Category Archives: What We Do

Special City Events – December/January

Merry Christmas everyone and happy new year! I hope you can all take time to let the stress of your routine go and just be in the moments that really matter. May God bless you and lift you up as we celebrate  Jesus, the greatest gift ever given. It was just an ordinary night in an ordinary town and yet something extraordinary happen. Hope was born and they laid Him in a manger. Over this time we perform at special city events as well as in the down town center and parks. We also spend time visiting and helping the homeless. During vacation…

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Prison in Southern Brazil – December 22nd

We performed inside the largest prison here as well this last week. It was actually on lock down because of a fight that occurred,  but a certain social worker sort of snuck us into an outer patio so we could visit with the guys she cares for. It was really sad to realize that the prison was closed to visitors for Christmas so none of the prisoners got to see their families on Christmas. They said that this Christmas, we were their family. It was a smaller group this time so we could really spend time with each of them, listening and teaching.

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Down Town Center – December

The down town plaza has been very, very busy these days leading up to Christmas and we performed in the center for large crowds. I love just being on the streets in down town city areas. It is difficult because you’re just out there and any thing can happen, but you reach people from all walks of life.  We had so many people that came up to us and told us that they had seen us from other events. It made us realize that we are reaching this whole city. A few men actually saw us perform inside a prison…

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Special event in poor neighborhood – December 20th

We put on an event at a really poor neighborhood out side the city. The people here live in tent type shacks and really have nothing. Thanks to some companies that donated little toys to us, we were able to give every little kid that came a Christmas present. We made up little packages with the toys, some candy, crayons and a little children’s book that my brother wrote. The parents were so grateful that their kids could get something on Christmas and it was a beautiful time. They loved our Christmas play! We even had a huge star to lead the wise men to…

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Packing, Preparing and Leaving for Brazil – December

So much to do and so little time:)! It takes a lot of work to translate everything into Portuguese and figure out all our equipment, props costumes and gear. We are so extremely grateful to the individuals that donated to us Portuguese Gospels of John, stuffed animals, little toys, bracelets and chess boards. Shortly after we arrive we will be performing for a Christmas party at a large orphanage and we are happy to be able to bring some little toys and stuffed animals to give them for Christmas. The department of government that runs the prisons in Southern Brazil…

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New York / Baltimore / D.C – November

We spent a good amount of time in New York city working with so many. There are so many people that sit on the street corners with cardboard signs asking for help. So many sad stories. A few that really broke my heart were ones like, “Please see me”, “Today is my birthday, could anyone please help make this day a little special”, “I am just so hungry”. You see just crowds and crowds pouring past these people and so few see them. No matter what we face dear friends, we have to “see” each other and never let our…

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Chicago – October

It has been a great privilege to help and work with so many people in Chicago. So many have suffered so much due to the gang violence in this city. It is just so tragic how many shootings have occurred. It makes me so angry that more is not being done to help all the innocent people that get caught up in the violence. We worked with a lot of people as well as making up a tun of care/lunch packages and just walking the streets helping and talking to those along the way. Even on along the Magnificent mile…

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Colorado, Ohio – September

We spent time working in Denver and Ohio. So many beautiful people. Right now Dayton is dealing with a serious drug problem, the stats are just overwhelming of how many people are becoming addicted and losing there lives from Opioid and Meth. So many children suffer greatly from parents that are addicts.

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Las Vegas – Working jobs and working with the homeless- January through July

After we got back from Asia we continued to work in Las Vegas to save up money. We each worked two jobs as servers at famous restaurants on the strip. During our time working, we were also able to continually work with the homeless and help those in need. There are tent cities where many homeless live, especially by Fremont street. We also took trips to New York, Seattle, Chicago and Denver to work with different groups of people. Our employers gave us time off here and there so we could get to these places. So many suffer in silence…

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Sunday, March 8th – Mendoza Prison Escape Attempt.

The director of the Mendoza prisons asked us to visit a prison waaaaaayyyyy out in the middle of nowhere with desert before it and the Andes beyond. There was no lodging around, so he arranged for us to actually stay on the prison grounds in the guards quarters near the dog canals (no, not a quite place).  It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had, the prison was very big and we were inside one fence with three more before the prison. A severe thunder storm moved in and it poured all night with lightning splitting the sky….

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Saturday, March 7th – Mendoza Wine Festival

We have also had some really sweet times of ministering in the down town center at a large plaza. There was a huge wine festival going on that drew huge crowds from all the surrounding villages and cities. It was an awesome opportunity to reach people that we could otherwise not get to. I had a lot of fun using my self made puppet theater and doing magic with my sisters for all the kids.

