Today can be chalked up to one of the best days of my life. It was performance day! We started off by leaving at 8:00am with Attila and going to the OM office to print programs. Then we went to get the cast photos printed for the kids - a gift from Alegria, Ty and myself. For lunch we had Greek food - I had this awesome fried cheese patty...pretty much the best thing I’ve ever tasted. We met at the school at 12:00 to finish getting ready for the rehearsal at 2:00. Our run-through went really well, and then we gave the kids their pictures. I also gave Juli the letter I wrote her (I gave her my handwritten one, as well as Attila’s translation of it). She came up to me after to say how much she appreciated it, and to thank me for encouraging her. She just really touched me this week, and I wanted to let her know what I thought, and I wanted her to feel uplifted and to know that God is there for her.
Dear Juli,
I have truly enjoyed working with you this week and watching your talents grow. You are a beautiful young lady with so much to offer those around you. Your calm, gentle spirit gives peace to all who know you, and you are so kind and sweet-hearted. I hope that you are proud of all that you have accomplished this week. I could not imagine myself doing what you have done, and I am very proud of you too! You have come so far, and learned so much. Your Heavenly Father is definitely smiling upon you. God does not give gifts by mistake, and He is thrilled to see you sharing your talents with us. When you are performing today, remember that God is right there with you, encouraging you and supporting you as you share the gifts He so deliberately gave you. We are all so very proud of you. I pray that you feel the encouragement from God, from your cast-mates and from your directors. I pray that you continue to use your gifts to learn, grow, and glorify God. You will always be an inspiration to me.
Much love,
Ashley
For the performance we set out about 50 chairs, and ended up having to set up more once people came! It was great to see so many of their family members and friends out to see them. The performance went so well! It was the best yet, and I felt so proud of them. Cinderella did very well to, and I was so happy for her. By the end of the show I was trying not to cry - I’m so sad that it is over!
It was amazing to see the transformation in the kids during the five days we worked with them. One went from being so shy and staring at the wall to performing on stage and speaking lines. Another had no idea why she was chosen to play Cinderella and ended up doing an amazing job! Still others were shy and quiet girls at the beginning of camp, and were able to get up on stage, project their lines, show excellent expression and have a ton of fun! After the show Juli came up to me and said, “I will never forget you.” I will never forget her either. She was so brave, and such an inspiration. Fanni also told me that this week was the best week of her whole summer. I am so happy the kids enjoyed it so much.
It is amazing to see how God works. I spent the last 13 summers working on musicals at CUC, and took this summer off so that I could do something different. And what happens? I end up in Hungary doing musical theatre as mission work. It was so neat to come here and help to create a similar environment - one of encouragement and creativity. Has God been preparing me for arts missions?
After we finished cleaning up the gym we went and got some food. Back at OM, Alegria went to sleep (she had stayed up until 5:30am working on the cast photos the night before), and Ty and I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail on his laptop. I will admit...it was pretty funny. :)
I still have so much more to say, but I am so tired and need more time to process.
No comments:
Post a Comment