wall of hope.

in joplin there's a BEAUTIFUL graffiti wall called "the wall of hope."

isn't that a beautiful name?

volunteers from all over america have signed with wall.

and our group is NO exception.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT) "If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me."

isn't God cool?

finding verses like that that would usually mean one thing...but can also be totally relevant to something else.

when putting on "the importance of being earnest" our goal was to perform to an audience of one:

God.

of tornados, theatres, and prayer.

if you will remember a couple of weeks ago my mother, some friends, and i all traveled to joplin, mo to volunteer there for a couple of days. 

ever since then...the people of joplin have remained on our hearts. 

julie and i made a video documenting our time in joplin. 

very recently, my mother made a connection with a Christian theatre in joplin that was not only completely destroyed in the tornados, but who's director and several other members were killed and injured. 

because of my mom's connection with theatre (being the director of our own theatre group), she felt a strong pulling from the Lord to join with them in helping rebuild not only their theatre, but their livelihoods, and lives.

go here to read a testimony of the tragic day written by a 17-year old girl who had just finished performing a show that afternoon.

to make the long story short...after much prayer alone and with friends, the wheels are now in motion to mobilize the residents of our county and around our nation to raise $50,000 for 30 families of the stained glass theatre who have experienced traumatic injuries, lost loved ones and/or total loss of home and possessions.

JOY drama group will be doing a benefit production of "the importance of being earnest" to help support this theatre in joplin. 

ALL income from the show will go straight to them.

we are SO excited to, not only be doing this show, but doing it for such a good and worthy cause.

we can already really feel God's hand in it...and we cannot wait to see what the future holds.

meanwhile...can i ask you for your prayers?

they mean MORE than i can possibly say!

for more information on the cast/location/ways to help...go here.

of snow, microphones, and a famous lady.

three days of working at casa manana. oh it's been such fun! 

tuesday i went up there...and i will confide in you...my stomach had such butterflies. i was simply terrified. i didn't know what to expect. i didn't know what i would be expected to do. i didn't know anyone else that would be there. and if you know me...i don't do well in situations like that.

so i got there...went through the backstage door (THE BACKSTAGE DOOR AT A FAMOUS THEATRE!!!!), and sat down in the green room. luckily there was another intern already there. and i found out she was also going to be working in the costume department. *sigh of relief* another intern entered as did the "main guy" in charge of us. 

we went backstage and saw some "set guys" working on taking down the set of their last show "wizard of oz." we were told to grab screwguns and start unscrewing some wood panels on the stage. the other girls started...and i was left in a confused state of panic. holding a screwgun. and yet knowing nothing about how to use a screwgun. luckily one of the "set guys" noticed the confused look in my eye and asked if i knew how to use a screwgun. i shook my head. he responded by showing me how.

I NOW KNOW HOW TO USE A SCREWGUN! HURRAH!

the rest of the day was spent in all manners of unscrewing, sweeping the stage (oh how i dislike the man who invented snow machines), and working upstairs in the lighting booth labeling light gels. 

we were told we could leave early. an hour and a half early. unfortunately my mother had not been told this. we live an hour away. so there i was. sitting in the green room. preparing for an hour long wait. however, "main guy" came and saw me and realized his mistake. he asked if i would mind coming back onstage and helping pull up tape and sweep (that fake snow will NOT be swept!) since i was still there. of course i didn't mind! it was actually quite a bit of fun. "lighting guy" was still there too. and he and "main guy" started peeling through the layers of paint on the stage and telling stories of each show they'd done there. i laughed quite a bit.

day two. wednesday. more sweeping. oh me oh my. however after an hour of that "costume lady" (EEP!) came and asked if there were interns available to help. SCORE! we spent all morning in the fabric trailer (THEY HAVE A TRAILER SIMPLY FOR FABRIC!) going through some old curtain fabric that had been donated from the prop department. 

that afternoon, however, was spent doing a spring cleaning in the costume warehouse!! she was literally throwing out (for goodwill) all of these old costumes they didn't want/use anymore. it hurt my heart as i filled up trashbag after trashbag with costumes. she saw our faces and said we could take whatever we wanted they they were throwing out. me = "AAAAHHH!!! YES!!!"

i brought home three costumes that dearly needed a home.

day three. thursday. i woke at 5:30 am. i left the house by 6:00 am. we got there 7:15 am. what was the game plan for the whole day? a giant awards show rehearsal in the morning...and the actual show that night. i was assigned to "costume lady" all day! DOUBLE HURRAH! 

the betty buckley award show. named in honor of the tony award-winning actress, the betty lynn buckley awards celebrate excellence in high school musical theatre. all local high schools that produce a musical are eligible to participate in the program. a panel of judges votes for a winner in each of 16 award categories. each school nominated for "best musical" is able to perform one of the numbers from their show at the awards show.

each high school was allowed to use ten microphones for the main singers/performers in the number performed at the awards show. there were rehearsals that morning/afternoon and then performances that night. i was given the opportunity to help tape microphones on the performers for rehearsals and shows.

one. i had no idea what i was even doing at first.
two. i'm far too short to be taping microphones on tall people.
three. putting tape on stranger's faces...is awkward.
four. I LEARNED SO MUCH! what an awesome learning experience.

and you know what made the day even better...? BETTY BUCKLEY SMILED AT ME!!!
oh, happy sigh.

longest day ever (after returning home at midnight)? possibly. but such fun! since then i've been resting up. however, today i started a whole new adventure. my mother and i (and two friends) decided on an improptu road trip to joplin, mo to help the tornado victims from the devastating storm last week. please keep us and the residents of joplin in your prayers this week as we work in the debris.

xo,
rebecca jane

college people...!!!!!

 my dear friend and i did something quite brave last monday. i seem to be doing that quite a bit, lately. you see abilene christian university was having junior day on their campus. being a junior...and very interested in acu...mom and i just KNEW we had to go! ryleigh and her mom decided to come along for the ride (even though she's only a sophomore).

oh, blog readers. we were so nervous. i mean...there were COLLEGE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE!! and we felt so small...and tiny...and YOUNG. well...ok we were. but that's not the point.

we walked into the building and were greeted by some very nice...college people. we sign in and sit down and watch other people sign in. and, i must tell you, i liked everyone's look! no one looked creepy, intimidating, or mean! (yes...i'm a sheltered homeschooler...DON'T JUDGE ME!) 

the rest of the day was just as awesome. i mean, when you've got a christian school, with an AWESOME (and wholesome) theatre department, friendly people, a beautiful campus, a starbucks in the library (EEEK!) and a CHICKFILA in the cafeteria (i'm sold)...what more could you wish for?!

acu. what an amazing college. the next step? prayer. scholarship after scholarship applications. prayer. work on theatre audition pieces (they only accept TWELVE people into the program each year). prayer. study study STUDY for the SAT. and, oh, did i mention prayer?

it seems...impossible. i know that with God nothing is. so i'm dedicating the whole thing to Him. and IF it doesn't happen...well...it was a nice dream.