Performing in Omaha Schools

Renting a van in Kansas City, we made our way to Omaha where we were welcomed to the beautiful home of the Curtin family.  After a delicious dinner, some of us collapsed into bed, and others met Dan and Christella who had come from DC and were on their way cross country to California.
 
Waking early, we were out the door early to get to Ralston Middle School, where we did 5 performances in the 45 minute classes for kids of the 7th and 8th grades.  Despite tiredness, the group really poured out their energy and hearts.  The classes were more reserved than in DC, but the same response was there.  
 
It was wonderful to have Christella join in and breakdance in several of the presentations, and Dan was a good tech supporter too.
 
Ms. Denise Craig, the teacher who hosted us, heard the team mentioning wanting to visit the zoo, and arranged for a special discount for us.  Another staff member, hearing about our work and our accident, gave an anonymous donation for the team to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo the next day to see a good part of the huge number of exhibits.  
 
After our Ralston performances, we headed over to Sakura Bana to sing for the staff, who were between their lunch and dinner hours.  We sang “Reach out” to Mr. Yamagata and Jin, who were looking very serious while listening.  Then, Mr. Yamagata said “Okay, come back at 5 for dinner.”  When we returned, we were shocked.  Not only did we get our pick of the combination dinners, but a huge boat full of sushi, about 3 feet long, with every type of sushi in it.  
 
This was a huge gift for the team, who were a bit tired of the uninspiring diet of a roadtrip.  There was so much food left over, the team boxed it to eat the next day at the zoo!
 
While the team viewed the animals, the adults were busy trying to work out a way to do the return leg of the trip.  It seemed that most rental places would not allow us to travel one way, and even those that would did not have a large enough van available.  
 
That night, we drove over to the Eagle’s Nest, a huge church family in the Northern area of Omaha.  We were surprised to see the extent of their preparations for us: sound and video personnel were on hand to help set up our levels, and other than the mats and linoleum we really didn’t need any of our equipment.  
 
After a few praise and worship songs, the ministerial team introduced WAIT.  It was an amazing performance; full of energy and heart, and the congregation (of mostly young people) was so responsive, especially to the message of abstinence. Several youth from other churches were also in attendance. After, the pastor gave an inspiring message about value determined by God. The pastor’s words rang throughout the room and tears ran down our cheeks. All the frustrations and fears that had been residing in our hearts faded away as we were all reminded that God is taking care of us.
 
The pastor, along with members of the congregation, prayed over us. With our hands and hearts connected there was so much of God’s love flowing throughout the room. After the service we enjoyed the company of the other youth, eating dinner, break dancing and getting to know one another as brothers and sisters.
 
Driving back to Rachel’s we began to share about our experiences, and decided to open the white envelope the Church had given us. To our great surprise a $1000 check was inside! We were so grateful for everything and immediately prayed to offer it up to God.
 
The next morning, we performed for two different eighth grade classes at La Vista middle school. The teachers and students alike were inspired by our message and our new and different approach to AIDS and abstinence education.
 
After some much needed naps, walks in the sunshine, and phone calls to home, we decided to blitz fundraise to car dealerships in hopes that that someone might be inspired to help us out with the van situation. After a disappointing one, we passed by an Enterprise rental car place, and saw a 15 passenger van!  We went in and sang them “Hero.”  They were pleasantly surprised, and called a more central location where several vans are available.  We went there, and did a combination performance of “Wait for me” with breakdancing and beatboxing.  The rental and sales personnel were so great, helping us find several solutions.  The team went performing at nearby businesses and got several donations including a pie from Village Inn!
 
Back to the house for a potluck dinner with Omaha families, we showed “Cashing Out,” and shared a bit about how it was created.  Then we sang “Reach Out” and “Beautiful Ending,” while Kuniyaki Sugiura was able to watch by skype!
 
The next day was all-day performance fundraising while Aunt Kate and Aunt Lynelle drove to Kansas City to return one van and pick up another.  The team had amazing experiences in Downtown Omaha.  
 
Our final adventure: going back home through Chicago, Ohio, New York and DC is about to begin.  Please keep us in your thoughts!