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Thursday, February 26th – Juvenile detention center and Maximum Security Prison, Argentina.

There were a number of prisons in a city a long ways from the center that they wanted us to visit. They had planned for us to go up and back three days but since gas is expensive and we also had other events scheduled, we decided to combine these visits into one trip up there and one day, one looonnngggg day. We first went to a prison for young adults, all under 21 and spent a while with them. They loved participating in Capoeira and also learning a little Tae Kwon Do  which we use to teach about the…

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Getting Ready 2015

Getting Ready. My family and I have been very busy preparing to return to South America. Both working to save up finances, and working to prepare things that we will give out and do in our presentation. I wrote letters to a number of different companies to request the donation of different things to take back to South America with us. Things such as aluminum survival blankets, (for the homeless and prisoners), little toys and stuffed animals, (for the orphans and elderly), Bibles, Gospels of John and other small things to be used as gifts.  After some time and work, a…

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Friday, July 4th 2014 – Men’s Prison, Uruguay

We had a limited time in Uruguay since we had to book our flights back to the States in advance, so it was like a miracle to get authorization to enter a prison in short notice. This is the largest prison in Uruguay and has had many terrible things occur over the years such as riots, fires and over crowding. It was freezing the day we went but thank God the sun came out and warmed us all up. The men were so grateful and told us no one has ever come to visit them. One man told us that…

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Wednesday, July 2nd 2014 – Village for orphans, Montevideo Uruguay

We were able to visit the orphanage outside of Montevideo and meet with the director. She was very excited that we could offer such a show free of charge for the children. We visited for a while and spent some time with the children and plan to work with them when we return. There were so many precious faces and fragile lives desperately hoping to be loved and wanted.

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Friday, June 27th – Maximum Security Federal Prison, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Argentinean prisons are quit notorious for horrible conditions that violate human rights such as not enough resources like water, food and medical care, overcrowding and in 2008 the global NGO listed Argentina as one of 81 countries where torture is still practiced. Suicides, riots and gang fights have claimed a staggering number of lives as well as prison fires that have ragged out of control killing many. Many have been there for years without having received a sentence. At one point this prison was amongst the worst in the world. It is maximum security and we had to clear…

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Tuesday, June 24th – Complex 5 Federal Prison, Argentina at 10:00am

We drove a few hours outside the city to reach this prison complex, which is the largest in Argentina. Because of Argentines past history in the prisons and due to security risk, only a smaller amount of prisoners were allowed to be together at once so we had to do multiply performances for groups of around a hundred. But it was cool with a smaller group because we were able to spend more time one on one with them. It is so beautiful to see how much these guys appreciate the things we do for them. Even simple things like magic…

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Sunday, June 22nd – Park in a poor district in Buenos Aires

It’s been really cold here but today it was warm and sunny and a lot of people were out. We had a huge crowd full of families and people of all walks of life. They have a really cool cultural dance in Argentina called, “Chacarera”. You do it across from a partner or in a circle and the music and steps are a little similar to an Irish style. We are just learning it but we did it here at the park and a lot of people joined in and helped teach us. We had a lot of little girls…

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Tuesday, June 17th Down Town Buenos Aires (And many other dates in between the dates accounted for)

The busiest street in Buenos Aires is narrow, and packed with crowds of people. It was difficult to find a spot where we could have space to perform and not bother businesses with the volume of our music. We were able to find corners here and there and had to keep a tighter performance but it was very effective and huge crowds gathered as well as many Brazilians and other foreigners who were there on vacation. It was my birthday today, and there’s nowhere else Id rather be. The city of Buenos Aires is so big that many people have…

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Driving through Chile to the Argentinean border.

This is one of the most beautiful drives I have ever taken. The majestic Andes Mountains set behind rolling vineyards and beautiful fields. The road that climbs to the border is world famous (I think its been on one of those most dangerous roads shows). There are 29 steep curves; with a sign counting each one (just in case you forget how long you have to go). The mountains are so steep it’s like a wall of shear ice and there is a waterfall running down the side. This pass is in the shadow of the tallest mountain in the…

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Friday, May 23rd – Women’s prison, Santiago Chile (where the fire was in 2010)

Back in 2010 a fire broke out that killed over 80 men. It was a tragic event that could have been avoided but the cells were so full that everything was cios. Some claim that the guards were drunk and thus could not find the right keys. It has now been transformed into a women’s prison and you could still see and smell the effects of the fire. I wrote an act we do using a song called “Alegria”, which combines clowns, magic and dance. It carries the message that if we care about others, more than ourselves, we find…

