Category Archives: Go Beyond

Tuesday, March 8th – Prison 127km away.

Getting our van into the area where we had to unload our equipment was tough. We hit the roof backing up and damaged our back doors a little, but not too bad. It took work to get through to these men, they were more harden criminals and had been in for a long time. It is amazing how laughter is like medicine and sometimes, if you make someone laugh, you win their heart and their trust to talk about deeper things. When I did my Irish step dance here and shared my story of how I recovered from being in…

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Sunday, March 6th – Central Park

This park is a great spot because people from all the surrounding villages come here with theirs families to relax and enjoy the evening. We constantly run into people we have seen at other places, including in prisons. A large Capoeira group watched us perform a dance we do that incorporates the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira. After it they joined in and “played” with us in a large “Roda” (pronounced “hoda” meaning “circle” in which players take turns entering two at a time).

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Saturday, March 5th – Down Town public market

Sometimes people say that you can’t really change a life in a short encounter and you would have to be continually working with the same people to make any real difference. But if you look at the life of Jesus, He constantly met with individuals for a short time, sometimes just once and changed them forever. Look at the women at the well (Jn.4), the thief on the cross who exchanged one sentence with Jesus and found eternal life, and so many others. Anyway, its just encouraging to think that even one moment of touching another persons life with reality and…

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Friday, March 4th – Follow up on construction project inside prison

We went back a few times to continue working on the septic system in this prison and teaching the men how to do it. My brother is a certified welder and since the prison already has welding tools for certain projects, he was able to teach a few guys how to weld frames to then fill with concrete and use to cover the hole where the sewage drains into. This will make a huge difference in getting rid of the terrible smell. It had rained the day before and a lot of the patios were flooded so this delayed the…

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Wednesday, March 2nd – Hospital for children battling cancer.

We were invited to visit a hospital for children battling cancer, the press covered this event as well and some of the pictures are ones they sent to us. We performed outside for a group of kids that were able to come out along with their parents and nurses. Afterward we went room to room in the hospital and visited the kids that are bed-ridden with our costumes, puppets and magic. These kids are so precious and some of them have been in the hospital for a long time. One young girl, about 17 was there because her niece has…

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Monday, February 29th – Catholic based women’s prison

The press heard about the work we are doing in the city and sent a crew to document our performance in this women prison. They were really taken with what we do and the effect it has been having. They printed articles and broadcast a program on the evening news. We are hoping this will lead to more opportunities and more open doors. My brothers do a comedy act that is just hilarious, I have seen it a thousand times and I still laugh and look forward to seeing the crowd react. In short, a “dog” steals a soccer a…

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Sunday, February 28th – Central Park

I love performing for families and it means so much to people, especially poor families, that we do not ask for money and that they can just enjoy our show and not feel like they have to give us anything in return. We do a theatrical act and narrate  a story where a caterpillar becomes a butterfly and realizes that if he gives up what he knows, he can become something new. After we dance a choreography, we choose little kids from the audience (sometimes too many little kids and it gets a bit chaotic :)) and give them butterfly wings…

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Friday, February 26th – Maximum security prison

We had to ask permission from the prisoners in order to be allowed to go in. They of course have no idea who we are or what we are going to do. At first they assumed we were staff because we were dressed in black and did not want us to come in (we wear black uniforms simply because they hide sweat and dirt in the extreme heat.). After some explaining the head guy let us in and after about 30 min (of making them laugh and stumping them with magic) we had won them all. We were able to teach…

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Thursday, February 25th – Women’s prison 90km away

The conditions at this women’s prion are better as in cleaner, but the prison is in a city way in the middle of no where and looks like an abandoned warehouse. Again, they never get visitors because they are so far out here and all the women are very sad and depressed. In the pictures you can see an act we do about soil and seeds. Certain soil is better than other soil for the cultivation of plants. There once was an island that burned to the ground but then from the ashes a vine grew that contained the sweetest grapes ever…

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Tuesday, February 23rd – Construction project inside a prison

With some calculations, planning and letters, my family and I were able to get the authorization and the supplies to install the plumbing for a number of patios. My father and brother are construction minded so we were able to come up with a practical way to repair the situation. MY whole family worked on this project along side some of the prisoners and guards. It took a number of trips just to get all the piping from the hardware store to this way out in the middle of nowhere prison. This prison had no septic system and raw sewage…

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Friday, February 19th – Working with the homeless at shelters and down town.

