Over the years, I have been paid for performances in a variety of unique ways. In college, I did a show at a local elementary school, where I was reimbursed with a dozen hand blown glass Christmas tree ornaments the art teacher had made. It was just within the last year or two that the last of these fragile ornaments broke.
Another time in college, I did a show for a local grange and was paid with a pound of homemade fudge and a flashlight. Homemade fudge was certainly a unique treat in the dorm, and the flashlight came in handy, too. I was often up later than my roommate, and this allowed me to come in at night without waking him by turning on the big light.
After marrying Sue, we did a show for a family's party. They paid us with an assortment of moose meat. Apparently the father had hit and killed a moose with his truck, and the state of Maine allows the driver to keep meat in such cases.
On the Crow reservation, we were reimbursed with handmade, authentic jewelry, a leather wallet and dream catchers. A teen center once sent us home with a case of Sobe flavored waters. Another family made new shirts for our family to wear when performing in payment for juggling at a party. Years ago, when I juggled with an elementary aged boy, he was 'paid' with a Tonka truck after performing at a Salvation Army drug rehab house.
This week Rose and I did a show at a local school's Bible club. They paid us generously, but they also donated two Bibles in our names through the Gideons' ministry. This was a huge blessing to us. the Gideons is a ministry that distributed Bibles worldwide. Where will our two Bibles end up? Perhaps in hotels, hospitals or jails. Perhaps in the hands of college students. Perhaps on the foreign mission field. We will probably never know, but what a great way to be reimbursed for a show. I encourage more people to give alternative gifts- Bibles, child sponsorships, animals for third world families - when possible. Look into ministries such as the Gideons, Gospel for Asia, Compassion International, the Salvation Army, Teen Challenge and many others you can find on line or through your own church or denomination.