The Expozure Years

Wonder Voyage is celebrating 25 years of connecting people with wonder this year. Our blog is filled with stories of our staff and partners around the globe. We can’t wait to connect you with the stories that make up the heartbeat of our organization. This week, we look at Wonder Voyage in 2001.

In 2001, Shawn Small knew that Wonder Voyage was meant to be. He knew God wanted him to move forward, to plant the seeds and allow them to grow. But on September 11th, everything changed. Our world was instantly changed. With the major terrorist attack after the end of the 2001 busy season, people were afraid to travel internationally. The subsequent loss of support, lack of prospects, and lack of paychecks could have ended the organization in its infancy.

The Birth of Expozure

Around that time, Michael Fleming came up with the idea for an event that could capitalize on the newly created Survivor TV show. Something was appealing about the survival game, and Wonder Voyage had all the resources to create fantastic events:

• a dedicated core of volunteers
• connections to local churches
• encounters that could easily be adapted to the new format

Wonder Voyage needed Expozure to help provide for rising staff costs and the huge amount of work that went into every trip.

Getting to the Points

The format was simple but effective. The participants would split into teams and compete against each other to earn points. The teams were given very little food but earned more food by winning challenges, which they could eat or trade for more points. The staff designed the games to force teams to work together and allow different groups with different strengths to remain competitive throughout the weekend. Like Wonder Voyage’s summer voyages, the weekends would follow a strong theme or story. And the ultimate goal would also be the same: a genuine encounter with God for its participants.

The First Expozure Experience

The first Expozure kicked off in the fall of 2001 with about 50 kids. When it started, the participants had to bring their own camping gear, and the games ran a little rough. But despite all that, the event was a huge success. Expozure eventually met the office costs for the next four years.

The Season Finale

Expozure hosted more than 60 events for 2,500 participants, so in a sense, Expozure extended the Wonder Voyage family. The birth of Expozure was yet another example of God’s faithfulness to Wonder Voyage. Initially created out of desperation, God blessed it and used it profoundly.