We put together about 100 meals, loaded our van and spent the day with people on the streets and at a few shelters down town. I think some of the most beautiful people I have met are homeless and I have become friends with some of those that can always be found in the same spot down town. One guy, whose name is Ronaldo, has no legs due to polio and its really hard for him to move out  of the sun, yet he still always has a smile and upbeat attitude. Another man, named Leo, has a teenage son with…

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Tuesday, February 16th – Government run prison 80km away.

On the way to the prison we passed so many small villages that were barely standing. “Houses” were mere shacks, kids played in fields full of trash, there was no running water or electricity and they were in the middle of no where. We found ourselves asking,  If this is how the common people live, can you imagine what the prisons are really like? At this prison the head guard was actually from Ireland, and really loved when I danced Irish step dance for all the prisoners. This was the second presentation we had done for this prison and the other…

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Monday, February 15th – Largest Prison

We stayed after our presentation for a long time, talking to the men, teaching them games, exercise routines and bits of english. I love teaching the game of chess and giving out a chess board (which were donated to us by ChessHouse). When the evening came and the guards called that we had to leave, all the men gathered to gather and shouted, ” Que volte!”, come back. It really touched us. The gang leader who was in charge of the patio and reluctantly gave us permission to enter, ended up asking if he could have a Bible. We have visited this prison…

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Friday, February 12th – Prison in a City 70km away

We always want to bring the men a snack or treat of some kind but to get anything in this large of a quantity is expensive. So we came up with the idea of making large batches of pop corn (since its cheep) and bagging it into 300 or 400 bags. It takes a lot of time on a small stove and obviously in the big picture, its nothing in comparison to the immense needs they have but at least for a moment, it really cheers them up. We also give out reading material, Bibles, and inspiring posters as well…

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Wednesday, February 10th – City Park

My mother made most of the costumes we use, including large skirts and culture shirts for us. We do a version of their “Gaucho” cultural dance which is a dance you do with a partner but in a circle. Even though we have a ways to go before we are even close to as good as they are, the crowd is really touched that we try and care enough about their culture to do it. After we do it, people will participate and show us other steps. This dance is like a key to open hearts and win peoples trust,…

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Friday, February 5th – Worst Prison in Southern Brazil

When we came in with our all our equipment to perform, an entire swat team went in ahead of us with weapons drawn to sweep every area and cell, it was really incredible. This prison is so far in the middle of nowhere that most of the prisoners never get visitors. The conditions are horrendous. It is considered one of the most dangerous in the region and when we first approached the director, he said there was no way we would be allowed to get in because they could not secure our safety.  After a long time of explaining to him…

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February 4th – Severe Flooding

Today is my dads birthday and we had two events scheduled, however we had to reschedule them because the street out our door was completely flooded as was the only road to reach our destination. The power was out for a while so no fans or fridge, but don’t worry, eventually ONE guy with flip flops on showed up to fix the power for 250,000 people. Oh yeah, this looks hopeful! The main power box is literally right below my window so every morning I got to watch (and hear) the fixing process. With a chisel, he eventually dug a hole…

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Wednesday, Febuary 3rd, Down Town, Mardi Gras Celebration

Mardi Gras is huge in Brazil! Mostly in the Northern Cities like Rio and Salvador, but even here in the South, large crowds fill the streets to celebrate. We were invited to various festivals and were able to touch people from all over Brazil.

