Saturday, October 24, 2015

Alexander High School FCA

In just three short years, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Alexander High School in Douglasville Georgia has grown to over 250 students who meet every Friday morning bright and early before school starts.  This is apparently the largest FCA huddle in America.  

On October 23, the UniShow had the privilege of joining in on the fun.  Though the students started out a bit bleary eyed, it wasn't long before they were clapping and cheering, engaged and excited.  Dustin's acts just fit into the short half-hour meeting, with enough time to challenge and encourage students to use their abilities to change the world for eternity as they surrender all to God.  We heard afterward that this was one of the best FCA meetings they have ever had!

The students at this high school have a track record of strong spiritual leadership, with students in recent history praying in the halls before school and asking teachers for prayer requests.  It was super encouraging to see this many students, sacrificing sleep and coming early to school to learn more about how to follow Jesus.





Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Middle School time at Trinity Christian

Middle schoolers are such fun!  Our October 20th chapel at Trinity Christian School in Sharpsburg Georgia for nearly 300 middle school students did not disappoint.

The fun started before the show as we set up in the noisy gym where students gathered after being dropped off before their first class.  We were busy pumping up tires and setting up our backdrop, sound system and structures.  It was very entertaining to overhear comments thrown around by on-looking students: 
"Is this a dog show?"
"Are there unicorns?"
"I heard we had a guest speaker; this is more than speaking!"

The students cheered, screamed and fist pumped the air at all the right exciting times and sat in attentive silence while Dustin spoke from the Word and his heart.  He challenged them to not do what he did as a student sitting in a Christian school back in the day and only give God part of his life.  He encouraged them to surrender their entire lives to God and then be blown away by how God will fill them and use them to change the world around them.

We learned afterward that the students were not the only ones excited about the show.  A school security guard told us that he had walked in to the control room mid-show and his coworker rewound the security tape from the gym camera saying, "You have to see this!"

It is our prayer that this day will be a defining one in these students lives, marking a deeper commitment and complete surrender of their lives to Jesus!




Sunday, October 18, 2015

Bringing Hope to Incarcerated Youth

A unique opportunity popped up during our east coast tour as we passed through our nations capitol.  A friend of ours who used to be a youth pastor at our home church in MN is now a pastor at McLean Bible Church in Virginia who oversees all global and local outreaches .  Every other week they have a team of volunteers who share the love of Jesus with students at a Youth Detention Center in Washington D.C.  Our pastor friend invited us to join them on Saturday, October 17th to do a UniShow presentation for the students at the Center.  

After compiling a detailed list of all the equipment we wanted to bring into the facility for the show, we didn't know what to expect or how difficult it would be to get in and set up.  We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by an early arriving church volunteer and very friendly and helpful staff at the Center who helped us take our equipment from the loading dock, through 8 security doors, half of which could only be released by unseen guards in a control center somewhere.  With help, we creatively angled our ramps and stairs to fit into the small elevator with only inches to spare, and finally into the gymnasium.  Some of the staff even prayed with us and the chaplain before the show. 

When we arrived we were told that only 5 students would be allowed to come to our event because of recent fights, among other things.  We were praying for the opportunity to share with more and were excited when 25 students were allowed to attend by the time we began.  

The performance area was flanked with guards to ensure things stayed under control.  The kids were great and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show.  I wish we could have taken pictures of their enthusiastic responses.  They listened attentively to Dustin powerfully present the Gospel and lead them in a prayer of surrender to Jesus.  We pray this marks a turning point in their lives.  

After the presentation, the McLean team provided pizza and cake for the kids.  Dustin had personal conversations as he ate with the guys and Katie talked and prayed with the only girl who had been allowed to attend.  It is wonderful to know there are local believers who are regularly sharing the Hope and Love of Jesus with them.  We are grateful for this opportunity and hope to seize our invitation to return in the future.



Friday, October 16, 2015

Bethany Christian School Chapel

October 14th was not only picture day at Bethany Christian School in Oxford Pennsylvania, it was an unusual and exciting chapel day with the UniShow in town!  According to one teacher afterward, "It's unanimous, we've all agreed this is the best chapel we've ever had!"

The students were very enthusiastic and responsive to both the excitement of the show and the powerful Gospel message Dustin presented.  Many of these students are unchurched so it was a privilege to encourage them in the truths they are receiving every day at school.





Wednesday, October 14, 2015

UniShow Presentations For All Students in Brookville!

On October 12 we had the privilege of presenting three UniShow assemblies for the entire Brookville Pennsylvania school district.

Our unique connection to this town came unexpectedly a year ago when we were contacted by a man who had unknowingly used Dustin's copyrighted UniMan sticker image to make a very cool sign for his son's birthday.  Not only did he apologize for his oversight and ask usage permission, but he became an unofficial "agent" for the UniShow.  Turns out he is well connected in his community and proceeded to spread the word about the UniShow to local schools.  Long story short, this was our second visit to this area for school assemblies through this man's connections.  God works in mysterious ways!

All of our Brookville assemblies were very well received.  Elementary students bused to the high school gymnasium so we only had to set up once for all 3 presentations covering grades K-12.  It was fun to see students clap to the music as Dustin did his tricks and scream when he rode down stairs, jumped over teachers, and pretended to fall from his 10 foot unicycle.  In each presentation, Dustin challenged students to persevere through life's challenges, while looking for ways they can use what they have to make a difference in other's lives to impact the world.

We received great feedback after each UniShow from students and teachers.  High school students came up to us after our final presentation, sharing how Dustin's message had impacted and inspired them.

Click here to watch a short video of some of the fun we had at Brookville schools.

3rd-6th Grade Assembly 
Blurry, but look at those faces!



K-2nd Grade Assembly
More happy faces!

7th-12th Grade Assembly


Our new friend gifted Dustin with a hand-crafted UniMan sign of his own!