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Thursday, May 22nd – High School outside Santiago Chile, 700 teens

Teenagers are a more difficult crowd to get through to sometimes, since they are now at the age of trying to be cool and get the guy or girl to think they are funny. But many of them are very eager to listen and hear an alternative to all the problems they are facing. It takes a lot of work on our part, we have to constantly change things up, sometimes be crazy and fun and then sometimes be really stern. Sometimes let them participate with us, and sometimes just teach them. They are at the time in their lives where…

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Tuesday, May 20th Largest prison in Santiago, The “Oval” – 700 plus prisoners

It took some serious convincing to talk the warden into letting us perform here in the center of the entire prison, but because he had seen the previous presentations we had done at this prison last week, he allowed it and trusted us. All the patios and cells look into this area and so beside the 700 prisoners that were allowed to come into the circle, all the other men could hear and partially see. There are some cell blocks where the men are NEVER let out into the court to exercise. It is really hard to see all these…

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Monday, May 19th – Middle School (ages 10 to 12) Santiago Chile, 600 kids

It takes a lot of work to effectively reach this many kids at the same time and keep their attention focused on what you are saying. You have to go from making them laugh, to then really hear what you are saying. We have some really cool costumes that a company graciously donated to us. We started out by doing a choreographed locking style dance while in the costumes. Let’s just say, the crowd went wild. All in all it went great and it amazes me sometimes the things that ten and twelve year olds say. Some of them really…

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Friday, May 16th Women’s prison.

This was a small prison and we performed for about 100 ladies. They were so grateful to get such a huge production at their place. They danced with us in a salsa type dance that we do and had a lot of fun. We always make some good jokes about how the Latin’s are so much better at salsa than us Americans. One older womean told me she had five kids on the outside that were rarely able to come visits her. Desperate for money, she got tricked into carrying drugs across the border. She had been here five years…

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Wednesday, May 14th – Men’s Prison, Santiago, 2 patios, 300 men each.

This is the largest prison in Chile, holding over 6,000 men. The conditions are bad since they are at double capacity and the food they eat is just horrible. Some of the men were so thin and pale from not getting enough nutrition and in some places the smell is just horrible. On top of all they have to endure, some of these men are missing limbs, in wheel chairs, blind or disabled. One man in a wheel chair named Guillermo, was from the US, had a horrible car accident and now was here. Many I talked to were serving…

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Tuesday, May 13th – Largest School for the mentally and physically handicapped in Chile.

There are around 400 kids, from ages 5 to 26 with all ranges of disability such as Autism, Downs, Epilepsy, Physical handicaps, and some that have suffered abuse so sever it has caused mental damage. Wow! 400 kids with special needs is a lot to handle! They all want to be hugged and get your attention. To hear their laughter and see their amazement at the magic made me want to cry and so many wanted to dance with butterfly wings or participate in some way, there was hardly enough space. Some of them were so smart and quicker to…

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Tuesday, May 13th – Homes for the elderly, outside the Santiago city limit.

We set up our equipment and then helped push all the wheelchairs of the elderly down a ramp from upstairs to outside. It took a while to get them all together and help the nuns since they had to be moved very slowly. The nun told us that out of all the people here, only ten of them have someone that comes to visit them and they were so excited for this special attention and getting their own personal “circus”. One lady told me she had been moved from another home after the floor collapsed because it was so old….

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Monday, May 12th 2014 – Private Prison, Chile 300 men

At this prison all the men are waiting to receive their sentences and can be held up to five years waiting. Some might have their charges dropped, and some can receive up to life in prison. We set up in a big auditorium and set up a bunch of benches and chairs. The men had to be divided into groups because of the different gangs they came from and then each group was heavily guarded with a line of prison guards. My dad does a funny act wearing a monkey costume (that looks so real) and the prisoners just go…

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Down Town Santiago city center (Most of the dates that are in between the dates accounted for, we were down town in the center).

The down town center is so busy it is unbelievable. I have not been to a city this condensed and packed, not even New York is this busy all the time. The weekend we got here there was a big miner’s convention and we were able to reach people from far out cities in Chile drawing huge crowds with our performances. The subway gets so full, people are literally shoving hard to try to fit in and sometimes you have to wait a long time for a train with a bit of space on it. When my brothers and sisters…

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Tuesday, April, 22nd – Shelter for victims of a fire in Valparaiso Chile.

