It's so much fun when my students do a nearly perfect show. The night before we went to the Portland, Maine Root Cellar -an inner city mission in a  eighborhood that is predominantly African immigrants and refugees, I specifically prayed that the show would be a big boost to my class of 17 middle schoolers. Boy, did God deliver, through the kids themselves.

Actually, we literally delivered before the show started.  You see, our school provided seven Thanksgiving baskets to the Root Cellar a week prior, for them to deliver in their neighborhood.  My students, however, wanted to do more.  The Thanksgiving baskets would simply come down to parents picking up the groceries and the students themselves had no part.  So we decided that they would donate gently used toys, books and games.  Now the kids themselves had to put thought into what they would give.  It became their offering.  And the staff at the Root Cellar were blessed tremendously, and the RC kids will be as well.

Our audience was the Root Cellars's after school program, and turn out was surprisingly small. Nonetheless, what they lacked in. Umber they made up for in enthusiasm, frequently erupting in well times laughter and applause. It was especially fun for me since I was juggling and teaching at the Root Cellar each Thursday in July, so I recognized and remembered the names of several of the kids. Also, a teen volunteer who was assigned to me last summer was present as well.

The show,opened with a ton of energy as each performer was brought on stage with an introduction: Izzy pogo sticked out, Eva came out with her bearded dragon, Bean; Ezra vomited out a deck of cards; Chloe pulled 50 feet of ribbon from her mouth;  Jake unicycled; Dillon came in juggling on a rip-stick;  and when Gracey was introduced she performed an illusion she had just learned minutes before. 

But they were just getting started. All the picky things we've been working on came together in this show: projecting, stage presence, playing parts "big" and more. Our juggling routine was almost perfect. Both Elana and Jake juggled battle axes, but there were other huge milestones as well. Kara and Caleb juggled for the first time in a show as all their recent hard work paid off. 

Elana was flawless vanishing and reproducing a donated dollar bill, and Caleb was professional caliber smooth with the linking rings. "The Good Nerd" ,or version of the Good Samaritan brought the house down. I could go on and on.

But the best part about the day was how well this team of 12-14 year old kids got along with each other. I'd put them up against any 17 kids their ages anywhere, any day. The worked hard loading, unloading, setting up and tearing down. They encouraged each other. In the van They sang Christmas songs with all the off key vigor of patrons at an Irish pub at last call. In short, they were amazing examples of the joy, love and unity of Christ from beginning to end, and I'm so proud of them.