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Tuesday, February 2nd – Festival of the Sea

We performed for a very large Catholic festival that was for families in a poor neighborhood. Before we were even set up there was a big crowd waiting and everyone instantly got into our music. We do an act wearing all neon with high energy music. One of my brothers wears a cool costume he made out of heater ducking tubes and my other two brothers plug into him like he is charging them. A bit hard to explain, but through the act we convey the idea that we each have a free will, and if we engage our will to think, to love, to care,…

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Friday, January 29th – Severe Storm

There was a massive horrible storm that hit here. It destroyed thousands of trees and buildings. The park where we performed (you can see it in the very top picture), looks like king kong walked through it (yes I know king kong is not real:). Every where there are huge thick trees that have been snapped in two. 300,000 people lost power and water. We had to buy drinking water and then fill buckets with rain water to wash and flush the toilet for awhile. The wind was hurricane force and in the center there was certain kind of tornado. We had a…

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Friday, January 29th – Government run Prison

We performed for half the prison at the same time, about 400 men. They were so grateful and eager to participate in everything. I love to see them laugh, it makes everything we go through worth it. The prisons here are run very differently then other countries. Brazil has the 4th largest prison population in the world with most prisons being at double the capacity they were built for. The conditions are outrageous and violate human rights.  I met a man named Marcos who had been shot in the spinal cord and was paralyzed  Imagine not only living in hell, but…

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Sunday, January 17th – Central Park

My brother has a funny routine he does with cards and acting in the style of Charlie Chapman. It brings the whole crowd in and gets everyone involved. In between performances we have to train and practice our routines. To be able to execute a performance as we want to takes a tun of work and practice. My brothers and sisters are working on a Tae Kwon Do choreography now (we are 2nd degree black belts) and it takes a lot of focus and work to get all six of us doing the same exact moves to the same exact…

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Saturday, January 16th – Marcado Central

The center market is packed with people most every day and especially on Saturday. We reach thousands of people from all walks of life down town . I think some of the most beautiful people I have met are homeless and I have become friends with some of those that can always be found in the same spot down town. One guy, whose name is Ronaldo, has no legs due to polio and its really hard for him to move out  of the sun, yet he still always has a smile and upbeat attitude. Another man, named Leo, has a…

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Sunday, January 10th – Market and street performer fair in Central Park,

On Sundays there is a busy park we go to.  Pretty much everyone goes there so it is a great way to reach the whole city. We do many different theater acts and magic routines that contain simple but profound messages, like one about a little boy with a kite. The boy decides he wants to become important and to become important he has to grow up and give away his kite. After  he “becomes important” he realizes that he has changed and no longer cares about the many things that are truly important, like forgetting about himself and loving others. Eventually he…

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Monday January 4th – City Center Public Event

It is our desire to not only talk about the Fathers great love, but to show it through music, laughter and by weaving a message through dance and theater. Thats why besides  constantly walking the streets and sharing the Gospel to the multitudes down town, we also use a performance of music and dance that draws large crowds and allows us many opportunities to get invited into places we otherwise could not. Maybe one thing we do will reach the 20 year old body builder guy who has not given God a second thought. Maybe one thing we say will reach the 60…

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Thursday December 24th – Christmas with the homeless

On rainy days or during the weekends and holidays when the normal crowded streets are empty, it is really sad and eire to look up and down the sidewalks and see the homeless moving about like phantoms, trying to survive. We met whole families living under the freeway bridges. Some people have complete “houses” set up under the freeways including pictures put up on the cement and a tv they saved from their house. Because of severe flooding, many were driven out of their homes and just took what they could before they lost it all. I don’t know if…

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Tuesday December 22nd – Christmas in the Largest Prison

We performed an event for Christmas inside a prison, for the children of the prisoners. It’s heart breaking to see their sadness as they come out from visiting their fathers or brothers and it was a privilege to bring them an escape and a little hope and laughter. We were able to give the kids little gift bags and toys. I gave this one boy a chess board and he was so grateful  treating it like I gave I’m the keys to a car. He said he would play with his dad when he came to visit him in prison, and…

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Wednesday December 16th – Flying Out

And so the adventure begins! Besides all the items formally mentioned, we also had our personal belongings, musical equipment and other supplies we need. So needless to say, we had a lot of heavy, awkward boxes to get from point A (the US),  in and out of rental cars and motels, through the airport, on and off three connecting flights, to arrive at point B (Porto Alegre Brazil). By the time we landed at 2:00 am in Brazil, we were dead tired and crashed in a small cheep motel until morning (bringing all of our lovely boxes in and out of…

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November 2015 – Preparing to return to Porto Alegre