Days before we arrived in Valparaiso, there was a horrible fire that burned for days and wiped out a whole village. People who already had very little, lost it all. There were local artists and singers performing in the city center, raising money for the victims. They asked us to perform in their spot and help them raise money which we gladly did. We never ask for money when we perform, but this was a special case since everyone knew it was for victims in great need and we were able to raise a lot. The crowd was full of…

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Thursday, April 10th Tent City and down town Iqique Chile.

Because of the severe earthquake in the city of Iqique, half the road was out so only one lane was passable, meaning cars coming and leaving had to take turns, 30 cars at a time. There were tents all over the city, some because they had lost their homes and some because they were too afraid to go back down to their homes.  We performed down town by the area that was hit the worst. It was really busy and a large crowd stopped and listened. Most people come here in the day to shop and work, and then at night…

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Traveling through Peru.

For some reason when I had thought about Peru, I had pictured jungles and green terrain. Not even close. It’s all desert. As far as you can see nothing but sand, I mean not a single structure for hundreds of miles (not a good place to play “I spy”). At one point along the journey in the middle of nowhere, our alternator broke. It’s a long story but God Almighty provided a new one for us in a tiny town on a Sunday! There were signs along the way as we traveled that said things like, “Zone of fog”, as…

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Friday, April 4th – Village for Orphans, Lima Peru

There were around 200 children at this village, most have had a very tragic past and been through horrible things, like seeing their parents killed, to being given or taken away from them because of abuse. It breaks your heart looking into some of these children’s eyes and seeing such a deep sadness and hurt that you know they have been through something tragic, something far beyond their years. They want to be held and hugged and listened to and tickled and told that everything is going to be ok. We have some really cool costumes that a company in the States donated…

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Wednesday, April 2nd 2014 Prison in Caio, Peru

We were not able to get the authorization to perform in this prison in the time frame we had, so my sisters and I went to visit on the day they allow women to visit. We had to wait in a long line and go through a tun of security and check points. They stamp your arm with a number and that’s the place you get in line. We were 217 out of like 600 so not that bad. You have to know someone on the inside and be visiting them to get in. Since we did not know anyone inside, we…

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Saturday, March 29th – Amphitheater in a poor district down town Lima, Peru.

We were invited into an enclosed amphitheater where local artists perform down town Lima. It was a very large crowd and we only had one hour flat to set up, perform and break down. It was a challenge because the people here were used to traditional cultural singing, not high energy, fast paced music and theater, so it was quit a switch for them. We started with a cultural dance we do which is similar to the style they are used to, followed by a magic routine to the old school song called, “De Colores” and then transitioned into our…

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Friday, March 28th – Largest Prison in Peru, two presentations 1,600 men

This prison is one of the top worst in the entire world. It was built for 2,500 men, and now holds between 9,000 to 11,000 men! There are as little as 100 guards to manage and run the place, so lawlessness and violence are common as guards are forced to leave the prisoners to do as they like to a certain extent. Corruption is the norm, and guards will take bribes from the prisoners with money. Out of the 10,000 prisoners, over 7,000 have never received a sentence or seen a judge. So many are put in here for just…

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Thursday, March 13th Chambuca Granda, Lima Peru

It took a lot of work and a special permission to be able to perform here. Most artists will have these spots reserved for years in advanced but they made an exception and gave us time slots once they saw what we do, the quality of our acts and that we do not ask for money. It was different having the crowd so close and a little intimidating to see some of their hard faces. But once we broke the ice and got them laughing, we won the crowd and so won the place to put a seed of hope…

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Monday, March, 10th – La Merced, down town Lima.

Any dates that we were not at a specific event, we were down town in the city center. This was the hardest city to get permission at so far. One of the secretaries told me honestly that the whole permission system is designed to make people give up because they do not want people performing on the streets all though they cannot legally prohibit it. It took a lot of 1:30 taxi rides to this office and that office and a lot of phone calls but thank God eventually we got permission to perform on the streets of Lima Peru on…

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Sunday, March, 9th – A park on the far limits of Lima in the poorest district.

The director of all the parks in Peru heard about what we do and that we don’t charge and so asked us to visit certain parks in poor areas and attend certain events he had organized. On our way to this park we stopped at a little village and bought a bunch of balls, candy, hullo hoops and toys. The guy that sold them to us gave us a cheep price because we told him we were giving them away and he was thrilled to make such a big sale when he usually sells like one thing a day, so…

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Friday, February 28th – Plaza San Pedro, Down town Lima

We do a choreographed dance where we use torches lit on fire. As I was in the back preparing the fire, someone in the crowd knocked over the container of fuel and I did not see it happen. When my brother came back to light his torch, the ground ignited and fire began to jump all over. It was terrifying. In an instant it began to spread and jump to our equipment. Thanks be to God our beloved Father, who protected us and enabled us to put it all out without suffering significant loss or injury. My hair caught on…

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Tuesday, February 18th – Down town historic center, Trujillo, Peru

We stopped at the city of Trujillo, Peru on our way to Lima. The police said they never let anyone perform in the historic plaza which was in the center of the city and the busiest place. After a long morning of talking to all the city officials and authorities, we were able to talk to the guy highest up who said they would make an exception just this once and just in our case and allow us to go where we wanted to go. He even extensively thanked us for the work we are doing and God used him…

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Saturday, February 15th – A little fishing town just inside Ecuador on the way to the Peruvian Border.

