Red Deer performance and God's Amazing Work!

Our Red Deer RU show on October 24th went awesome! We arrived in Red Deer around 5ish, set up our stage, and started to prepare for the show. I personally was buzzing with excitement because I've never danced in a church that was so big before. We prayed as a team right before the performance for the kids that were about to see the show and for ourselves so that we could rely on the Lord during the performance. The whole performance went really smoothly and RU had the chance to lead worship and have a time where kids could come up to the front and talk to us about what they are going through after the show. This was definitely my favourite part of the whole trip because we had lots of kids come up and talk to us. I myself got to talk to three young boys and pray with them about what was going on in their lives. We also found out as we were packing away our stage that one person asked Christ into their life which was AWESOME! The whole trip was Amazing and it was so good to see the Lord work through those kids. Jon (Red Team Dancer)

Youth Together Conference

From October 19-21 RU was able to participate in the Youth Together conference at Beaver Creek Camp outside of Saskatoon (run by the Salvation Army). It was a jammed packed weekend for the youth there and also for the team. Adrian was the speaker for the weekend, and we performed our Secrets show that Friday night. God really worked in power that night! Matt also led a dance workshop on Saturday and we were able to lead devotion time in the cabins on Saturday evening. It was an incredible weekend and the response to Adrian's message -around 30 youth accepted the Lord or rededicated their lives(!!!!!)- on Friday night really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. There was a lot of transparency with the youth and some great conversations came out of it, and the Lord was evidently working. On a side note, Beaver Creek was hit with a bad case of Norwalk Flu on Saturday and the majority of our team also got sick. Now we can laugh about the experience and the great bonding it held, and see the Lord's goodness in even this circumstance for our team. It was an interesting weekend to say the least, and I think on behalf of the team I can say, we would all get sick again to have those great conversations and see how the Lord worked in the youths' lives that weekend! Lynnea (Red Team Dancer)

OMNI-Regina Show with both college teams!

At the end of September we had the exciting opportunity to be a part of the first ever OMNI conference in Regina. The evening started off with the leaders having a joyful and energizing circle of prayer! Once all of the youth arrived at the venue the Blue Team kicked off the night with their first ever performance of the hype dance "Tonight". I must say that I feel like I know what it is like to watch a child take their first steps because my heart was so overjoyed to see the blue team do their first dance! They rocked it! We (the Red Team) had the privilege of performing our Secrets show for the first time with our newly formed team. Afterwards we spent time with the youth and enjoyed The Junkyard Poets concert. The following day we had an afternoon workshop where the youth got to learn a dance with the team. There was dance battles, free styling and tons of fun had by everyone! We finished up by praying and having Jon share his testimony with the group. To top it all off we also had the privilege of having some retreaters share their original choreography with us! It was a great weekend that we got to spend with some amazing people and our brothers and sisters from Eston Bible College (who were there as volunteers). Praise The Lord!!! Jana - Red Team member

High school Team-- practices so far...

Another year of ministry has begun and I can say with joy and excitement that The Lord has something big in store. The first week of practice with the high school team gave us a chance as leaders to begin to see more of the team and their abilities that were written onto the application, put into action. Jacee and myself have begun teaching dances three of which we nearly have completed. It's exciting to see the drive that these students have. During warm ups, even though most are sweaty, red in the face, and getting sore in places they never new they had muscle, all push hard to make it to the end. The same perseverance is evident throughout the teaching of choreography as well. Those who may not pick up on the choreography right away do not give up but instead, ask for assistance. This past week two individuals even came to me asking for extra help which I was able to provide. When completed, both students left with satisfaction knowing their choreography looked much better than before. Being a new leader has has opened my eyes to many different aspects of leadership that I had never though about before. Meetings for one are exhausting. I have loved being on the other side of the tryout process as well. Last year I was on the high school team and this year I'm leading it. This has opened the opportunity to connect on a more personal level, being able to relate with the high school issues that many of the team members may bring forward. All in all I'm excited for what God has for the year. I have been reminded already that His plan should not be questioned because it is the Divine one. Love and blessing on you all! Love, your brother in Christ Matt

RU High School Team of 2012-2013!

So, the beginning...it has been a wonderful ride since choosing our high school team! I am the high school director and i work with the spectacular Matt as my male co-leader! We both truly love out job, and Matt is growing as a leader so much, this only being his first year in leadership. We find that everyone on the team this year is pretty quiet, but they are beginning to loosen up a bit as we go on i think. I'm really happy with how things are going so far. We are blessed with a team that has a good balance of dance ability (even though everyone is at very different levels), and positive' attitude. I think the fun will come out eventually, its just getting everyone more comfortable with their RU "Family" for the year. We just started sharing our testimonies, so that will help a lot i think. All in all, its been a wonderful experience so far! I personally am super stoked to see what God is gonna do this year in and through this wonderful team, and what sort of opportunities He is going to give us to speak into people's lives! Pray for us and our team members that we grow, are given opportunities to share our hope, and unity for the team as a unit :) Thanks for your prayers and support!!! -Jacee

High School Team of 2012/2013!

After (another) 2 crazy nights of tryouts last week, our high school leaders spent several hours reading applications and praying about who should be on the high school team this year! For those of you who don't know, the RU high school team is made up of students from grades 9-12 of Caronport High School. We chose our team of 9 lovely people and had a retreat this last weekend-backyard camping :). We are very excited for what this year holds for the high school team! Be praying that we are able to grow together, individually with Christ, and have opportunities to share our message of hope with as many people as possible! Thanks for all your support! RU

First week of College Practices...