We are extremely grateful to the individuals and companies that decided to donate products to us so we can help those in need. We are bringing back little toys, stuffed animals (local thrift stores and salvation army most always donate some lightly used stuffed animals to us. One time, the company TY blew my mind and gave us a lot of brand new little beanie babies) , tooth brushes, soap, sanitary kits (many in prison have no access to sanitary items), rain ponchos, (it is rainy season in Brazil so many of the homeless have no cover), some chess boards, (which…

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September and October 2015 New York/ Philadelphia

We returned to the Sates in August to take care of some things and replenish our supplies. We took a few months to work on the streets of New York, Denver Detroit and Philadelphia. Sometimes we found favor with managers at fast food chains such as Taco bell, Wendy’s and dominoes and were able to get food discounted, or buy some and have them match what we bought. We were able to take a lot of hot meals to people that really needed it along with some kits containing sanitary items for them. So many tragic stories. So many veterans…

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Traveling the World

Hi, my name is Ruth. We just back from a trip to Asia and previously my family and I drove through South America beginning in Colombia and traveling through Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and then into Brazil. We spent time in every major city and numerous small villages bringing our presentation and message to the prisons, orphanages, homes for the elderly and disabled as well as many special events. The following is a detailed accounting of our work and service for others. We never ask for money, but from time to time will stop and work jobs to raise the finances we need….

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Thursday, July 23 – Central Prison, Brazil, Performing for the Guards and staff

After the director saw the performance we did for the prisoners, he asked us to perform for an event they had for the guards and staff the following day.  We were able to bring them laughter and encouragement as well as trying to encourage them to treat the prisoners fair and just. It was really cool doing our Capoeira dance here in Brazil (where it originated). We always get people to participate in a “Roda” (which in short, is a circle in which you play Capoeira with another person while others stand around and clap to the rythmn). In some countries we…

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Wednesday, July 22 – Central Prison, Southern Brazil, Second Presentation

After our first performance in the morning, we then moved all our equipment to another section of the prison to go directly into a patio. There was this one gate you had to go through, (kind of like a turning door that you go through at a bank or certain stores, the kind only one person fits in and you have to keep walking to get out except this one was really narrow and made of bars) anyway, we had a hard time fitting our speaker through it and it took a good 20 min to finally figure out the…

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Wednesday, July 22 – Central Prison, Southern Brazil, First Presentation in Theater

We do an act where one of us wears the costume of a homeless man and walks about begging. I am in the back ground acting as an artist, drawing the homeless man. I watch as a man ignores him and won’t help (one of my brothers playing the part) and then finally a young man stops, gives him his coat and cares for him (another one of my siblings plays the part). At the end I, as the artist, show the picture that I have been “drawing” and it is of the face of Jesus, conveying what Jesus said,…

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Sunday, July 19 – Helping the Homeless

I had read things about about this city that said it is one of the richer cities in Brazil, since it is a port city, and so I pictured a developed down town area and a rich kind of atitude. But in reality, it was quite different. There are scores of homeless, and poor, so much so that throughout the city there are make shift tarp houses and tents all over. Even in developed places places like the airport, bus station and shopping markets. One day I saw this man wander in the rain looking through the trash. He stopped…

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Saturday, July 18 – Down Town center, Southern Brazil

The down town center is absolutely packed with crowds hustling and bustling about. Everything in Brazil seems to be big and busy. As soon as we set up our music equipment in the center plaza, a large crowd gathered. We stayed out for hours, performing and sharing many things. We learned how to make these massive bubbles that float up really high and are mesmerizing. Kids and adults just love to watch them in our acts. The crowd was really energetic and listened attentively to all we taught.