As we drove through Ecuador we passed a small fishing town that was just bustling with people since it was a holiday. We pulled over and set up our equipment in a parking lot where I guy was selling crabs, chickens and fish (nice smell in the sweltering heat). In a matter of minuets, a crowd gathered and was cheering, clapping and participating. A national tv crew was in the area and when they heard we were there filmed our whole presentation, interviewed us to broadcast on the nightly news. The reporter said it personally touched her to hear us talk…

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Crossing the Peruvian Border – There are a lot of dogs in the world!

Crossing the border into Peru was actually pretty easy except that where you are supposed to check out of Ecuador was not marked so when we got to the Peruvian side, they sent us back to Ecuador a few miles to check out. No one knew where the office was, which seems weird, but eventually we found it. A few days earlier they had confiscated four semi trucks full of fish because of some document problem, so I’ll just let you imagine the wonderful smell that loomed in the air as we waited for everything to get cleared in 100…

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Thursday, February 13th -Down town Quito, Ecuador

This city was an absolute nightmare to drive around. I think the only other place I have seen roads this steep was in a Doctor Sues book. Everything is one way and the traffic is so bad if you miss a turn you are in for a good hour to get back there. After some slightly stressful driving, we found a busy plaza down town where were got permission to perform for the day. There was a live radio broadcast going on so we had to wait for them to finish, but they asked us to speak on the radio…

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Sunday, February 9th – Left Bogota, heading to the Peruvian Border.

We sold or gave away everything that was not absolutely essential and loaded all our gear into our van and trailer. The previous week, my brothers and I built a small utility trailer with a bunch of used parts we rounded up around Bogota, in order to help us carry our equipment. So try to imagine 8 people, 8 sleeping bags and pads, 8 bags containing our clothes, a tent, camping and cooking gear, all our musical sound equipment as in two speakers, a generator, mixer, bass, two boxes of props, puppets and costumes, Gospels of John, New Testaments, pamphlets,…

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Wednesday, February 5th – National, Food Bank Conference Bogotá Colombia, 700 foundation leaders

We were invited to perform at a theater for the National Food bank. Most of the time our stage is on the streets, parks, school court yards, prison patios and grass fields, but to be on a big ritzy stage, with curtains and lighting was awesome!  The magic routines I do with my sisters become like Cirque Du Sole performances on a stage and you don’t have to work to keep the attention of the crowd because all eyes are on you. The Food bank sponsors hundreds of foundations that work with kids, handicapped, street kids, displaced families and the…

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Tuesday, January 28th – Fixing up Guillermo’s shack and taking him to a clinic

We have known a homeless man named Guillermo for a long time. He is 70 years old and blind. He plays the guitar and sings to make money. A while back we were down town performing on the streets of Bogotá for the Christmas festivals. We were setting up our sound equipment and a large crowd was gathering when my dad looked over and saw Guillermo sitting off to the side slowly strumming his guitar. We instantly paused what we were doing and brought Guillermo into our crowd so he could sing and make money from our crowd. What is…

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Friday, January 24th- Large School in Bogotá, 2 presentations each for over 400 kids.

The schools here are different then the ones in the States as in all grades, from first all the way to twelfth grade attend the same school. So we have a crowd of a few hundred five to eight year old’s and a few hundred teenagers. This is a VERY challenging venue. We want to engage everybody and sow seeds into their young hearts and our performances is for all age groups but for example, there are all the little kids sitting in front who get so excited, can’t sit still, want to be held and touch everything that it…

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Thursday, January 23rd | A Military Rehabilitation center, Bogotá Colombia.

A few years ago we had performed here at this base and they invited us back for a new group of soldiers who were in recovery. These men have had serious injuries from the war and the time they spend in the jungle chasing the drug lords of the FARC. Many have lost limbs due to land mines or have horrible infections from plants and bugs they encountered in the jungle. The General told me that three days earlier he had been up in the jungle with a battalion of soldiers. They had stopped to take a break and set…

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Saturday, January, 11th | Plaza San Victorina, Bogotá, Colombia.

