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central florida
The thoughts of Devin Ruiz
entering disney:
As our bus rolled under the Welcome to
Disney World gate, we realized that we
were taking a ride through Walt Disney’s
personal dreamscape. Wheeling our way
to our hotel, we could see the tallest
attractions in the distance making all 15
of us giddy with excitement. It began
to dawn on us that we were being put
under an enchanting spell of magical
inspiration and ingenious storytelling.
We were little kids again, only with an
important task; to get a peek into what
our futures may look like.
Advice and a
saint:
Our first tour in Central Florida was
at multimedia advertising agency
GoConvergence where we met creative
directors, artists, writers, and engineers.
The company provides a strong focus
on story and universal experience with
each of their clients. Before we left,
we were stopped by Gary Turchin, the
president of the company, who gave us
some insightful and heartfelt advice for
our future, “Be Hungry.” He was telling
us that it is important to be ambitious in
what we do; that we have to be hungry
for it. Thank you, Gary.
We then visited missions agency I-TEC
(Indigenous People’s Technology and
Education Center) which develops tools,
technology and training systems for
indigenous Christ-followers to reach
their own people with the gospel of
Christ. There we had the privilege of
meeting I-TEC founder Steve Saint, the
son of famous martyred missionary Nate
Saint.
the para-church
tour:
On the third day of our trip we visited
four para-church organizations. The
first stop was Pioneers-USA, where we
met director Steve Richardson, a CIU
alumnus. Pioneers includes writers,
editors, and filmmakers whose goal is
to send out church planting teams that
utilize storytelling to communicate the
gospel.
We then dropped by the Association
for Biblical Higher Educations (ABHE),
an agency that provides accreditation
to Christian institutions of higher
education, including CIU. It is led
by another CIU alumnus, Dr. Ralph
Enlow. We were treated to an inside
look their communications initiatives,
including planning sessions, conference
presentations, and workshops.
Wycliffe Bible Translators was our next
stop where we toured their world
museum of cultures.
Lastly we visited the discipleship
training school of Youth with a Mission
(YWAM). This 185 acre campus trains
300 students each year. Surrounded by
acres of trees, hills and a vast lake, the
school has a very unique vibe to it, with
a heavy emphasis on training to live in a
developing country.
backstage
disney:
On the fourth day, we took a seven-
hour tour of all four parks inside Disney
World and ventured into places not seen
by the tourists. This included Magic
Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and
Hollywood Studios. We ducked into
the underground tunnel system that
runs the length of the Magic Kingdom.
At Epcot we went behind the scenes
(literally) of the American Adventure
show complete with elevating set pieces
and an animatronic Mark Twain and
Benjamin Franklin. At Animal Kingdom,
we were treated to the botanical
garden character creations, and finally
at Hollywood Studios we got an inside
look at the designer workplace where
we witnessed firsthand the creation
of such costumes as Snow White,
Minnie Mouse, and Spider-Man. We
experienced the backstage chaos that
includes many actors, engineers and
designers that appears as pristine order
to the Disney guests.
meeting the cru
crew:
The last agency we visited was Cru,
formerly known as Campus Crusade
for Christ. Famous for the Jesus
Film Project, we learned how skilled
communicators use the medium of film
to spread the Good News around the
world. We also toured writer’s offices
and sound booths, and met the staff
that publishes the ministry’s monthly
magazine, Worldwide Challenge. We
spoke with one of their journalists,
the main photographer, and a video
specialist. It was a perfect way to
end our weeklong intensive study. It
provided us with a look at how we could
contribute to God’s Great Commission
through our communications skills.
leaving disney:
As we left Disney World behind, slowly
transitioning back into the “real world,”
it was a perfect time for us to reflect on
everything that we had seen over the
course of our week. Visiting so many
different missions agencies, ad agencies,
and Disney World provided us with
an experience none of us are likely to
ever forget. Although each of the tours
we experienced varied in many ways,
there was one link to each of them:
story. Story is everything. Everyone who
spoke with us during the week revealed
its importance. Stories are universal.
This is a concept that God utilizes. He
too uses narrative to push forth His
plan. At the end of the day, as a student
of the Communication program, I can
say that my biggest take away from the
entire experience was this: if you tell a
story well, if you engage an emotion or
a pathos, then you will always gain
fruit.
“We were little kids again, only
with an important task; to get a
peek into what our futures may
look like.”
19
CIU Today
www.ciu.eduSPRING BREAK – TAKE A TRIP, EARN CREDITS.