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Thursday, July 16 – Traveling through Brazil

The most southern state in Brazil is cowboy land, or as they are called, Gauchos and they take their culture very seriously. The land is beautiful, full of livestock, horses and ranchers. They have a cool cultural dance (which we hope to learn a little of) and are definitely a very distinct and passionate people.  One night as we traveled it was getting late and we were looking for a place to stay. After only finding places that were either really  bad, or too expensive, we finally came to a ranch type hostal. The owner was a very kind, elderly rancher…

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Wednesday, July 15 – Crossing into Brazil

Crossing the border into Brazil was super easy! Usually you have to go through one process for people to enter and then another for a vehicle and another for the trailer and usually along the way you run into technical difficulties (that could delay you anywhere from an hour to a day). But entering into Brazil they did not need any paperwork or documentation for the van or our trailer which was awesome and saved so much time. We started this drive so many miles ago in Colombia and after coming so far I cannot believe we are in Brazil! It…

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Friday, July 10 – Rosario Prison Unit 6

They call this prison a concentration  camp because it is so bad. It had rained the day before and so the area we had to perform on was all mud. It was difficult and everything got messy but well worth it and we were privileged to give the men a relief from all their suffering. My brothers wrote a beautiful rap type poem that is about being in prison and a perspective beyond the walls. The say it to a chill/dub step type song my father wrote and it always really connects and touches the prisoners, especially hearing foreigners rhyme…

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Monday, July 6 – Prison in Rosario, Argentina Unit 3

The prisons in Rosario were in absolutely horrible condition and over 100 years old. The day we visited it was freezing. I mean the wind chill brought the temperature into the teens. But despite this lovely weather, the prisoners wanted to come outside to the spot where we performed and did not want to leave. In consideration of them we just kept our show short and then asked them if they wanted to go back inside. They all said no way, they were fine and asked us to do more. I was able to give them each an aluminum survival…

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Friday, July 3 – Down Town Cordoba

For some reason I had pictured Cordoba being a some what tourist, uppity type place, but it was the exact opposite.  Many of the buildings were run down, abandoned and looked like they were condemned. The train station was a wreck and the number of homeless and handicapped on the streets was staggering.  The need was very great and we were able to help a lot of people. The down town center was packed and people seemed stunned that we were giving them a quality show free of charge.   I do an Irish style dance (our family heritage is Irish) where I start playing my…

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Monday June 29 and Tuesday June 30 – Largest Prison in Cordoba, Argentina

When I was online looking up contact numbers for the prison, I came across an article about it that said one of the worst problems in this particular prison were the amount of rats that came in from a near by trash dump. I didn’t think much of it and was just looking for phone numbers so we could receive authorization to get in. However, as we were coming in and out of the prison, guess what we saw lots of? Very big rats. As if prison is not horrible enough, I can’t imagine being trapped in a cell and have rats…

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Friday, June 26 – Prison in San Luis, Argentina

As we left Mendoza and headed to Cordoba, there was a large prison on the way. I was able to find a phone number and after one phone call the director, he set up an event for us with barely a days notice! This is a miracle and God definitely had destined for us to go there.  There were certain patios that could not be combined with other patios but the director figured out a place where we could go so that nearly the whole prison could see us and also brought out the women’s prison. It was an ideal…

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Wednesday, June 24 – One of the Worst Prisons in Argentina

The prisons in Mendoza are some of the worst in the world. In 2004 there was a major incident in this one prison where the prisoners actually held hostage a group of civilians that had come to do a theater act for them. Apparently the president was on the way and they had intended to hold him hostage protesting the horrible condition. Anyway, long story short, eventually the situation was resolved without causalities but this led to a policy which forbids civilians to enter this specific.  They were able to organize an event for us where we could perform inside…

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Monday, June 22 – Mendoza Prison

When we were performing inside this prison, the director and staff abruptly left and we later learned that there had been a death at that moment and they do not know the cause whether is was an accident, suicide or a murder. It was really tragic and brought a sense of sadness to the prisoners and the guards. To think death is so close to us and can steal us at any moment. Many of the men became very sober and really listened to our words and teaching.  This one young man I spoke with only had one arm and had just…

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Sunday, June 21 – Mendoza Center Park

Weekends and days that we do not have scheduled events, we will go to public parks and city plazas. We reach families from all the surrounding towns that come to the center to shop or have fun on the weekends. Children are so precious and we always have fun when they are in the crowd. They love all the stories we tell with our puppets in our home made puppet show (a pop up changing room with a cut out and curtain on it), and they are so bright and get the meaning behind all we do.

