And then it was done...

As I sit here this morning (Sunday) enjoying time with the girls and catching up on life I realize what am amazing accomplishment it is to be done.

I'm very proud of my wife for all the hard work and countless hours that went into the musical. The final product was truly amazing and was enjoyed around the world.

I'm also proud of her students for how hard they worked to memorize the music and dance moves. I'm proud of Jordan, Andrea, John and Pablo for how much work went into the music. Not having a musical bone in my body I can only imaging how many hours of practice each committed to it. Thank you!

Last night Mark and Joy mentioned how amazing the stage and costumes were. I don't know how well that came across on the camera but let me tell you something -- amazing doesn't do it justice. Mandy, Rhoda, Dina, Kim and Jana did a FABULOUS job! Thank you!

The drama crew (Dina) nailed it! The kids came together and just did an excellent job. Thank you all!

Liz was a constant help with the tickets and program. Thank you!

Greg stepped in last minute to run the camera and webcast. Without him folks in the States, Canada, Slovenia, and other would not have been able to enjoy it. Thank you!

I also want to say thank you to CAG: the administration was awesome in accommodating us in the weeks leading up to the show. Jose was running errands for us on the very last day to get some last minute equipment. Richard was repairing the left curtain hours before opening night. Mynor was there to setup chairs and clean up. Thank you!

And, the teachers -- the last week I was busy enough that computer problems not including fire, smoke, or virus' were put on the back-burner.

Many people were lifting us up in prayer. Thank you all too!

I'm sure I'm forgetting someone... If I did, I'm sorry and thank you!

Well, that is all for now.

-knme

Upcoming Musical

As many of you know Joy and her choir students have been working very hard in preparation of the Broadway Musical, "The Life We Knew". The performance is this Friday, 19 February at 7pm Central time (8pm Eastern, 5pm Pacific) with an encore performance Saturday night at the same time(s).

We are planning to webcast both performances in a similar way as the Elementary Christmas program. If you would like to tune in you can point your favorite web browser to the following link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/cag-thelifeweknew

You will need to know the super-secret-password: broadway. You may need to enter it twice.

We had only minor technical problems with the Christmas program so we're praying for similar results.

We'd also ask that you continue to lift up Joy and her students in prayer as for some of them this is their first major production.

Thank you all!

-knme

Happy Anniversary (8)

Eight years ago today Joy and I were married. As we ate lunch today we looked back on each year and we were both amazed how fast the time has gone by. There have been many good memories over these years.

Now, as of today we're tied one to one for "kidnappings". For Joy's birthday I kidnapped her and took her away. Today was her turn. We enjoyed a nice quiet lunch at a nice steak restaurant.

I love my wife -- the mother of my children -- my one-flesh mate.

-knme

Youth Group all Over Again

How exciting to be able to go to a Super Bowl Party even here in Guatemala. It really felt like we were on youth staff again. (Of course, teaching at CAG every day tends to feel a little like that.) Our friends TJ and Dina, he is the school chaplain, hosted the shindig at their house right around the corner from ours. We even had a GaGa court in the garage. There was one huge difference from other Super Bowl parties we had been to...everyone was either watching the game, or hanging out outside. Not too hard to do here considering even after dark it is currently 60 degrees. We are wondering if a lot of the kids watch it so intently because it is a connection to their home country, even the girls who had no idea what 1st and 10 meant were intently watching and trying to learn the game. We had a very fun evening!

It was great to have that fun and relaxation in the middle of the last two weeks before our big musical. I (Joy) had a six hour rehearsal yesterday, at which I never sat down. Things are going all right, but they need to be going better at this point. The choir sounds great, but boy does their choreography need help! We have 6 rehearsals left as the students are all going away to various parts of the country for Servant Days this weekend. Pray for my sanity, and for me to continue being able to be gentle with them. The most frustrating thing lately has been that they double scheduled the gyn (where our stage is) and I have been forced to yell over the sound of the volleyball teams practicing in the afternoons. Argh! I am losing my voice, and just made it worse by cheering at the party. Guess I should set a better example for the kids huh?

We will post information on how to see the show as soon as we have it. The dates are the 19th and 20th, and the show will air at 8pm eastern time. Hope you will be able to join us!

Thanks for your prayers and support, for us and for our students.