Dance has played a pretty big part in my life and missions experience. It has been Part of every missions trip I’ve been on so far which means I have now had the privilege of dancing for God’s glory in 14 countries on 3 different continents. Several of my blogs have mentioned its role on the race but there have been many more times when I didn’t say anything about it at all. I didn’t realize how much I had left out until reading through previous blogs recently. I noticed that I shared nothing about how it affected my time in J-bay. Nor did I clarify how I shared my testimony at the children’s home in Malaysia. I think my last blog was the closest to expressing how much dance means to me.
In a podcast I was listening to recently, Ray Hughes said, “Dancers are engraving the atmosphere. They are displacing that atmosphere with an expression of life and blood and covenant. And praise just moved in to that space.” In Lesotho (Month 4), people spoke into my life and encouraged me to pursue prophetic dance – dance that declares the presence and heart of God in its movements. At the time, I wasn’t so sure it was something I wanted to pursue but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something I was already doing. When I dance, each movement has a purpose and carries meaning.
In J-Bay (Month 6), I was able to spend time with Sally – a dance instructor who loves to enable others to use dance as a means to glorify God. There were several days where I would meet with her and then spend an additional hour or two dancing instead of doing other ministry with the rest of my team.
In the past, I have generally danced to songs with lyrics so that I didn’t have to rely solely on my movements to convey the message. So, early on, she challenged me to pick an instrumental piece and ask God what He wanted the dance to be about and how that message could be conveyed without words. Soon, I had the song and a story of a little girl dancing with her dad as she grew up. I fought it though. How do you show a partnership with a nonexistent person? Where was the other person needed for this dance?
Over the next several meetings, Sally gave tips on how to emphasize the story more and help others see what I knew was there. One of the suggestions she made had a significant impact on the dance as it brought in the use of the fabric Keila had given me in Lesotho. Unfortunately, I was not able to show her the finished product before we left J-Bay. The first time I shared with others was during month 6 debrief when I showed my squad.
Sally also suggested that maybe the story was my testimony. I agreed with her to some extent and thought it was kinda cool that God would give me something with multiple layers to it. It would be nearly a month before that reality sunk deep into my heart. As I was preparing to share it again at St. Joseph’s Home (Month 7), I knew I really wanted to use it to tie prayer and dreams together but I wasn’t sure how until a little over an hour before when God showed me that the fabric represented my dreams. I had cast them away and He was giving them back! Those dreams are the answer to my prayers as a little girl for big dreams. It was then that I began to truly realize how many layers God had placed in the dance He gave me. It was my testimony on so many levels!
On the bus ride to Thailand (Month 8), God told me that dance would be a big part of the month but look different. In the first week, we were asked to prepare special music for Share the Love church. Some of my squadmates agreed to play Chris Tomlin’s Jesus Loves Me and I did something I’d never done before – planned a dance without asking if was okay. In fact, I didn’t even think about asking until we were rehearsing the night before. It turns out our hosts loved to use dance in worship and even had a small dance studio on the first level of the church building.
Then, on one of the first days in Chiang Mai, I was praying for Hannah on one end of a couch while she sat on the other end asking God what He wanted her to do for ATL that month. I saw a vision of her dancing with complete abandon and absolute joy when she suddenly looked over at me with a big smile and said, “I know what I’m going to do this month. Have you asked God what you’re doing yet?” That led to the two of us creating a dance which we then did at the Tha Pae gate. While there we also did spontaneous dances to some of the worship songs Haley and Anna sang. At the end of the month, I was able to share my testimony dance during PVT.
In Indonesia (Month 10), I realized that there are four reasons I dance: 1)To worship God; 2)To fight spiritual battles; 3)To build up the church; 4)To create the opportunity for conversation about God. I have danced for other reasons in the past but I do not enjoy it when I do.
Below is a brief list of how dance has played a role in each month of the race.
Guatemala: Our living situation doesn’t allow for much dancing the way I’m used to and I realize for the first time how often I use it in worship. Project Butterfly is brought back on my radar.
Nicaragua: Plenty of space to dance so I dance often. On Thanksgiving, I share with some of the staff.
Panama: Lots of space to dance again and I meet Nilivette who is a fellow worship dancer. A dream to use dance as more than therapy or personal worship begins to expand. I am also able to use it as ministry at a home for boys in juvenile detention.
Lesotho: One day I dance until I have no energy left. I also share a dance with the church.
Swaziland: I start a mental catalog of what meaning I tend to assign to different steps and begin using it to declare things in prayer. I also help Shea lead a squad worship session that uses dance.
South Africa: Learning from Sally and sharing with the kids at Beats and Books. Sharing with my squad at debrief.
Malaysia: I have the chance to share 3 dances including my testimony and teach some dance moves to the children at St. Joseph’s Home
Thailand: One dance at Share the Love Church in southern Thailand; multiple times in ATL including working with Hannah to create a new dance that we do in public. I also have the really cool opportunity of sharing my testimony dance with all the parents who came to PVT.
Cambodia: I have several awesome rooftop dance sessions including another time leading the squad in dance as worship.
Indonesia: I have opportunities to dance in personal worship, kids ministry, and at church.
Philippines: Remains to be seen
These are some of my favorite dances.
My testimony: 2 countries, 2 continents
Jesus Loves Me by Chris Tomlin: 6 countries, 3 continents
Every Giant Will Fall by Rend Collective: 5 countries, 3 continents
Savior to Me by Kerrie Roberts: Thailand
I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin: 6 countries, 3 continents
Let It Start With Me by No Other Name: USA
Help From Heaven by Matt Redman: USA
How Many Kings by Downhere: USA
