Impressions

Materials
A large crayon and plain white sheet of paper for each person. (thick crayons work best)

Activity
Give each youth a sheet of paper and a crayon. They have 10 minutes to collect 10 "impressions" of the meeting area. Impressions are made by placing the paper over an object such as the carpet, a dor hinge, a keyhole, or even the sole of a shoe and rubbing the crayon over the object to pick up its patterns. Youth should list each item on the other side of the paper. At the end of the 10 minutes, take turns guessing the IDENTITY of the impressions and where everyone got the "Impressions" on their paper.

Application
Sometimes we are like this paper allowing people and things to leave an impression on us. Pressure was used to leave an impression. Even though the crayon left an impression on the paper, the paper left no impression on the objects. The objects were solid and firm, but the crayon was yielding. If we are secure and solid in the knowledge of who we are we will also be unyielding under pressure. We will be able to influence others rather than have them influence us.

Which are you more like?
What pressures leave an impression on you?
What happened to the crayon as a result?
How is that like us?
How can we make a positive impression on others while avoiding letting them make a negative impression on us?