We woke up in Vergennes, Vermont of Friday, May 27 and hit the florr running. After breakfast and clean up -all done by studnet work teams - we headed across town to Champlain Valley Christian School, a venue we've performed in many many times. I don't know who was more excited, our students getting to do their frst Vermont show, or the CVCS kids having us back after three years. Regardless, it was another strong show highlighted by Ezra's 8th grade solo. He did a routine of a variety of card magic, his specialty.
Our next show was almost an hour away in Burlington, where we did a performance at Birchwood Terrace Nursing Home. I didn't want to go all the way up to Burlington that day because we had a lot of driving Thursday, and there wuld be a lot on Saturday as well. But we could not book a venue in the Vergennes area: churches, nursing homes and the library were all unable to commit. So Birchwood, a place I've performed at since the late 1980's, was an easy show to book. Not only that, it was the show God wanted us to have that afternoon. but I'm getting ahead of myself.
The show itself was mediocre, the closest thing we had to a bad show all year. Like most nursing homes, the audience didn't respond as overtly as other audiences we were used to. Eva's 8th grade solo- a magical version of the Genesis creation account- was smooth, but , overall, as the kids got less and less energy from the audience, they put less and less energy into the show. The fact that we ll had to be masked only added to the low we were feeling.
Then, after the show, the kids mingled with the residents. Many of the students prayed with residents about a variety of things, which is always a beautiful thing. Meanwhile, a middle-aged woman spoke to me. "I just moved my parents in here today. They are both 93. They've been married for 71 years. I didn't feel good about having to do this, but I know I had to. After seeing this show, I feel so much better leaving them here, and I know they'll be okay." Wow! Our worst show of the year, a show I didn't want to book, yet God used it to comfort a woman on one of the hardest days of her life. Amen.
On our way back to Vergennes, we stopped at a gift show giving the kids plenty of tme to spend money that was burning holes in their pockets. Then, back at the church, we were escorted to various parishoners' homes for showers. Back at base, Sue and a team of students prepared mac and cheese. After worship, I chose not to have a 'message'. Instead, I prayed for each student by name, thanking God for each of them. This was very moving for the kids and me. And after such a busy day, we all slept better than the first night.