The Root Cellar is an inner city mission in Portland, Maine's Munjoy Hill neighborhood; a neighborhood that has become primarily populated by African refugees and immigrants.  They do a terrific job blessing the community with everything from English classes to a free dental clinic.  Last week they hosted a community supper for their neighbors, and my middle school juggling troupe, LOL was the evening's entertainment.  It was a fun, but very challenging evening for us.

The challenges began before we ever drove to Portland.  Two of our members would not be able to join us that evening, so we scrambled to substitute for them.  This is always a challenge, but especially so when it is only our second show of the school year.  We had to really stretch 7th grader Zech to do several new acting parts, and he rose to the challenge beyond what we could have hoped for.  Other fill-ins did stellar jobs while put on the spot as well.

We arrived at the Root Cellar in plenty of time to get some things set up prior to the meal.  Other things, for a variety of reasons, couldn't be set up until after the meal, which was to be served at 6:00. One of the things that we need to set up at the last minute in the dove pan with our two live doves inside.  I asked a couple of students to bring the birds and their illusion into a storage closet so the guests wouldn't see them as they arrived.  While Grace and Anna complied with that request, they also assumed they were to set the dove pan up, and in attempting to do so (I am always the one to do this task) one dove got loose in the closet and perched on the other side of a pile of furniture where a bunch of Christmas items were being stored.  There was no way to get to that side of the closet.  The girls got me, and Grace even tried to climb over the furniture mound, but she got to a point where going any furtherer would have been unsafe.  Meanwhile, Rastelli sat atop a box of ornaments enjoying watching our slapstick comedy.  Suddenly, Grace realized that there was another door into the closet that opened right next to Rastelli's perch.  I went and got the key from a staff person, and the hunt was over.

 Meanwhile, 6:00 came and passed, as did 6:15, 6:20 and 6:25.  At 6:30, the Root Cellar staff told us we would be going on first, and the meal would at 7:00.  Suddenly we had to scramble.  Again, we had to set up the birds - properly this time- the bunny and bring out other props we keep hidden until show time.  Furthermore, I had to cut down our 50 minute show to fit in the 30 minutes we would be allowed to fill, and I didn't have time to communicate these changes to the team.  They had to trust me, pay attention, and be flexible (We refer to 'flexible' as the F-word in ministry.)  

In the end, the kids did great and were on top of their game, especially with their juggling.  As mentioned earlier, Zech took on two additional acting parts in only his second show of his career, and he was superb.  And, as a special treat, Cailyn, a former LOLer and older sister to Aidan, was there, so she made guest appearances in "I Want to Know What Love Is", "Machete Medley" and a team juggling routine.

this, of course, is what LOL is all about.  While I want every show to be outstanding, and I love it when God uses the kids to really touch hearts in the audience, the primary purpose is for the team to learn teamwork, flexibility, commitment, empathy, humility and work ethic.  By that standard, the evening was a huge success.