We Are Family February 17, 2008 - Here we are in February, and the cycle is in full swing again. We spend the months of January, February and March preparing for our upcoming ministry tours. From this director's perspective, January is the pits. Especially this January. I knew it was the year for another big project. We have lots of projects, but there are always the big ones. Like for us in 2006, one was King of the Jungle. We wrote the whole thing, recorded it all with puppeteers' voices, did the mixing and added the sound effects. Then we had to make the puppets that we couldn't find anywhere else that were required for it. Like all of the black light birds and such for the dream scene. It's so tough doing all of that, but in the end the rewards are unbelievable. A microcosm of life. Work, work work, and more work, seemingly futile. And then the final rewards put it all into perspective. Yes, it is worth it. We grow so much in the Lord as we go through it all. I know, because I see it in myself and also in the kids. I don't know if they get it, that is, their growing and such... I guess they do over time. It's so cool to see the kids grow up and also grow into in their faith. I see it at every practice. Our team is so tight. We even call ourselves family. Our song that we prepared for the big Lancaster Festival was even called We Are Family. The festivals are sort of a barometer of how a team is doing skill wise. We got so many bronzes in the early years. Same thing - work, work and more futile seeming work. Years later, we're doing a bit better. We got our third Gold trophy this year. All the work that goes into the festivals translates into good, solid ministry eventually. That is of course, if the intent is also solid and the desire for ministry is sincere. And so the big project for 2008 is even called We Are Family. The Lancaster Festival song was the original inspiration, but the plot and the characters that came out of the writing are all original. Well, yes original, but come to think of it, no, they're not. They are actually reflections of ourselves in many ways. There's the Sharp Tongued Bobby, the Friend To All Tracy, and the Happy Go Lucky Jimmy. And of course, the Ever Fearful Mrs. Fields. All with their issues, but all with a deep desire to know the Lord better. Each of us walk a somewhat crooked line. Keep your eyes on the prize. We Are Family.

Blessings Abound May 19, 2007 - It's been a great Fall, Winter, and Spring of Puppet Ministry. We've been at 7 different churches that I can recall over that time giving the Lord's message of Grace, Forgiveness, Mercy, and Joy through our unique ministry. We've been so well received everywhere, and have had a great time through all of the work, practices and performing. It's so awesome being called to do this, and I feel so priveledged to see our puppeteers, and many others that we touch, grow in their faith walk. Praise God!!! One of the exciting things for us recently is that Sarah, one of our puppeteers, has made the 2007 Dream Team. It's the hand picked team of youth puppeteers to represent the world at the International Festival of Christian Puppeteers. Our whole team will be there in support of her, and also to hone our skills to better communicate the Lord's word through puppetry. After the week long event in Illinois,we'll be touring and perfoming in Ohio and western NY. We've just heard that one of our puppeteer familys that moved to Florida has started their own ministry in Merrit Island! The church there is Grace UMC, so give them a visit if you're down there and give a special "Hello" to Marcy, Samantha, Brandon and Mariah and the rest of the Ellis family Another exciting thing is that we have been blessed with the resources to buy our own trailer. I'll be picking it up this coming week. Look for the bright blue trailer with the Nancy's Hands logo (Raising Hands For God) on the sides and back. We hope to be parking it at your church some time soon and presenting our ministry to your church and community. Blessings.

Festival Update November 12, 2006 - Gosh it's been awhile since I've posted anything here. We're obviously back from New England and on to a new chapter in the Nancy's Hands book of Puppet Ministry. We are now without the Ellis family, as they are comfortably relocated in sunny, warm Florida. But the team is as strong as ever with the addition of Lexie Kerns and the confidence that other new puppeteers are gaining. We hit the pavement again a few weeke ago - this time to Lancaster, PA. Lancaster Alliance Church is the location of one of the most successful Puppet Festivals in the country. Of course, we were on the slate of performers, this time in a tight competition among the best teams in the northeast. 19 teams competed in the Song catagory and only 3 gold awards were handed out. NHPM was among the best of the weekend as we walked out with one of them. But it did not come without some really hard work and lots of prayers. Actually, the song, Put Your Hands In The Air, was a version of one we did on our New England tour. We jazzed it up some and also had to sub in some puppeteers. Check back in as the local Christmas tour is being put together.

