Monday, April 6, 2020

The Tour That Terminated


What a joy to head to Oregon for the next stop on our North America tour! For the third time we partnered with Building Healthy Families to present in the beautiful Wallowa Valley of eastern Oregon.


This time, we presented an assembly for Enterprise Schools and then for the community the following day in the same location.



It was special to have family nearby to see the UniShow Universe for the first time. The Sinclair Brothers Tree Service crew even came to support. Family owned Hurricane Coffee kept us fueled on the daily with their amazing lavender chai, Mexican mocha (aka churro mocha!) and other amazing drinks! 

  



On the way from Enterprise to Grants Pass we visited one of the snowiest places in the US which averages 45 feet of snow every year. Crater Lake did not disappoint! 



We presented a chapel at Vineyard Christian School in Grants Pass, Oregon. The last time we shared here was in 2005. We were amazed when students showed us a photo album the school still has with photos of that presentation 15 years ago! 



Little did we know that Grants Pass was our last show of this North America tour. As we all know, the world changed in March 2020 and our remaining 4 weeks of events in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Montana were cancelled as well as all of our domestic and overseas outreaches through July. We look forward to rescheduling all these events as soon as things are up and running again.

The beautiful Oregon Coast!

Saturday, April 4, 2020

Just When You Thought Utah It All!


Nestled in the beautiful Wasatch Mountains of Utah is Layton Christian Academy, an international boarding school. Apparently LCA is also excellent in sports since our assembly began with a senior college signing for University of Minnesota Morris on a football scholarship! We were able to pray with international students afterward who were experiencing the challenges of being so far from home.

The elementary principal told us, “The UniShow was more than I anticipated it being. The transparency of the cast was awesome! It gave the students people they could relate to and identify with their struggles.” And the high school principal said, “It was amazing and the students absolutely loved the show! This is a show that is highly entertaining and has a dynamic spiritual message all in one!” One of the teachers, Mr. Musil, gifted us with some great photos of our assembly (see below).




At Vista Elementary in Taylorsville, Utah, select students were rewarded for good behavior with a UniShow Universe assembly. Apparently it was a hit as the feedback we received from the principal afterward was, “I can't imagine the performance being any better. It was the best assembly we have ever had. The message was perfect. Thank you!!”




In Riverdale, Utah, we helped kick-off Read Across America week with an assembly for Riverdale Elementary students. Impressive student leaders introduced our show then followed it up by presenting us with gift bags before they lead the students in songs as they dismissed.






Thursday, April 2, 2020

East of the Rockies


After our James Bay Canadian adventure, we crossed back over the border, continuing our tour with our next event at Rohan Woods School in St. Louis, Missouri. Afterward, the PE teacher of many years raved that the UniShow Universe was the best assembly they have ever had!



We then had the privilege of presenting for 500+ students at Eisenhower Middle School in Topeka, Kansas. The bright purple gymnasium with a vivid eagle covering the back wall made for a fun setting to challenge students to persevere through life's challenges and be on the lookout for ways to help others along the way.




University Academy in Kansas City, Missouri invited us to present a middle school assembly. The principal told us afterward, "The program was excellent and helped reinforce the messages we push our students to use in their everyday life."




During a quick visit with Katie's sister in beautiful Colorado Springs, we were able to connect with a family we had met in Kenya last February who happened to be visiting Colorado Springs at the same time. After their son had seen the UniShow Universe in Kenya last year, he found a unicycle in their attic that someone had left after learning to ride following our visit to Kenya 7 years ago! Their son was also inspired by Dustin and has learned to ride unicycle remarkably well in this last year. The family surprised him with an early birthday gift of a new unicycle delivered by Dustin Kelm himself in Colorado!