It was a normal Monday for my middle schoolers at Windham Christian Academy until 2:00.  It was then, a half hour before dismissal, that we loaded up the school vans and we headed into Portland to do a show at the Root Cellar.  This inner city mission is one of our favorite venues.  Located in the Munjoy Hill neighborhood, it provides after school care, tutoring, youth group, dental care, medical care, English classes and more to a community that is primarily made up of African immigrants and refugees.  

After arriving and setting up the show we had half an hour or so to join the Root Cellar kids in their game room.  The place was alive with ping pong, pool, air hockey and nerf basketball.  Unlike other years, the kids who came were older, closer in age to my middle schoolers, and several were clearly high school students.  This is no problem for us, as our show has a universal appeal, and performing and mingling with age peers always makes for a fun afternoon.

The room we worked in was small, which was a challenge to our team, but they adjusted well with every routine.  The audience was into it from the start, and they turned it into a rather interactive show.  They talked with the kids as they performed, and LOL did well to stay in character most of the time.  But, in "Prodigal Juggler", Grace came on stage and flirted with Sebastien (the prodigal) and someone in the audience let loose with a wolf whistle, everyone cracked up.  

It's an interesting thing to bring kids from the suburbs to Munjoy Hill.  For example, when some of the Root Cellar kids spoke with each other, they used their native tongue.  I don't know what language it was, but it was clearly an African dialect.  

Although the audience was rather rowdy at times, as we closed out the show with "Beautiful, Scandalous Night" a hush came over the room that extended through my closing comments.  It was then that we knew it was more than just a fun afternoon, it was a meaningful time as well.