I don't write blogs very often but for those of you out there reading, please know that I'm giving it my all :) The first week of practices on RU has gone surprisingly smooth for the college teams. I almost forgot to mention- my name is Clinton and I'm one of the College Team Leaders. For those of you who don't know we have a team of returning RU members this year (referred to as our Red Team) and a brand new team of college students with various backgrounds in dance but have never been on RU before (Blue Team). Because of the increase in college teams, myself and the other leaders (I think), did not really how the first week of practices would go as far as practice times, new team dynamics, new choreography, etc. Fortunately it has been amazing!!! Without any warning I was asked to teach our Red Team choreography from our current show and I was really blessed to be able to do that and has been really a positive experience. At the same time I feel that the unity on the Blue Team between the new members has been awesome as well and there is a lot of affirmation and love spread between both Red and Blue Team. It is clear to me that the Lord is already bringing us together which is also a huge blessing in a ministry like this. The Blue Team is also catching onto their choreography crazy fast!.......a lot faster than I did last year I think.. Thank you guys so much for your prayers and support of this ministry! Please continue praying for all of us, that the Lord would be at the centre of this ministry and we would seek first His Kingdom. Blessings, Clint College Team leader

College Team Retreat Reflection

Wow! I can't believe it was only a week and a half ago that our teams got together over one crazy weekend (Sept 7-9) to meet their future brothers and sisters for the RU year. The games we played and prayers we prayed were far beyond what was required of the minor weekend schedule. I was so impressed with the work God was already doing in uniting the team members. We played silly games like 'mennonite dancing' and 'freeze' and laughed our heads off at the characters that were coming out from each unique person. There was some sweet time of reflection on what God might be revealing to us about the year to come and so many encouraging words were being echoed from member to member as we shared our thoughts. I think the thing I was most impressed with was the fact that no one was sitting on the side lines left out or disconnected, everyone just meshed so well and I'm so excited to see how God will strengthen us all as this year progresses! Keep us in your prayers :) Peace be with you all! Amanda College Team leader

College Teams of 2012/2013!

The College Teams were picked after 2 crazy nights of tryouts and lots of prayer from the college team leaders! And yes, I said teamS! We had 2 amazing teams-one of alumni (8 people), and another of all new-to-RU people (10 people)! We've had a week and a half of practices already and everyone is doing amazingly, growing together as teams, and learning choreo faster than expected! Thanks for all your prayers! RU

Beginning Year 10!

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR: I cant believe we are here! Time has flown by so fast in the last few months and even as I think about the last 9 years, God has been so faithful in the calling of Refined/Undignified! This last summer was a perfect combination of packed-full and restful. Jacee and I left last semester rather quickly because of a family event in England. My Grandparents were celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary and all family members were flying from all around the world to be at it. It was blessed celebration and so incredible to introduce my bride of one year to my father's side of the family. We then took advantage of being in Europe and fulfilled one of Jacee's biggest dreams; backpacking through France and Italy. After two weeks we settled in a castle in north west England and enrolled as students at Capernwray Hall Bible School. It was such a needed refreshing time of spiritual food and companionship. God really knew what we needed and provided it! After returning from England we attended 5 weddings, taught dance for two weeks at Rangerlake Bible Camp and prepared many hours for this time. As I type, our college team from last year is working hard to relearn their powerful show Secrets2012 that they debuted in March of 2012. They will be performing next week for the new student body of Briercrest College and Seminary and Caronport Highschool. In the same week, RU will be holding auditions for their newest team for this school year. Besides planning and preparing for the new year and our new team, the majority of my time has been going into planning our Refined/Undignified 10 Year Reunion happening in April. We will be inviting all past RU members to celebrate what God has done in this ministry in the last decade. With much anticipation and excitement I cant wait to see the plans the Lord has for us the coming year and beyond. Blessing on you today, Adrian

RU Boot Camp!!!!

BOOT CAMP. These words often make me think of the army or the military, of people doing drills, crawling through mud, physical exhaustion setting in, but still pressing on. Arms are numb; brain is repeating a continual stream of mantras saying: “You can do this.” These were my preconceived ideas of a boot camp. Pretty accurate really. Although we are not in the military and I am sure that the intensity of the army does not compare with Refined undignified in anyway, by the end of our 12 hour dance days, my arms were weak, I was telling myself to: “keep going, concentrate, and work hard.”
I have never done a dance boot camp, since the last time our dance team did boot camp, I was in Ecuador. So, for me, this was a new experience. I LOVED it. Physical exhaustion feels great when you look back and see what you have accomplished.
But the MOST IMPORTANT THING I want to emphasis is just the GREATNESS of God. I have really learned this year that everything is done for God and that when that is the purpose for everything, joy can be found in every single act, whether that is doing homework, singing, or in this case: dance. Knowing that I was dancing for God and having the confidence that God was giving me strength KEPT ME GOING.
I think my favorite moment was at the end of the first day when with body exhausted, mind muddled from trying to remember the choreography we had just learnt, and with just a sense of having given it my all, all that was left to do was to praise God. Just hearing my teammate pour their heart out to God and lift him up for the strength he had given us was incredible.
I have to admit sometimes I am weak, sometimes I feel like I have reached the end of my rope or feel like I will fall down at any moment without God. But God gives me strength to keep going. So when I am about to stumble under the pressure of a day I want to remember to praise God. Sometimes we get caught up in all the doing, but if every ounce of strength, courage, hope, and life is seemingly striped from us, I think we need to remember that all we NEED is God.
Romans 8:
“…In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. “

When all is taken away, ALL we have and ALL we need is Christ.

THANK YOU GOD for this awesome weekend of Boot camp and what it has taught me.
Much love,
Jolene Maxwell