Day 5 - Ephesians 3:20-21ESV

This was a really early day. 7:30 meet time. We NEEDED coffee. Mrs. Patty was up till 4 doing the laundry. The new pants the mimes got made things really hard... the wrinkled VERY badly in the wash and Linda and Patty had to iron all 30 pairs. We started the day with a group  prayer and then a starbucks run. The trip was long, but we did arrive at the Bonham Veterans Home. The people there were super friendly. I met a man named Samuel who was 91 years old and super excited. "I just can't wait!" The mimes were all smiles as the did thier concert...the residents were really enjoying it. (Samuel was actually dancing in his wheelchair.) Afterwards, I spoke with a man named Carl who was sitting next to

his wife. She had alzheimers, but by the grace of God, "she still loves me" They had been married for 66 years and really went though all thier lives together. They couldnt live together as husband and wife, Both of thier families stopped visiting, and of course the desease but "we made it together." They were really appeciative of us and really loved it. I prayed with them and could definately felt my heart breaking.


Patty and I also met a pair, John and "Trouble" (Arnold). Two most hillarious dudes I have ever met. Poor Samuel was trying to get throug "please help me get out, help me out" to which Trouble responded "yeah, you can help him right out the window." And John and Trouble continued to rip on each other (but really all in a loving manner) It was hard to say goodbye.

We packed up quickly and went to Renaldo's for lunch. Never ending chips, great food, and good last fellowship for the day. It was time for the first split. The older mimes went to a nursing home first, then a prison and the younger went to to three nursing homes.

OLDER

The olders went to a cute nursing home. They got there relatively early and after a walk-through, they changed the complete set. One of the songs they hadn't done in two years. Once they set up the sound, a lady came in to re-arrange the chairs... thus changing the stage. They worked with the placement and actually the change worked in their favor. The residents came in, and the ladies were so excited to see it... a lot of them had dressed up to go see the concert... make up done, hair nice and wearing their summer dresses. It was a fantastic concert. The boys have a song "hold your heart" and they did it in such a gentle manner, even the other mimes were amazed. “Glory" got the most reactions. This song, the devil is doing everything he can, but is eventually is defeated in. When sweet Steph, smiling at the southern belles was blinded by David (who was the devil) one lady actually screamed. David continued to break families, kill, lie, harden hearts but when Ben (as Jesus) turned everything around and slayed David in the end, the residents were excited (some even gave the "mhm" in affirmation) it was great fun.

YOUNGER

The first home was done in a small hallway. We were so proud of the youngers adaptability. There were nurses going between but the youngers didn't miss a beat. There were a few people in the back really enjoying it. Between every song, James (resident) would lean over to where I was standing, 'I really enjoy this" After laughs, several "thank yous" and handshakes, we went onto the next home.

It was a good thing God had given them the adaptability. The space was (maybe) six feet across and 4 feed deep. (A livingroom, if you will) If you are a past mime and have any complaints about the small space you had, the youngers don't wanna hear it. :)

The doorway was just large enough for me to stand arms stretched and hold both posts. But again, the adaptability. We cut some out of some songs, took turns on others and only on the last song did we have all people on. (We tried to keep it with 3 people or less) We used a single speaker and Marcie's laptop. With the exception of Earl (who always a comment) everything was great. The youth navigated through it, along with the TV stand and the China hutch and the piano. Ann (the leader) was beaming. She loved it, and so did the others.

 

TOGETHER

Unfortunately the place didn’t have AC... and the mimes were HOT. So we decided to split guys and girls and sat in the AC in our undershirts with cool drinks from Sonic. So perfect. We met up with the olders in Walmart (we had like an hour break and needed to cool down int the AC) and we traded stories. After a brief run through the toy aisle, we split up again and headed off to our final nursing home, REALLY not sure what to expect.

YOUNGER

Seven Oaks was a brightly lit, opened home. The residents were just finishing dinner and had no idea we were coming. They were flexible and excited to see what the mimes had. The residents enjoyed it: some attempted to mime from their chairs, one lady sat teary-eyed the entire time. Since the youngers didn't have so much space the whole morning, they exploded at Seven Oaks. After more talk with the residents, we packed up and moved out.

OLDERS
The olders arrive the prison and are directed to one of the side buildings. The people weren’t sure who they were, so they waited a for a bit for the contact, but after a few minutes, he still didn’t show up. So the guard allowed them to start setting up. There was nothing there tech-wise...no mikes, no stereo, nothing (not much setting up to be done) After a few minutes, the prisoners came in. Some were from county and some from federal. Suddenly, the fire alarm went off, and the prisoners had to go back to the cells. That gave the mimes some time to figure out how exactly to set up. It would have to be a Capella...which was fine. Once the prisoners came back in, Patty introduced the group, and what they did. David gave his testimony about Jaden. Afterwards, they begun. Everything went beautifully...amazingly. The acoustics were fantastic. Patty then gave father's testimony as a closeout. Chris prayed and after listening to a little bit of the prisoners talk, they were led there, then the prisoners were led out before the team left. It was such an amazing experience - those particular prisoners never have chapel, so we'd never know if they've ever heard the word of God. When they reached the cars and were able to check the cellphones, Steph found she had a missed call. It was the contact. He had been waiting for the team for at least an hour. After a long conversation, they realized they were at the wrong unit... at the right time. By human standards, there was no way they should have been where they were... God's plans.


"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."