Sunday January 23, 2011
On Sunday the company performed for both services at the Fayetteville United Methodist church. It was a nice church with very welcoming staff. We were given the lounge to warm-up and hang out in between services. Ashley performed Give Me Jesus and Breanne, Amy and I did Share the Well. To close the service we did Healing is in His Hands, the people responded to it very well and most of them joined in with us. The first service was identical to the second except for the fact that there were more people in the second! The pastor and congregation were very encouraged and blessed by our being there. Praise God!
Alyssa
world
Monday, January 24, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Women's Prison
On January 12th the nine of us girls, accompanied by Mrs. Rollinson, performed for the female inmates at a local prison. They ranged in age from 16 to 87 years. Upon our arrival, Deputy Eagan (the lady who helped to organize our visit) escorted us to the administration office. She checked our I.D.s and had us lock up anything we had with us that was valuable, as well as cell phones, scissors, and any sharp objects (after the performance was over we also had to search around on the floor for any stray bobby pins that may have fallen out while dancing).
She then led us to the women's section of the prison. For security reasons, when we went down the hallways, we had to pass through rooms that had doors on both sides, and the one we had just come in from had to be tightly shut before we could proceed to go through the one before us. Also, we needed to have one of the deputies accompany us wherever we went.
We laid the floor for the performance in a large cement-block room, surrounded by the inmates' cells. During the set-up, as well as the performance, the ladies who were restricted from exiting their cells watched us through the small windows on their steel doors.
We had left some important costumes back at the studio by mistake, but were able to make due with what we had. It ended up looking great. One deputy commented on how impressed he was at the way the girls who were managing costumes treated one another when faced with a dilemma, and asked if they were always so kind to each other, or if it was just an act. I believe we ministered to him as much as to the prisoners.
We performed two shorter length pieces before performing “The Crown.” During the finale, one lady, who had been watching from inside her cell, began weeping and turned to kneel beside her bed with her hands clasped in front of her face. We could not hear her sobs or the words she was praying, but could tell that she had been touched deeply and the Lord was working in her heart.
At the end of the performance, Ashley shared the message of salvation from the microphone. The inmates, as well as the deputies, listened very attentively as she spoke. She then led in a prayer for anybody who wanted to accept Jesus as their savior. Although we were expecting them to pray silently in their hearts, most of them boldly repeated the prayer out loud after Ashley.
They were probably the most responsive audience we have had this season. There were women yelling and cheering from their cells and others crying. They asked many good questions afterward. One woman even yelled through the crack of her door and also rapidly flashed her ceiling light to get our attention, so that we would answer her question.
A couple of the women were pregnant and will have their babies while in prison --which makes me very sad. Mrs. Rollinson talked to quite a few inmates. One had already been there for 14 months and was going to be moved to a higher security jail soon, and for another, this was not her first time in jail.
We are thankful that the Lord used us to bring the message of salvation to these desperate women. Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in their hearts.
-Elisa-
She then led us to the women's section of the prison. For security reasons, when we went down the hallways, we had to pass through rooms that had doors on both sides, and the one we had just come in from had to be tightly shut before we could proceed to go through the one before us. Also, we needed to have one of the deputies accompany us wherever we went.
We laid the floor for the performance in a large cement-block room, surrounded by the inmates' cells. During the set-up, as well as the performance, the ladies who were restricted from exiting their cells watched us through the small windows on their steel doors.
We had left some important costumes back at the studio by mistake, but were able to make due with what we had. It ended up looking great. One deputy commented on how impressed he was at the way the girls who were managing costumes treated one another when faced with a dilemma, and asked if they were always so kind to each other, or if it was just an act. I believe we ministered to him as much as to the prisoners.
We performed two shorter length pieces before performing “The Crown.” During the finale, one lady, who had been watching from inside her cell, began weeping and turned to kneel beside her bed with her hands clasped in front of her face. We could not hear her sobs or the words she was praying, but could tell that she had been touched deeply and the Lord was working in her heart.
At the end of the performance, Ashley shared the message of salvation from the microphone. The inmates, as well as the deputies, listened very attentively as she spoke. She then led in a prayer for anybody who wanted to accept Jesus as their savior. Although we were expecting them to pray silently in their hearts, most of them boldly repeated the prayer out loud after Ashley.
They were probably the most responsive audience we have had this season. There were women yelling and cheering from their cells and others crying. They asked many good questions afterward. One woman even yelled through the crack of her door and also rapidly flashed her ceiling light to get our attention, so that we would answer her question.