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Monday, June 15 and Wednesday June 17 (My birthday) – Prison in Almafuerte, Argentina

On my birthday we were inside a maximum security prison and did multiple performances for smaller groups because of security. There was a prisoner there who was blind and had a very long sentence. He placed my hands on his head to let me feel where a bullet had entered leaving deep scars. He had been involved in a robbery where he ended up getting shot, almost dying and blamed for the crime when he was barely involved. I just can’t imagine not only being in prison, but being completely blind and vulnerable. I asked him to dance with me when we…

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Saturday, June 13 Crossing the Border into Argentina/Dangerous Roads

The border between Chile and Argentina is located at the top of a pass up the Andes mountains. After we made it up the 29 curves (with a nice sign to count each one) we got in the line to cross the border.  All the mountains were covered in snow, the lake was ice and it was freezing with the wind chill bellow zero. We kept warm with ten cent cups of coffee (which was really black watered down water). In the same window you leave Chile and enter Argentina, so it was pretty simple. The only delay is when…

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Wednesday, June 10 – Prison in Rancagua, Chile

This prison was a long ways away from where we were staying and a long drive. I had come here days before by bus to get authorization and the director had welcomed us with grateful arms. We did two presentations for two groups. It was very very cold within these walls and the mountains were covered in snow. Originally we had a smaller group of around 300 men, but after the director saw what we do, he filled the gym with over 600 men. They were all very had core men and it too work, creativity and sincerity to win…

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Monday, June 8 – Prison in Valparaiso, Chile.

They had planned our event here at this prison for a few weeks, and everything was very prepared for our arrival. They even put posters around the prison so the prisoners could look forward to our arrival. Rarely are things this well organized. It was a very large gym and they filled it with prisoners. We did two performances each for about 400 men. They had it set up like a theater and one of the prisoners managed the lighting which was really cool. We do an act where we use a net to convey all the things that entangle…

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Thursday, June 4 – Largest Prison in Chile

We returned once again to perm for another group of prisoners since this prison is so large. The director was able to combine two patios so we had a large group of around 500 men. They were so very grateful for all the things we taught. They always love the break dance my brothers do and the up beat electronic style music we create brings so much energy and life inside the walls. We met two twin brothers inside who got into crime at a young age. The robbed a market originally because they were hungry and need food but…

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Wednsday, May 27 – Two prisons, a university and city center, Concepcion, Chile

We wanted to visit the southern city of Concepcion but had many events scheduled in Santiago, so we split up and my brothers and sister and I took a bus south. We planed to sleep on the bus there and sleep on the bus on the way back so would not have to stay in a motel (which are quite expensive). We arrived at 6:00 and it was absolutely freezing, I think it was like 10 degrees. We had two hours to kill before anything opened and I had planned to just doze off on some chair in the terminal,…

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Monday, May 25 – Central Park Santiago

I love performing for children and families and we have many acts for kids such as puppets, costumes and magic routines. Is there anything more beautiful than a child’s laughter? This park is a beautiful place and even poor families can come here on the weekends and enjoy many free activities so it is a great opportunity. A family came up to us and told us they had seen us in Bogota Colombia years ago!

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Thursday, May 21- Orphanage, Santiago, chile

We had a beautiful time performing for a government run orphanage in Chile. These kids had nothing and no one. The director told me that 70% of them will live their whole lives in one of the homes for children that the state runs. There are three homes, one for children age 1 to 5, one for children 5 to 12 and one for children 12 to 18. They get moved from one home to the next and then when they turn 18, they are on their own. It is so sad because I once met a young man in…

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Friday, May 15 Two Prisons in Colina, Chile.

After our first performance, we had to pack up all our equipment and drive a short distance to an adjacent prison. We were quite exhausted and purely running on the grace of God. Because of all the delays, we had only a shorter time to mount our equipment and perform so we had to really rush before evening arrived. Originally they were only going to let a small number of prisoners attend, but the director knew what we were going to do and allowed an entire section of the prison to attend which was over 500 men. We are black belts in Tae…

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Friday, May 15 Two Prisons in Colina, Chile.

