When my team of 13 and 14 year old jugglers woke op in Essex Junction, Vermont on Friday morning, we all knew it was going to be a full day. And yet everything ran smoothly, and we were on time for every transition throughout the day. More importantly, morale was high the whole time.
We left our base at Grace United Methodist Church for our first show, which was at Champlain Christian School in Vergennes. We have been to this school at least five times over the years, and we are becoming friends, if schools can become friends. They were very excited to have us back, and the show - running a full hour- kept their kids' attention all 60 minutes. The highlight of the show was undoubtedly Cailyn's solo, done to a song from the Trolls movie. I have never seen a solo better choreographed and rehearsed than Cailyn's. Truly. It included juggling, lip syncing, acting, dancing and a touch of audience participation, all tied perfectly to the song. After she finished, I asked her to tell the audience the inspiration for the piece, and she told the kids briefly about her struggle with anxiety and the need to face fears.
We had time before our next show, so we stopped at an authentic Vermont gift shop. Spending money was burning a hole in a lot of pockets, and Dakin Farm was the perfect stop for such a dilemma. We then ate lunches in our vans and continued on to Birchwood Terrace Nursing Home in Burlington.
This show was very well received also. The activities director has been there for 26 years, and remembers when my wife Sue and I would do shows before our own kids were born. They are now 25, 23 and 15 years old. I don't recall her name, but I recognized her right away, and she has all the energy, love and compassion for these senior citizens as ever. As usual, in this type of venue, the students went into the audience after the show and spoke and prayed with the residents. It was a sweet time for all regardless of generation.
From there it was just a few minutes to the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington. We especially value this stop because they provide us with showers; our only showers of the trip. In return, we do a 30 minute show. Being a government funded program, we do not present the Gospel, per se. Sometimes we are overt, like light; other times we are covert, like salt. We know He was present and pleased with the program. Besides, we had to pay for our showers!
That evening we had our regular routine of dinner and chapel. One of our chaperones, Charlie, sang a song for us we had never heard before. I believe it's called Always a Child to Me. It's an old Ray Boltz song, and it deeply touched several of the students and adults alike. Afterwards, there was no problem getting the kids to sleep; they were exhausted!