When A Thought Became A Vision and A Vision Became Reality

Ten months ago I was introduced to puppetry and subsequently shadow puppetry. Over the course of time, I found myself greatly enjoying puppetry and the whimsical aspects of its nature. When done well it can captivate an audience of any age and communicate thoughts and ideas in such a way that people sometimes cannot. Five months ago I was asked to explore shadow puppetry. I was not unwillingly, but I was taken aback. I was interested in it, but I didn’t think it was something I could accomplish while here in Ireland. I spent a month or so researching and collecting ideas about shadow puppetry then began to experiment creating my own. The process was a bit rushed as I was trying to have the show prepared by Easter. After Easter though is when I really began to develop the final production. I recreated or added on to nearly all 50 plus cardboard puppets. I should have timed myself to see how many hours were spent on this project, but I would guess well over 70 hours.

After all the puppets, screen, and frame were complete, a team of a few other people and myself recorded the story and added sound effects. What is great is that even if the shadows turned out to be dull, the story sounds like a reader’s theatre! Once the recording was ready, we practiced behind the screen until the story was fluid. I am incredibly proud of all that we accomplished just in creating this and so thankful to everyone who encouraged and supported me along the way. What is even more amazing is how God is using it to reach into the little hearts and minds of all the children who have seen it this month and who will see it in the coming weeks. What a beautiful thing to be a part of!

Taste of Ireland: The bodhrán (pronounced bow-rawn) is a traditional Irish frame drum made of goatskin and played by holding it in one hand and hitting it with a double-ended beater in the other.

Live Shows: Live Mess-Ups

When you have a live show, there are many variables at play, which means any of those things could go wrong. The lights could glitch, the music could skip, queues could be missed, or someone could keel over right then and there. Although the last one is a bit extreme, there is no telling what will happen during any given show and since The Donkey’s Back has about thirty-five shows in the span of three weeks, things are bound to go wrong. Even so, the good thing about live shows is that you can just roll with it and that, among other things, is what we have learned to do this past week.

The Donkey’s Back is a 45-minute multimedia production for children from 4-12, although adults often enjoy it more than kids do, complete with puppets, song numbers, drama, illusions, and a clear gospel message. Our team consists of Anna, Cornel, Barbara, and myself and we are one of two Christmas show teams from OM Ireland. We started our tour last weekend and we will be going to schools, churches, and community centers across Ireland until the 21^st of December. This past week we went up to Donegal, meaning about 4-5 hours of driving each way. Our set primarily lives inside a trailer as we travel and the jostling around doesn’t seem to be good for the screws, as we keep losing them. We have a few spares, but clearly not enough (or in the rights sizes) so several times this week the set was being held together by duct tape.

Over the course of the week, the shows had great feedback from teachers and the kids all seemed to really enjoy themselves, but often times, they didn’t see what was happening behind the stage. During several shows, the costumes for the donkey completely came off and during Friday night’s show all the costumes had malfunctions. At some point, I accidentally knelt on the cable from Anna’s microphone that is strapped around her neck, causing her to nearly choke to death for a second. At one school, where the room was packed with kids, a small autistic boy decided he wanted to see behind the stage so he booked it all the way across the room and ran behind the set. Needles to say, he was shocked to see Anna’s arm up a puppet and he stood there stunned for a moment as two teachers came running after him. From the beginning of our show, we have had technical difficulties with the lights. We have mostly worked out a method of changing them to do what we want during the show, but every once in a while they have a mind of their own. During a show at a church, the lights would not stop flashing. We tried to fix them, but they kept on flashing. Thankfully, we were able to stay focused and kept going. When people came up to us afterwards, they didn’t even say anything about the lights! That was the same night that I missed an entrance with my puppet because I heard some rowdy children very close to the stage, and when I realized I had to come up, I started coughing. I guess my brain was in tune with my hand because I just made the puppet cough too, and then proceeded with my line as if coughing was in the script.

I am sure there are other examples of mess-ups during our shows, but I tend to forget them. We don’t really have time to dwell on them. If we did, the show would unravel itself and we would become afraid of ruining the show every time we did it. There is no denying that God is the one who has given us peace of mind. We have had to carry all our equipment up frozen stairs and through endless hallways, but He was with us. We had to do a whole show in an echoing hall where we couldn’t hear our own voices and only hoped the kids could hear us, and He was with us. We were an hour late to a show because we got lost in Dublin, but He was with us. All of those little stressful moments didn’t matter because He was with us. We have to remember that He is the one in control. Even when a show seems to be flawless, He alone is the one who drives the message home and opens the hearts of those watching. In view of His power and grace, our stressful moments don’t mean a thing.

I am so blessed, thankful, and honored to be a part of team with the purpose we have. Along with our Cameron Show brothers, we are proclaiming the gospel to over 1,000 kids, students, and teachers in Ireland. We don’t always get much sleep and sometimes our arms feel like they are going to fall off, but God is with us.

The two teams

When we aren't sleeping on the road, we try to have a little fun. :)

Taste of Ireland: Although most schools are English speaking with Irish-Gaelic courses, there are some Irish-Gaelic schools where speaking English is strictly prohibited. Everything is taught in Irish-Gaelic, including math and foreign languages, such as French. 

Everything is a Tool and Anything Can Be a Tool

This week two of our training courses were on creative thinking and evangelism. We started out with some exercises to get us thinking outside the box. At first we had one random object that made its way around the circle and each of us had to use the object in a different way, pantomiming and making the object take on alternative functions. Each of us were then given a random item such as a paperclip or a helmet and we had to tell the gospel using that object. Some things seemed easier to work with and others you really had to stretch, but we quickly learned that you don’t have to use the object to tell the whole story. Just use it to get you started or help you make a point. The last round we did was with one object that got passed around the circle and when it was your turn, you couldn’t use the same method as anyone else in the room. It was so cool to see how one object could be used in so many different ways.

Learning to share the gospel using the most unexpected of things was something so practical and helpful because now I can enhance my abilities to share with people and even feel more confident when I do. I know I am a visual person, so having something physical helps me collect my thoughts and it may prove helpful in reaching someone with a similar mindset. I also greatly enjoy that kind of thinking. It makes me remember all the times my sister, Ate Kelsey and I used to act out infomercials for household objects.

Everything is a tool and anything can be a tool if you are willing to think outside the box and see beyond the surface. A watch tells time so you can talk about the creator of time or how our time is running out. We wear watches as accessories and our looks can sometimes become our priority. A watch can help tell a story about bondage because of the way they look like shackles. It is a circle that unites us with God, but when undone there is a separation between us and Him… The possibilities are endless!

Taste of Ireland: If you need someone to take you from point A to point B, you ask them to “give you a lift”… Getting a ride has a negative sexual connotation, so don’t say that. And if you need to ask what time they are getting you, you would say “what time will you be collecting me?” 

P.S. Sorry if the quality of this post is not my best. I did not really proof read it and I chose to sleep vs. take more time to write it. :p