My time has not really been my own during July and thus far into August. This summer has been the busiest I have yet lived, and I truly believe that. The JOY Drama Group was together again most of this summer to put on a benefit play for the storm-leveled Stained Glass Theater in Joplin, Mo. All proceeds and donations went to the theater group and their ministry.
All throughout July were the rehearsals for The Importance of being Earnest, between which family were staying over at our house different weekends, we were trying to visit family and friends before the school year begins, not to mention trying to squeeze in math and French and a few other school subjects that still need finishing up…The first week in August was tech week.
Friday, the fifth, was our first performance.
Saturday was a farewell party to some friends of mine who are heading off to college. Sunday was another performance at the Artisan Theater, which is “in the round”. We had never performed in the round before, neither have we used microphones before, so it was a very new experience.
This is our cast, crew and director.
Tuesday last, our drama group headed up to Joplin, Missouri, where we volunteered at a Mt. Hope church. On the way there we had a memorable time, one of our friends had a 5-hour energy, so you can imagine he was a bit hyper. It was altogether a hilarious time!
There, we helped clean the church since they’ve had thousands of volunteers staying at the church all throughout summer. After cleaning the church, we helped them organize the sheds and trailers containing supplies donated to the distribution center. It was such fun, because we got pretty close to the other volunteers at the church. They would joke around with us, and us with them. It was a blast! Rebecca and I were given charge over organizing the baby supplies.
It was a mess -to be sure- but between us and the amazing assistance of our other wonderful friends, we were able to get it perfectly organized. At some points before it was organized, we thought we were going to drown in baby diapers…I even had dreams about baby diapers if that tells you anything about how many there were.
Here's our group with a few other volunteers we became friends with.
Every evening after working all day, we would meet the STGJ group and do something fun. We went for a frozen yogurt run, one night we watched some cartoons on a big reel movie projector, and we bowling. Since we all got on so well, it was as if we had known them for ages! We made wonderful friends, and were very loath to part with them Friday.
Last Friday was our final performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, and before the show we got our usual prayer circle, but this time, some of the SGTJ people prayed with us. It was a very … I really cannot find the right word to describe it. Humbling? Aw-inspiring? These people that we had been praying for all throughout summer, and for whom we had been putting on this production for, were praying with us, and for us. And we all had such a strong common bond; a love for Jesus, and love for the arts.
The play was a success. Beforehand we presented the SGTJ with a check for the money which had been raised for them. It was a joy bringing laughter to the audience. To hear these people, whose lives had been altered by the May 22nd tornado, laughing was the completion of all we had worked for over the past month. Backstage, we were slap-happy. It was a blast and a very neat experience.
After the play, we loaded up our set and costumes for the last time and socialized briefly with our new-found friends before we had to leave. Once they rebuild their theater, we are going to get our drama group together to watch their first production in the new location! They even mentioned coming down here to watch one of our plays!
The whole thing was a very unique experience and I loved every minute of it, even the sweaty exhausting work. Lol. I felt like I could have stayed for a month in Joplin, and almost wish we could have. Although it felt like we had been gone from home for a month, when we were there in Joplin the time went by so quickly. Good friends, hard work, funny happenings, and helping out is very satisfying. This was my first mission trip and I loved it so much I'm now looking forward to a next mission trip!
On the morning of our performance, one of the volunteers at the church came up with a Bible and showed us a verse he had found.
The play was a success. Beforehand we presented the SGTJ with a check for the money which had been raised for them. It was a joy bringing laughter to the audience. To hear these people, whose lives had been altered by the May 22nd tornado, laughing was the completion of all we had worked for over the past month. Backstage, we were slap-happy. It was a blast and a very neat experience.
After the play, we loaded up our set and costumes for the last time and socialized briefly with our new-found friends before we had to leave. Once they rebuild their theater, we are going to get our drama group together to watch their first production in the new location! They even mentioned coming down here to watch one of our plays!
The whole thing was a very unique experience and I loved every minute of it, even the sweaty exhausting work. Lol. I felt like I could have stayed for a month in Joplin, and almost wish we could have. Although it felt like we had been gone from home for a month, when we were there in Joplin the time went by so quickly. Good friends, hard work, funny happenings, and helping out is very satisfying. This was my first mission trip and I loved it so much I'm now looking forward to a next mission trip!
On the morning of our performance, one of the volunteers at the church came up with a Bible and showed us a verse he had found.
Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)
“If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.”
How awesome is that?! So that’s the importance of being earnest, folks; looking for the Lord in earnest!
I loved reading this. :) You're such a talent, Miss Morgan. I love and miss you, can't wait till auditions in October when we can see each other again! :)
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