A couple of the women were pregnant and will have their babies while in prison --which makes me very sad. Mrs. Rollinson talked to quite a few inmates. One had already been there for 14 months and was going to be moved to a higher security jail soon, and for another, this was not her first time in jail.
We are thankful that the Lord used us to bring the message of salvation to these desperate women. Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in their hearts.
-Elisa-
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Faith Chapel
Sunday, December 12, 2010
At the Faith Chapel Christmas party, we had the opportunity to perform our Christmas repertoire. The church was beautifully decorated for the holidays, and everyone attending seemed glad for the break from hectic schedules. The performance went smoothly despite the tight spacing, and we finished with “Healing Hands”, a beautiful worship song with audience participation. It can be a challenge for the men in the audience to feel comfortable while participating in the movements, but by the end, those who do participate are so blessed. We are always in prayer before and during the song that self-consciousness won’t stop them from worshiping in this moving way. The Lord’s presence is always so evident during this song, and that night, I felt that it was so refreshing to everyone there. It is such a blessing to be an encouragement to other believers! God bless!
Cayla <3
At the Faith Chapel Christmas party, we had the opportunity to perform our Christmas repertoire. The church was beautifully decorated for the holidays, and everyone attending seemed glad for the break from hectic schedules. The performance went smoothly despite the tight spacing, and we finished with “Healing Hands”, a beautiful worship song with audience participation. It can be a challenge for the men in the audience to feel comfortable while participating in the movements, but by the end, those who do participate are so blessed. We are always in prayer before and during the song that self-consciousness won’t stop them from worshiping in this moving way. The Lord’s presence is always so evident during this song, and that night, I felt that it was so refreshing to everyone there. It is such a blessing to be an encouragement to other believers! God bless!
Cayla <3
Monday, December 27, 2010
Believers' Chapel
LWB performed our Christmas repertoire for Believer’s Chapel Children’s Sunday School on December 5th, as well as leading the adult service in “Healing Hands”. Healing Hands, by Christy Knockels, is a song that has spoken greatly to LWB and to our audiences around the world. Ashley put arm motions to the music, and we invite our audiences to join in as we worship the Lord through music and dance. We have seen people from different places around the globe be touched by the song in various ways. On this particular Sunday morning, the sanctuary was full of people, many of which were willing to step out of their comfort zone join us in “Healing Hands”. It was a blessing to watch from the stage as people worshiped the Lord in unified movement.
Our performance for the Sunday School kids went well. We were in the Believer’s Chapel gym, which meant that we had unlimited space for flooring and high jumps. In this particular ballet, there are three dancers—myself and two others—who must share costumes during the course of the five songs in the ballet. Because this performance was in a large room with limited access to changing areas, the three of us had to make do with changing behind a stage curtain! But those adventures are what make performances unique and memorable. Many of the children were very receptive to us as we got to know them after the performance; it’s wonderful to be able to talk to kids in the audience about their different lives, and we usually get to pray with a number of the children about their families, studies, etc. It’s a special time that I always look forward to at every children’s performance. This performance was probably just as uplifting as encouraging to us as it was to the audience!
Have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year! Sarah
Our performance for the Sunday School kids went well. We were in the Believer’s Chapel gym, which meant that we had unlimited space for flooring and high jumps. In this particular ballet, there are three dancers—myself and two others—who must share costumes during the course of the five songs in the ballet. Because this performance was in a large room with limited access to changing areas, the three of us had to make do with changing behind a stage curtain! But those adventures are what make performances unique and memorable. Many of the children were very receptive to us as we got to know them after the performance; it’s wonderful to be able to talk to kids in the audience about their different lives, and we usually get to pray with a number of the children about their families, studies, etc. It’s a special time that I always look forward to at every children’s performance. This performance was probably just as uplifting as encouraging to us as it was to the audience!
Have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year! Sarah
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The West Side Learning Center
On Tuesday we had the opportunity to perform our Christmas dances for a class of refugees at the West Side Learning Center. All of the students are there to learn English. It was so neat to be able to perform for people from all over the world! It felt like a missions trip except without the long plane ride :-) After performing Christmas, we led them in arm movements to "Healing is in His Hands." Many of them easily joined in and it was a beautiful sight to see so many of them moving to this powerful song! I pray that many of them are really able to understand how very much God loves them and desires a relationship with them.
After performing, we proceeded into a classroom and spent time talking to the students and helping them with their English. I was very impressed with the amount of English that many of them already knew! It was neat to be able to listen as they excitedly shared about their countries and traditions.
I so enjoyed this morning of ministering to the refugees. You can join me in praying that God would really reveal Himself to them in an awesome way. I know that He loves them more than I could ever comprehend, and I just hope that they know that too.