We performed at a plaza where many homeless people hang out during the day and also at a place by the railroad tracks where numerous homeless families live. Besides performing for them, we gave them all some food packets we had made up and some extra clothes we had. Obviously it would be expensive to feed so many people but it was cool, we asked a bakery on our corner if they had extra bread and they gave us a ton! A grocery store donated a bunch of candy, I had brought a bunch of beef jerky I got on…

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Month of December- City Center of Bogotá, Colombia.

For the month of December, many cities in Colombia put up beautiful displays of Christmas lights and have festivals, shows and music. A few years ago we spent the Christmas season in Medellin, Colombia, performing on the streets and by the river every night. People come from all over to see the lights and parades (they get the lights and displays from Europe and have lit fountain shows) so the city is extremely busy. This year we were in Bogotá and went to many parks, special festivals and the main street down town which is closed to traffic and just…

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December 2013 | Village for Orphans, Bogotá, Colombia.

A few years back we spent a lot of time here, teaching English and Tae Kwon Do to the children. These kids have been severely damaged by things that have happen in their past like seeing their parents killed or from suffering abuse. It was so wonderful to return and see “our kids” run into our arms and call us by name. We did a show in their theater of dance and magic, sowing seeds into their hearts that no matter what, they have a Father who wants them. I was so happy to see that even the older kids,…

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Sunday, August 4th | Largest Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil

This is one of the largest parks in the world and we had huge crowds all day as families visited the park. We stayed out performing for long hours and only left because of an evening storm. Taxi’s were so expensive that we had to take the bus around the city which was quite a challenge with all our props, speakers, generator, mixer and other gear (the busses are packed, and here comes a family of eight with all this equipment they have to lift over the turn thing and take up the whole aisle with and then try to…

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Thursday, August 1st, 2013 |Men’s and women’s prison outside of Sao Paul, Brazil.

We sent out a few emails to see if we could get into the prisons in the time frame we had. We instantly received a response requesting us to visit a prison a few hours outside the city. We did not have our van in Brazil and so had no transportation (we found cheep air tickets and so flew here from Colombia. We will drive here in a few years to spend much more time). The director of the prison desperately wanted us to come so he sent a little van and an ambulance to pick us all up and…

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From July 21st to July 31st | At the beaches, parks and city center of Rio de Janeiro.

We performed frequently throughout the city during the Popes visit for World Youth Day where there were crowds of three million people. We have learned Portuguese fairly well but it was a challenge getting used to speaking it instead of Spanish.

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From July 11th to July 21st | Sao Paulo, Brazil,

We performed at many different plazas, streets and at one of the largest markets in the world for very large crowds.

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June 20th | Largest Prison in Bogotá, Colombia.

It took a lot of letters and leg work to receive the authorization to enter the Colombian prisons, but once those in charge realized what we were offering, they allowed us access to every prison in Colombia. Over the course of some time we performed at every patio, reaching a total of around 12,000 men. In some cases we performed for groups of up to 2,000 prisoners at a time having a phenomenal effect. We followed up our performances by returning to do clinics where we taught them things and did hands on activities. We also worked extensively in this…

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June 17th |Prison with maximum security sections, Bogotá, Colombia.

Over the course of some time, we performed within every patio, including all those of maximum security. A prisoner who was a reporter and allowed more freedom, wrote a paper about us and made sure it was distributed to every cell. This day it was my birthday, and when we were finished the prisoners gave me a beautiful little tree they had made out of wire as a gift and sang me happy birthday. We also frequently visited this prison in in 2011.

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March through June | Bogota, Colombia

We performed at numerous high schools, universities and middle schools throughout Bogotá, Colombia, and surrounding cities, including a school of music and dance for troubled kids far up in mountains. We  also performed constantly at the down town center as well as at the parks, plazas and special events. 

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Military school like our West Point.

It was a bit intimidating performing for several hundred highly disciplined cadets in uniform, but we ended up being able to teach them a lot of things. Tae Kwon Do is a required class here, so everyone knew it and was able to participate in the demonstrations my brothers and sisters and I do. We also do a dance where we use Tae Kwon Do moves to electronic music, were pretty impressed and had never thought of doing the art to music.  

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Home for individuals with severe mental disabilities 2 hours outside of Bogotá.

