With the corona virus subsiding somewhat, my middle school juggling team has been able to start the school year with their first show of the year in the month of September.  It was at our traditional first venue, the Barron Center nursin home in Portland, Maine.  My aide, Lucy, her husband, Will, and I transported 18 seventh and eighth graders from Windham Christian Academy to Portland last Friday, and I'll admit, being only four weeks into the school year, I did not feel as if we were ready for this gig.  Boy was I wrong.  Even though we had only done one complete run through of the show in a rehearsal, they executed every routine well.

The biggest challenge going into Friday was that, just one day prior I learned Izzy would not be in school that day.  That meant we needed someone who could juggle three balls fairly consistently to replace him in "Beautiful, Scandalous Night".  There was no one; all the other competent jugglers were already in that routine.  The closest was Avery, who was consistently doin three throws and three catches, then stopping.  Thursday afternoon I told him he would be Izzy's sub.  He practied a lot that evening, and filled in flawlessly- literally, no drops!  I'm  not sure who learned more about faith that day, me or him.

Beyond Avery's huge contribution, there were plenty of other highlights.  Mary was both slick and comical as she did the shackles escape.  Caleb (8th grade) performed his candles routine for the first time, and he did it very smoothly.  This year also features a small student choir who sung the  Lord's Prayer, and it was definitely a fan favorite.  And all the while, Caleb and Elly kept things flowing smoothly and quietly back stage.

\After the show the students introduced themselves to the residents, made friends, and often prayed for them right there on the spot. Our bunny, Cotton, was also brought around to meet the residents.  The best endorsement of the day came from a nurse who said, "Sally said she can't wait until they come back, and Sally doesn't even come out to activites normally."    God bless Sally.