Encourager Party: Celebrating Encouragers!
Aug 7, 2020
Story
"Be encouraged to be an encourager. It's a spiritual art that everyone can learn. And mostly you learn by practicing it.” - Jill Briscoe
World Pulse held its second Encourager Party on July 31, 2020. We are happy to see new faces!
Early birds, those who joined before virtual meeting began, had a lovely moment to chat with one another. It's a joy to meet fellow Encouragers because it's like a virtual reunion!
Dawn Arteaga, World Pulse Director of Community Engagement, welcomed everyone. She shared about the Encourager Program and its vision, together with this quote from LuxG's post.
"I realized I wasn't alone and I turned to Worldpulse and shared my story with women, who went out of their way to bring me comfort and to empathize with me. They made me feel heard, understood and loved, more than my kin did."
Manasa Raj, World Pulse Community Engagement Coordinator, helped with the technical preparations, presentation, and music!
I shared a quick recap on June's Encourager Tips, then added two more:
Tip 1: Mentions Specifics Tip 2: Be Enthusiastic about Future Posts
Dawn added bonus tip: give special love to first time Storytellers. She also showed how to use World Pulse's Translation Option for posts written in other languages.
World Pulse acknowledges that there are members who couldn't speak English. Using the translation tool is our way of helping non-English speakers to feel heard. It's not a perfect translation, but this is how we can meet halfway. Language should not be a hindrance in writing our stories.
After the sharing of tips, we all watched a short video clip about Empathy. One of the essence of the World Pulse Spirit is listening with empathy and without judgment. Encouragers loved the video!
After the watch party, Dawn joyfully announced the three Featured Encouragers! It was a delightful time as Encouragers clapped, congratulated, and cheered on Chioma (Nigeria), Regina (Cameroon), and Catherine (Trinidad and Tobago).
Each month the World Pulse Encouragement Team will choose three Encouragers from different countries who went above and beyond in writing uplifting comments.
Manasa then read a quote written by Millynairi's post about Encouragement. Milly was there to speak about how the impact of encouragers empowered her to help communities and even become a better writer.
Then it was PARTY TIME!
Dawn set the timer for 15 minutes for everyone to visit the World Pulse site and find stories to read and comment on. After that, the World Pulse Team, along with Ana Lozano, moderated Break Out Sessions where Encouragers shared what stories touched them. It's the Encouragers time to be heard.
The conclusion of the majority is that time was so short. Truly, an hour is not enough to have a party. It was time to say, "See you next month!".
Being with Encouragers is a source of encouragement. I wish I could also share the lovely conversation taking place on the chatbox and the breakout sessions. But I want you to experience those yourself because they're beyond words. I could say I always leave these meetings in high spirits.
World Pulse holds Encourager Parties every last Friday of the month every 3PM GMT. Please mark your calendars now to JOIN US! You and your network don't have to be Encouragers to join. Kindly check your email from World Pulse for more updates!
Hope to see you on August 28, 2020! Invite your friends, too!