We had to wait along time to get cleared through security since this is a maximum security facility. There were other events going on that we had to coordinate with but it was certainly worth the work. We were allowed to go directly into a patio where the men had very long sentences. So many act so tough and strong on the outside, but just beyond the image they are scarred sad boys and it is our job to try to reach the child within them and give them the hope of the Gospel. Sometimes humor is the key to…

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Wednesday, May 13 Puente Alto Prison, Chile

This prison has a large maximum security section and the director allowed some of the worst prisoners to attend our performance. We do an act where we use a ladder to help give them a visual reference that they can begin to take small steps to make a big change. All though they cannot leave physically, they can “go somewhere” higher and find a “place” within this place. We have to work very hard to be effective and sincerity is our greatest weapon. Many “churches” come in took take advantage of the men and get them to get their families…

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Monday, May 11 – City Centers , Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Chile

My brothers and sister and I took a bus trip to reach the Northern cities of Chile. We were able to touch and help a lot of people. There was a train you could take between the two cities so we made two teams and then met up together. There were so many homeless and handicapped it was really sad. At a center park we got together a large group of homeless and had enough tin emergency blankets to give them each one for a shelter and also bought them some coffee and snacks. The city of Valparaiso was devastated…

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Thursday, May 7 – Community Center for the Elderly, Chile

We continue to work at different homes for the elderly. Some of the homes are so bad it is really a tragedy, they are neglected, lack basic necessities like heat and plumbing, and smell really bad.  It is winter here and getting very cold obviously being elderly, they get even colder. The ladies that run some of these homes had never seen the survival tin blankets that we have, and once I showed it to them and explained what it was, they were thrilled and said they would put them on all the beds. I was making conversation with an oler man, maybe 80 and…

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Wednesday, May 6 and Friday, May 8 – Largest prison in Chile.

This is the largest prison in Chile and highly over populated. There are two separate sections and we performed in each. We do a magic routine where we convey that they can find time, within their time in prison. Beyond just existing, they can invest moments in studying and learning things that will change their future. Afterward a guard told us who grateful he was that we did this act. We also do a magic routine to the song, “Alegria” and as we were leaving, the guards were whistling this song.  

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Thursday, April 30 – Central Prison, Santiago, Chile

This a very large prison and we visited it last year as well a number of times. We were able to perform in a large gym and use our projector to play a video backdrop behind us. It gives the prisoners a very high quality show as we play our time lapse photography of the American national parks. They have never seen anything like it. We do a dance choreography to a trance type song my dad wrote and we dress all in neon. It has a message that God is not in a box and brings a lot of…

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Monday, April 27 – All boys School, Santiago, Chile

We performed at a large all boys school. Lets just say, absolute caos! It was obvious that these boys have had no discipline, and no love from their parents. We saw inside a class before we started and the teacher is obliviously writing on the chalk board as the class is going nuts jumping, yelling, on their phones;. NO one cared. It was a heck of a lot of work to get 400 12 to 15 year olds under control and focusing on what we were saying, but in the end it was well worth it and we were able to…

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Tuesday, April 21 – Homeless Shelter Santiago, Chile

We have been working with a large Catholic foundation that works with the elderly and homeless and have done a number of performances for them. This one elderly man I met lost his leg in 2012 when he was working at a construction site and a heavy crate fell off a semi truck and crushed his leg. He said the pain is so severe sometimes he can hardly stand it because his hip bone is barely covered. He has a beautiful little dog that helps pull him and go up to people with a little basket around her neck to…

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Wednesday, April 15 – Catholic run Home for the Elderly, outside Santiago

I love working with the elderly and hearing their individual stories. They are so quick to smile and even dance. This one women, nearly 90 surprised me by getting up and showing me the cultural dance of Chile. Another women took the microphone at the end and gave us a warm thank you speech.

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Wednesday, April 1 – Odeon Santiago, Chile

We were able to get permission to perform at a center pavilion and had large crowds.

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Saturday nights, April and May – Central Station, Santiago, Chile

We were  granted a spot right in front of their Grand Central Station which is the only train and bus station in and out of the city. Over 700,000 people walk by this spot a day!  To bring joy to a sad world and hope to those that suffer is a great privilege. 

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Wednesday or friday nights, March and April – Puente Alta, Chile

 We visited the northern town in the out skirts of Santiago and were able to  reach very large crowds. The governor of the city organized an event for us once a week in a large plaza. He payed for chairs to be brought out and publicized our event to the public. We  had some very long, special, (did I say looong), nights there reaching a lot of people from all over the country. 