Part Of The Plan June 11, 2006 - Gosh, I just realized that it's been almost 2 months since I added anything here. So the news right now is how the Summer Tour has developed. Everything has fallen into place just like God might have planned it. I'm certain He has. One of the most remarkable things is the trailer. Many months ago, I noticed a neighbor has his trailer for sale. We needed a trailer for the trip, so a call to him informed me that everything about the trailer was perfect except the price. It wasn't free. Not long after that, the trailer disappeared and sure enough it had been sold. Months went by and the plans for the trip developed perfectly with one exception - we had no trailer. Of course I did my homework and priced other trailers that were cheaper (although none were free), but much smaller than we needed for the tour. If only I could have gotten that one down the road. In His time, I said. One evening after practice one of the new puppeteers' Dads came up to me asking some questions about the tour and all of the plans. He asked if there was anything we needed, and not missing a beat, I said we sure could use a trailer. Just as quickly, he said he had one we could use. In fact he said, it was like new and he had just bought it from a neighbor. To make a long story short, that same trailer that I had my eyes on is now sitting in my driveway, waiting to take us to Maine. Matthew 7: 7-8.

And The Show Goes On April 15, 2006 - Well our performance at Dominion Academy was a wonderful success, but with our hectic Spring schedule, we're preparing for our trip to Richmond this coming Friday. We're performing It's a Jungle Out There under black light at the One Way Street Regional festival competition. We've practiced the song plenty, but at the last minute, I've added several elements to the song which I feel are key. What has been added are the the coconut playing monkey, the lion footprints, and the sign props that will be added at the end of the song. I found the white monkey at Good Will Store and emptied the stryofaom balls and converted it to a puppet. The fluorescent coconuts were a challenge to make, and the lion footprints were an afterthought. We'll have one last practice on Thursday night before we leave Friday afternoon for the 3 1/2 hour drive to Richmond. Our long time friends Deb Fader and Rob Diehl will be 2 of the judges in the competition that evening, and we look forward to seeing other puppeting friends down there. Then it's back to get ready for the Bolivar performance on May 6th. Stay tuned for a report on how the Summer tour is coming together and the list of churches that we will performing at.

Preparing For The King March 25, 2006 - Of course we're all waiting for the return of Christ the King. But in the mean time, the team is preparing for another King - our first King Of The Jungle performance. That will happen on April 3rd, at Dominion Academy in Leesburg, Va. The 3rd is a Monday and the whole team is taking the afternoon off from school to perform. This begins our Spring tour around this area, and because it includes black light, checking our a venue before hand is essential. I visited the Sanctuary a few days ago, and as soon as I went in I saw the dilemna - windows. Lots of windows. 14 to be exact, each floor to ceiling. They are beautiful stained glass windows mind you, with each depicting a season of the Christian year. But for a daytime performance, windows are the bane of black light puppeteers. As always, I was prepared for this, and out came the tape measure and note pad. Later came the trip to the dollar-a-yard section of our local Wal Mart, and with 30 yards of black and dark grey fabric in hand, I headed home with the monumental task of sewing a lot of curtains. Now, I'm pretty good with the ole' Singer, having learned to sew a few years ago when I first started to make puppets. And curtains are a breeze compared to puppets. But 14 curtains to cut, hem and sew casings into is a big chore. Tonight, with a happy heart (and a sore back) I finished the 10th one. Tomorrow night I'll get the other 4 done. The curtains will be great to have in our inventory, as I've noticed that a lot of Sanctuary windows are of similar width, and we will be performing KOTJ numerous times over the next year. Preparing for the King - it sure is a lot of work, but to be in our Master's grace, and to share in His happiness - well, it sure is worth it. Use your talents to glorify Him. Mt. 25:21.

Marathon Practice Session March 11, 2006 - Today we had an extended Saturday practice session from 10 to 2:30. We started with a video of some classic Muppets. Some of you Muppet fans out there might remember the classic Lime In the Coconut skit where Kermit is lying in the hospital bed and the doctor gradually morphs into a witch doctor along with the nutty nurses while the song is sung. We got some ideas for the KOJ set from some of that. Also on that show is the one where Kenny Rogers sings The Gambler on the train to 3 human arm puppets and one of the older guys actually dies and then his spirit arises while on the train and does a fun dance at the end of the song. It's quite moving and very creative. Anyway, we practiced in the morning and then had pizza and went at it again trying to get some of the bugs worked out of King Of The Jungle. All of the team worked very hard and I am so proud of them for taking of this big of a project. The fruit of our ministry, like any ministry, cannot be seen and tasted right away. We know that we are in God's hands in all of this and the rewards will be great when we finally are able to perform. The premier performance looks like it will be at Dominion Academy in Leesburg on April 3rd for about 250 children teachers, and parents.