Lavina Simons came up with what she thought was a brilliant idea; God made it better.

Her plan was to put a few gifted, young Bermudians on stage in North Carolina and watch them blossom.

With God’s help, the four or five children she had imagined taking to the Paneh Mega Mime Conference in Durham turned into 21.

They will have the chance to show off their mime, dance and flag skills at the two-day event, which starts on April 27.

“I’m absolutely excited,” said Mrs Simons. “I’ve been to the conference in North Carolina myself a few times. The first time I went was in 2012 and it was an incredible experience. I’m beside myself because I know what these young people are capable of and can just imagine the great time they’re going to have.”

The opportunity came through New Testament Church of God’s Island Youth and Discipleship Board, which Mrs Simons sits on.

The board, which was started by the Rev Dr Lloyd and Shanda Duncan, is led by Sarita Ebbin with volunteers from all seven of the churches that fall under the New Testament Church of God banner in Bermuda.

The youth ministry’s overall mission is to empower and educate young people so they can reach their full Godly potential.

Over the years, Mrs Simons has seen countless young lives impacted. The biggest reward for her has been seeing kids excited and eager to minister, pray, sing and dance in church.

“Whereas they could be hanging with their friends or getting into mischief, a lot of these young people actually want to take part in what we are offering, and are not being forced,” she said. “It’s especially awesome to see with the teens who could be doing so many other things but choose to take time out to come to practice every week and show commitment and dedication.

“We can see them growing in maturity when they volunteer to lead prayer, come up with moves for dances we are doing and interpret some of the songs in terms of what the music or lyrics mean to them. It’s inspiring to see.