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Thursday, March 5th – Mendoza Prisons

One day I went to a certain prison and asked if I could talk to the director in regards to getting authorization to visit. There was a little window on the door which a guard finally opened after I knocked ten times (like the gate in The Wizard of Oz). He barely listed to what I was asking and then slammed it shut and said no, I could not talk to anyone. After repeating this process a good, oh…60 times until, long story short, I eventually found a door where I found a guy that got a guy that knew a…

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Sunday, March 1st – Helping the homeless Down Town Buenos Aires

The down town center is so very busy and we spent many days walking the streets talking to crowds and individuals and caring for the many homeless that sit in the corners. Everything is pretty expensive here like the taxis, so that means a lot of walking. One day I added it up and I had walked over 8 miles just going down town, running errors and getting groceries(at least I’ll stay in shape right?) The economy here is on the verge of collapse so there is a lot of poverty and even the middle class find themselves struggling. Up…

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Saturday, February 28th- Central Park Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It is summer here, which is when most citizens go on vacation so all the parks and recreational areas are very busy. There is a really big park, (like central park) down town and the directer of the park asked us to perform there every weekend and holidays like mardi gras weekend which was four days straight. He reserved a spot for us and very large crowds gathered each night. Families come from all the surrounding regions to enjoy this park, as many are very poor they are grateful and excited to enjoy our show free of charge. The kids…

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Monday, February 23rd – Women’s Prison Argentina

God gave us great favor with the director of all the federal prisons and he organized multiple performances in many prisons. We made a large screen which we use to project a video on behind us (remember a while ago I told you that we were working on a video with footage of the national parks, time lapse photography with the message of the “Door” and another place). We use this both as a backdrop to our performances and as a teaching tool to explain many things in a visual way. We were able to use this at most all…

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Saturday, February 14th 2015 – Down Town Montevideo.

We have been having an effect with the crowds down town in the city center and on the boardwalks and beaches of Montevideo. Even after a long day in the prisons, we headed to the city center to perform at a busy square. I don’t know how my parents do it some times, even when they are absolutely exhausted and drained from the sun they still find more to give. There are many tourists from other countries as well as the locals and we try to put a seed in their heart and show them that there is something beyond just surviving,…

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Friday February 13th – Largest Prison in Uruguay

We were at the hospital late into the night and had had a performance scheduled at a prison early the next morning. We talked about canceling it since we were all really tired, worn down and would have to try to adjust all our dances and theater acts since David could not participate. But in the end we decided to go ahead with it knowing the Father would meet us with His grace and David said there was no way we were canceling on his account.  This prison is the largest and worse in Uruguay and we did a number of presentations to reach…

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Thursday, February 12th 2015 – My brother tore his achilles tendon.

Our next prison was large, more like a little city. We were part way into our presentation and were performing the Brazilian art of capoeira when my youngest brother, David, suddenly pulled up and started limping off. When I saw his face I knew something was very wrong because he would not stop for any type of miner injury. We iced his leg and got him in a chair while we finished sharing with the prisoners and said goodbye. They sent us to a hospital down town and we had to wait a while in the emergency room.  David had torn his achilles tendon…

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Tuesday February 10th – Women’s Prison in Montevideo

I had been in contact with the office that runs the prisons in Montevideo and they organized four prisons in one week. Our first prison was a women’s prison, way out in the middle of no where. It is actually an abandoned hospital and looked like a condemned building. Seriously, it was like something you would see in a World War2 movie after a town was bombed. Because they get practically NO visitors or events here, the guards at the main gate had no idea how to go about letting us in. First they sent us to the back of the prison where…

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Thursday February 5th 2015 – Arriving in Uruguay

We were already tired from a long day of traveling when we arrived at Miami International Airport with a rented van FULL of boxes and luggage, but since we had a late flight, our day was just starting! It is actually a long story, but God gave us great favor with a manager over baggage who really cared about the work that we are doing and figured things out so we could check through a lot of extra bags at no extra cost. It was amazing! God is so good. We were able to bring everything that different companies had…

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