Music Mania was a whirlwind week of wailing, wahoos, and wow! This year the musical was about the life of Joseph, told with a bit of 50s flair- right down to the big hair, the leather jackets, the diner, the Woodie wagon, and the poodle skirts. We had about 60 children that participated in this event, and about 45 volunteers that made the magic happen! If you do not know already, we have incredibly talented, creative, funny, intelligent children at Lakewood and from our community, and it is such a joy to see them participate in sharing the gospel and the great story of Jesus through participating in this camp and musical. Because of this, Not Your Average Joe, our children’s musical, was a dream come truer!
It takes a village to make this production run smoothly and come to life. We have gifted people – right from our own congregation- that come in and teach the children the music, someone that teaches our children the choreography, and someone that stages and teaches the students drama. There are several people that plan and facilitate snack, many volunteers that facilitate our indoor activities that help unpack the story of Joseph, youth volunteers that head up recreation that aids our children in getting their wiggles out, someone in charge of the team that is building and decorating the set, and of course our worship team that helps with our lights and sound! It is incredible to see this team of volunteers serve our children throughout the week, and use their talents and gifts that the Lord has given them!
Throughout the week, our kids learned the story of Joseph – that he was a favored son, a hated brother, sold to be a slave, then put in a position of authority that helped save a nation from a famine, – because of his faith in God, because he followed the plan that God gave him in a dream. It is amazing to see our kids understand, that just as Joseph was the life of an ordinary man that God used for extraordinary purpose, that God can use us, ordinary people, sometimes in crazy circumstances, for extraordinary things – if we trust His plan! More importantly, the story of Joseph is one of forgiveness. Joseph was given the opportunity to reconcile and forgive his family, and be reunited with what he thought he would never be a part of again. God was at work- even when Joseph could not see, and God is moving, even when we cannot see. Even Joseph knew that: “Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life,” (Genesis 45:5). This week, this time with our students, and the opportunity to pour into them is not something I could dream up on my own – it was definitely something the Lord gave me a passion for and desire to do! Praise God for dreams, and praise God for dreams that come to fruition. Thank you again for all that helped make this dream a reality, and this musical and week a success!