Yesterday evening (August 10) we did a show for the ipraise youth group at Mi Esperanza Church in Asuncion, Paraguay. The building is under construction, so there are no windows or doors, and there is a huge hole where the septic will soon be. We did our program for maybe 15 teens in the sanctuary, which is already looking pretty good. Some had already met us at shows in the neighborhood earlier the same day.
The unfortunate turning point in the show was when our 11 year old daughter, Rose and I did a partner diabolo routine for the first time ever in front of an audience. The light fixtures aren't in yet, so we were working with temporary spot lights, of sorts. I think this caused Rose to misjudge my first toss to her, and my hard plastic diabolo hit right under her right eye. She has a pretty good scrape there from it. I asked her if she wanted to keep going, and, fighting back tears, she said 'yes'. We finished the routine successfully. John, our translator and new friend, asked if he could speak to the audience in Spanish before we continued our show. I learned afterwards that he used Rose as an example of courage. "How many of you, if it happened to you, would have quit right then? Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's doing what has to be done in spite of fear." How cool that; the worst moment in the show could be used to teach such an important lesson.
A volunteer went to get ice for her, and she was quickly in much less pain. In fact, after youth group, she was playing soccer in the new sanctuary with some of the kids. Of course, it helped that she was the only girl playing with half a dozen teenaged Paraguayan boys. They totally outclassed her with their skills, but she made up the difference with her aggression and, when necessary, her adorable smile!
We will be back at this youth group next Saturday, and I believe the Lord has given me something specific to share with them. It shouldn't even require giving my daughter a black eye this time.
Some of Rose's soccer buddies.