This home is run by a young, 24 year old woman who is probably the most selfless person I have met. Of her own freewill, she drives over two hours every morning to arrive to this home and sincerely care for the severely mentally handicapped people that live there. Most of the men, women and children who call this place home have been given away by their parents or abandoned. When we were in the States, my sister and I had visited a number of different thrift stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army to ask if they would donate…

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Largest school in Colombia for underprivileged children from ages 5 to 20

This is one of the largest crowds we have performed for. The children ranged from age five, to eighteen as well as numerous teachers, professors and principles. We did a morning presentation and then an afternoon presentation. We do choreography where we throw a ball between us, which is meant to convey our life. Some one tries to steal it, we drop it, but ultimately it is in our hands. We combine hip hop music, cool dance steps and vocals to communicate that their life is in their hands and they must chose to protect it, use it and not…

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Military training school for new recruits, pilots and generals.

It was incredible performing for such a large crowd of men in uniform, and such an honor to speak with all of them. Some will directly be deployed into the jungles and know they may not make it out. Sometimes we break boards in one of our Tae Kwon Do demonstrations that we use to talk about discipline and seeing beyond an obstacle. My brother was preparing to break two boards with a palm strike when he was distracted, struck the boards in the wrong way and ended up breaking his hand.

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Catholic School for all girls

It was fun but challenging to perform for a crowd of around 700 screaming excited girls who treated us like rock stars. They were so intelligent and quick to listen and learn. We still stay in touch with some of them by email.

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The National Police of Bogotá, Colombia.

The police organized an event for the homeless, poor families and at risk youth which they asked us to perform at. They provided food and health care and then we gave them a show of magic, puppets, clowns and dance while weaving a message of hope and love through it all

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Military Base for The Generals of the Colombian Army.

It was about a three hour drive to this base outside of Bogotá. The intense heat and humidity really drained our energy. As with most everything in Colombia, the event was delayed and we ended up having to wait several hours before we started, but it was worth it and the Generals were extremely grateful and told us that we had inspired them and given them courage and wisdom.

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Village for orphans in Bogotá, Colombia.

We visited the kids once or twice a week teaching courses of English, Dance and Tae Kwon Do. Since we are black belts, we were able to promote the kids who were ready to the rank of yellow or orange belt and had a special ceremony for them. I got the mayor to donate some t-shirts which I painted with a custom logo for them, (painting 120 shirts by hand takes longer than you may think in case you were wondering). We also got donated some tickets to take the kids ice skating, (which was an adventure since they did…

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Women’s prison, Bogota, Colombia.

We performed two presentations for two separate large groups of women. They were really touched by the things we did and shared and said they felt like they were a part of our family by the time we left.

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La Distrial |Holding facility for prisoners waiting to be sentenced.

2 presentations each for about 600 young men and one for a few hundred women.

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Military Rehabilitation center

All the soldiers here are recovering from severe injuries which they suffered while fighting the FARC and drug lords in the Colombian jungles. Many were in wheel chairs and had lost limbs due to land minds which to this day are scattered throughout the mountains and jungles.  It was such a privilege to stand in front of them and share the hope of the Gospel with them and use dance and theater to communicate the profound mercy and forgiveness of a loving Father.

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Military Base for several hundred young recruits in Antifogasto, Colombia.

This base was way up in the mountains and absolutely freezing. We performed for a crowd of over 600 soldiers, commanders, and generals. The highest Coronal gave all the soldiers permission to participate with us and all the soldiers and recruits were eager and grateful to be apart of many of our acts. The Coronal told us how grateful he was that we could teach so many things to his young men that would then be facing the enemy and very difficult situations. He gave us each a certificate with our names on them to officially thank us. He also…

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The village of Santa Domingo, Colombia.

This town was and in part still is, the most dangerous place in Medellin. The drug lord Pablo Escobar ruled these parts and there is quite a history if you ever want to look it up.  There is a film by ESPN called “The Two Escobars” a 30 for 30 film and in the last shot at the end of the film you can see the exact park where we performed.  

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Village for orphans, Rio Negro, Medellin, Colombia.

This village was up in the mountains as you leave the city of Bogota. It was a beautiful place, all green and lush. We did some things that got the kids laughing like crazy and then were able to teach them and tell them how important and special they are. There were a lot of older kids at this facility, and after we were done they came up to my brothers and sisters and I and wanted to talk more. One young man, maybe 15, asked me if I could give him a Gospel of John so he could start…

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Buena Vista, largest Prison in Medellin, Colombia.

My brother and I took a taxi to this prison, knocked on the main gate and talked to the guard in charge, explaining that we wanted to do a show and talk with the prisoners. A few minuets later we were sitting in a meeting with the director, warden and heads of security who were excited and eager to receive us. The director said this is exactly what the prisoner’s need and organized multiple events for the following day! Colombia has a tragic history of war and kidnapping. We do a dance/skit called “search and rescue” where we parallel paying…

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Men’s and Women’s Prison in Armenia, Colombia.

