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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Maple Downs

We arrived at the independent living home of Maple Downs, at 6:00 in the evening, on October 16th. The residents were just finishing their evening meal as we unloaded our props and costumes from the van. The dining room was very large, with red mesh carpet, and big windows that could let in bright, beautiful light during the daytime. That night, the room was designated to serve as the place of our performance. Maple Down's events coordinator, a lively woman with a British accent, announced our arrival over the intercom.
We began to lay our floor, and had a rather difficult time getting it to stay flat, and not buckle, on the carpeted surface. It also wanted to slide away from where we had placed it. Through team effort, we managed to work the bumps out of it, and get the separate panels taped together. The main challenge
was to keep it attached to the carpet underneath.
The performance began at 7:15 P.M. First, Ashley introduced each of us, and told the audience which state we had come from. After the first piece, “Life of Praise,” Sarah Taddeo shared a story from her life, in a way that related to many of the residents. They listened very attentively as she shared how God desires to be their best friend, and whenever they feel alone or rejected, they can look to Him for
comfort.
After that, Ashley briefly explained the story-line of “The Crown,” before we performed it for them. Since our dance floor was set up over squishy carpet, our pointe shoes sunk into it, ever so slightly, as we danced. Thankfully, God protected our ankles from rolling.
The audience stayed very focused throughout the entire performance. Most of them sat in rows of leather chairs, directly in front of us, as we danced for them. Some other residents watched from the open hallway on the second floor, which served as a balcony.
Ashley shared the salvation message at the end of the performance. Then we led them in arm movements to a song called “Healing Hands.” It was beautiful to see their smiles as they participated, and mirrored our movements.
We had the opportunity to spend time talking with each one of them after we had finished dancing. We learned about their interests, joys, and sorrows. They all were thankful that we came, and we were grateful to get to share the love of Jesus with them and pray with each person individually. Some were not certain of where they would spend eternity and needed to hear of the hope they can have in Christ.
We are planning to take a follow-up trip to visit them again. Our prayer is that they will find comfort in Jesus, and have hope and joy for their future.

-Elisa

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