Monthly Archives: March 2016

Friday, March 11th – Prison on the Coast

We had to go down a  long winding tunnel and through a lot of locked gates to reach the area where we could perform. We passed by many cells with men calling out to us and asking us what was going on. There was a massive storm brewing in the distance since we were right on the coast and we had to hurry everything along because we knew we were on the clock. We had to quickly set up and be very focused in what we did and said. My brothers and sisters and I do a Tae Kwon Do choreography…

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Thursday, March 10th – Hospital for children battling cancer.

It was such a privilege to hold, dance with and love these children  and touching to see their sadness slowly turn into a smile then a laugh. I had been able to get a bunch of lightly used stuffed animals donated from thrift stores in the States to bring. I had enough to give each child one and they really meant a lot to them. My brother also designed a coloring book with an inspiring story and a company donated crayons to us so they each got this as well. The parents were so grateful for our words of hope and encouragement…

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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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