The secretary of education had contacts into the prisons and got us the needed permissions to enter and perform for the prisoners. We did a skit where two people get into a fight that escalates and one man ends up shooting the other. One man is dead and one man is devastated as he is taken to prison, both their families are destroyed. We talk about how the criminal now also becomes the victim of his own crime and needs the healing and forgiveness that God offers. War, Tragedy and suffering marks Colombia’s past and many of the men before…

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Schools in Armenia, Colombia.

The secretary of education in Armenia asked to perform at every school in the city limits which we did over the period of one week, visiting two schools a day. They provided us with lodging, dinner and an escort to every school (very demanding and exhausting but God gave us His grace).

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Plaza Sucre, Armenia, Colombia.

We spent many evenings in this park where we would draw large crowds in the cool of the day.

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We spent many evenings in this park where we would draw large crowds in the cool of the day.

Cali is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and once at a park while we were ministering to a huge crowd, a knife fight broke out and we were in a dangerous situation that God delivered us from.

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City Center, large park, University, Orphanage and middle school in Pasto, Colombia.

At a camp in Pasto, the owner gave us a place to camp in exchange for a performance Sunday evenings. Families came from all over to enjoy this beautiful camp and at the end of the day gathered in a pavilion where we gave them quite a show and shared some beautiful things with them. We went down town often and performed in the city center. It rained a lot as Pasto is up in the mountains so we also spent days just walking the streets talking and sharing with people. We visited a large University and a middle school…

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Worked with the United Nations in a village in the mountains of San Pedro, Colombia.

It was a long drive to this village, and we got picked up at 5 in the morning. The UN ambassador who was in charge stopped to buy us breakfast on the way and we enjoyed eggs, dry cheese, hot chocolate and fresh squeezed strawberry juice. Most all of the citizens of this village have been effected by the drug wars in some way, many with the loss of loved ones and some with the loss of limbs from land mines. There was an eight year old boy there, named Ricardo, who had the fingers on his right hand disfigured and…

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Medellin, Colombia.

We had originally planned on only spending a short time in Medellin, and then continuing on to Bogota, but after my fathers accident, we decided to stay longer while he recovered and went through therapy. It was over this time that we began to discover the beauty of Colombia and how special the Colombians are. We ended up staying in Medellin for quite some time and working extensively in many venues and at many places. We became pretty well known over time and recognized at different places we would go. During the Christmas season, the city becomes a wonderland of beautiful light…

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Children’s hospital recovery rooms, Medellin, Colombia.

We performed in the lobby of a motel that had been rented out for families whose children were recovering from certain surgeries. The surgeries were apart of a government plan to give poor families free care. We were able to bring happiness to some sad, worried families and bring laughter to some precious little kids. My brother dressed up as a Santa Claus frog and I was the elf as we let the kids sit on Santa’s lap and give them a little present.

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Parque de los Deseos, Medellin, Colombia.

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays we performed at this large amphitheater for several hundred families. It was around Christmas so we put Santa Claus uniforms on our lion and frog costume and played some games with the kids. My parents are able to teach so much in regards to how to raise a family.

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Parque Boston, Boston, Colombia.

On two different nights we performed on a stage for a crowd of over 1,500 people coordinating with an event organized by a foundation for children.

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Worked with the United Nations in the jungle of San Miguel, Colombia.

I will never forget the drive to get to this village. The UN provided a driver and transportation which was a tiny van with no suspension. After traveling for about 3 hours  on a “highway”  (“highway” meaning one lane, bad, bumpy, windy road), we turn onto a road I would barely consider fit for an atv. I figured we were almost there so no big deal, as my head hit the roof on a bumb. Nope, not almost there. We drove for another two hours, occasional stopping to clear the cows away. We were all a bit sick when we…

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Foundation of music and dance, Medellin, Colombia.

We helped found a foundation which brings kids off the streets and gives them a place to learn music and dance. We continue to work with them organizing events, performing at various locations and visiting distant villages.

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Cartegena, Colombia

We arrived in Cartegena after driving all the way through Central America, starting in Mexico and arriving in Panama. We shipped a van over to Colombia and this is how our South American adventure began. We often walked the streets and beaches of Cartegena, sharing the Gospel and talking with large crowds and individuals. The first evening we went out with our music to perform on the streets, my father was dancing and tore his Achilles tendon. It happen so suddenly. The crowd that was gathered was so kind and quick to help call a taxi, find a hospital and…

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