35 and older
– Adults on Mission for men and women 18 and older
For more information: http://www.wmu.com.
*Transferring from North American Mission Board to WMU in 2011-2012