Our third day in Vermont was significantly different than the other days of the trip in that we had no actual shows. We were up and out early to get to the fair grounds in Essex (My old stomping grounds) LOL was in the largest Memorial Day parade in the state of Vermont again this year. Thanks to chaperone Andrew Juohnson, this year we had a golf cart which allowed the chaperones all to participate. Upon arrival to the parade line-up, we found our position. Much to the joy of my teenage troupe, we were positioned right behind Miss Vermont and Miss Teen Vermont, and just ahead of the Vermont Ravens arena football team. Something for evryone! Thanks to Chloe's permanent marker, my students were able to get autographs on their shoes, shirts, hats, arms and hands. Caleb even ended up on Miss Vermont's podcast.
The parade was excellent. The kids kept their formation better than most teams in the past, Alex was amazing with her diabolo high throws, and Chloe was a whirlwind handing out candy to kids in the crowd. But this was just the start of our day.
From there we went to the small town of Tunbridge to visit Water Brooks retreat center. Founded by Sue Thomas of "Sue Thomas FBEye" fame, this was our first viit there since her passing last winter. Sue was a great friend of LOL and the Hagerstrom family specifically. It is nice to know that the ministry of Water Brooks will continue under the leadership of Sue's longtime personal assistant, Deb. Our time at the center was beautiful. The weather was perfect, and the kids enjoyed the chance to quietly reflect on the blessings of God. What the Lord had started the night before was continuing, as some kids prayed together, and confessed sins to each other. Then, after a delicious pulled pork dinner we headed back to our base.
There we had some more silent prayer and journaling time. God put it heavily on my heart to speak to one student and ask for forgiveness for how I handled some behaviorial issues earlier in the school year. Looking bck I can honestly say our student / teacher relationship no longer has an underlying mood of tension. We met for chapel and everyone had a lot to share, and this time it was the girls' chance to stay up late praying for each other, confessing and encouraging each other.
Sunday morning is always hectic as we had to pack up everything, clean the building and be ready for our show before people starting arriving for church. As usual, it was stressful, and as usual we made it on time. Our final show together for the church went as well as ever. It was Elly's turn to do her 8th grade solo, in which she combined magic and juggling. Some of the tricks she had only successfully practiced once, and not necessarily smoothly. But when it came to show time, she was perfect! In fact the whole team was flawless.
After a cookout at our host church, we loaded the vans and headed back to Maine. Since then, until the end of the school year yesterday, the team has relived the experiences and retold all the stories together.