The Root Cellar is an inner city mission in Lewiston, Maine. Lewiston has the highest per ca-pita Muslim population of any city in America, and the Root Cellar is in the heart of an Islamic neighborhood.  These are mostly refugee families from Somalia and other east African countries.    Once again, I had the privilege of bringing my students there to do a show.  

When we arrived, the director talked to me about the content of our show.  He explained that, as is commonly done with missions to Muslims, they have begun teaching the kids starting with Genesis 1: creation.  this is a point of agreement Christians share with Muslims.  From  there they have been teaching the prophets, another place where there are significant points of contact.  As Christmas approaches, Joel told me they were preparing to begin talking with the young people about Jesus.  The amazing thing is, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is mentioned more times in the Koran than anyone else.  It even teaches the virgin birth!  The biggest point of disagreement, besides the concept of a Trinity, is the resurrection three days after the crucifixion of Christ.  Joel asked, with my permission, that we avoid routines about the Easter story as he felt the audience wouldn't be ready for it.

Now I've worked with Joel, and the Root Cellar in general, for decades, and it is an uncompromisingly Christian ministry.  But I've also learned that ministry to Muslims needs to be done with patience and respect.  So I was faced with making changes, not in my own show, but in a show that involves 22 kids.  What happened after this was truly magical.

We included two routines that involved the cross as a symbol, but with only as a way to represent Christ, no theology attached to it.  We realized what a blessing it was to be the first people to introduce so many of these people to the cross.  But, because i had to cut a couple routines, Rachel, brand new to the class and in her first LOL show, had all her roles cut.  Making a decision from my heart rather than my head, I gave Rachel the part Elaina normally plays in "I Want to Know What Love Is".  She was told this five minutes before the show, and she had no time to practice it.  When it was time to do her part, in which she literally breaks Sebastien's heart, she was an absolute natural!  now that I know she can act, I have plenty of other places to use her.

The next day, I explained to the class about my discussion with Joel and the reasons we cut some parts of the show.  This year's trip to the Root Cellar was truly a teachable moment in so many ways.