~Breanne
After performing, we proceeded into a classroom and spent time talking to the students and helping them with their English. I was very impressed with the amount of English that many of them already knew! It was neat to be able to listen as they excitedly shared about their countries and traditions.
I so enjoyed this morning of ministering to the refugees. You can join me in praying that God would really reveal Himself to them in an awesome way. I know that He loves them more than I could ever comprehend, and I just hope that they know that too.
~Breanne
Believers' Chapel
On December 4th we were able to worship with Believers Chapel’s Saturday night service and lead them in “Healing Hands.” It was a blessing to see people step out of their comfort zone and join in the arm movements with us.
We also performed “Christmas” for the children’s Sunday school. Ashley was able to involve them in the performance as she danced in the audience for part of her solo “Give Me Jesus.”
We ended with “Healing Hands” and prayed for each one of the kids. We were able to talk with a few of them afterwards. Later we found out that one little boy had a sore throat but, after doing “Healing Hands” with us, felt better!
~Krystalan
We also performed “Christmas” for the children’s Sunday school. Ashley was able to involve them in the performance as she danced in the audience for part of her solo “Give Me Jesus.”
We ended with “Healing Hands” and prayed for each one of the kids. We were able to talk with a few of them afterwards. Later we found out that one little boy had a sore throat but, after doing “Healing Hands” with us, felt better!
~Krystalan
HIM
We performed for HIM (Home Instruction Ministries) on Friday December 3rd. HIM Ministries is a large home-school group that meets together monthly. They were very welcoming and cheered as we each were introduced. We presented our Christmas pieces and reminded the kids of the true reason for celebrating at this joyous time of year.
We did “Healing Hands” with them after Cayla shared her testimony. One lady, whose family has been struggling with sickness for quite a while, was in tears as she participated in the arm movements. We prayed for each child and parent individually at the end of the performance. One young girl asked Cayla what she should do next, since she'd already asked Jesus to live in her heart. We had many wonderful conversations with the other children there as well.
Later, we divided the boys and girls into two groups. The girls followed “Sugar Plum” Amy and her assistants from the “Land of Sweets.” Ashley had shown us some interesting costumes earlier in the week, and we thought it would be fun to dress up for the kids. I (Elisa) was “Princess Peach,” and Alyssa and Cayla were “twin” angels (even though the two of them look nothing like each other). Together the four of us danced with the girls to the music of the “Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker.
The boys, meanwhile, followed “Sergeant” Ashley into the gym where they had a mini “Boot Camp.” They did push-ups, and also learned the army crawl and various marching routines. Ashley, Breanne, Gwen, and Krystalan dressed in black uniforms and carried large sticks as they commanded their “troops.” Sarah was also in the gym with the boys, but was not dressed in black. We thought the boys would enjoy having someone dressed in a cool costume as well, so Sarah volunteered to be a tomato --she did a great job!
The children and parents alike were very thankful that we came. As they celebrate Christmas this year with their families, our desire is that they will remember the message we shared through our performance and keep Jesus the center of their celebration.
Elisa
We did “Healing Hands” with them after Cayla shared her testimony. One lady, whose family has been struggling with sickness for quite a while, was in tears as she participated in the arm movements. We prayed for each child and parent individually at the end of the performance. One young girl asked Cayla what she should do next, since she'd already asked Jesus to live in her heart. We had many wonderful conversations with the other children there as well.
Later, we divided the boys and girls into two groups. The girls followed “Sugar Plum” Amy and her assistants from the “Land of Sweets.” Ashley had shown us some interesting costumes earlier in the week, and we thought it would be fun to dress up for the kids. I (Elisa) was “Princess Peach,” and Alyssa and Cayla were “twin” angels (even though the two of them look nothing like each other). Together the four of us danced with the girls to the music of the “Sugar Plum Fairy” from the Nutcracker.
The boys, meanwhile, followed “Sergeant” Ashley into the gym where they had a mini “Boot Camp.” They did push-ups, and also learned the army crawl and various marching routines. Ashley, Breanne, Gwen, and Krystalan dressed in black uniforms and carried large sticks as they commanded their “troops.” Sarah was also in the gym with the boys, but was not dressed in black. We thought the boys would enjoy having someone dressed in a cool costume as well, so Sarah volunteered to be a tomato --she did a great job!
The children and parents alike were very thankful that we came. As they celebrate Christmas this year with their families, our desire is that they will remember the message we shared through our performance and keep Jesus the center of their celebration.
Elisa
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