Over forty pairs of little eyes stared right at our team standing at the front of the dirt-floored church. It was our time to share our very first bible story with the children of our new ministry, so we stuck with what we know—Zacchaeus. It’s our team’s best dramatic production and we’ve performed his story in every country we’ve visited thus far. We could do the thing blindfolded due to the amount of practice that’s gone into it. Just up my alley, something that’s been planned, practiced, and sure to “wow the audience”.
“Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand”
Evening came upon us, which meant a church service. As we sat in the green plastic chairs listening to the pastor’s Spanish sermon, there was a momentary pause, a glance in our direction, and the words, “Drama?”
My eyes must have looked like saucers. He couldn’t possibly be serious, we haven’t practiced anything else and we had already performed Zacchaeus that morning. I turned to look at my team and we decided to roll with our “headliner performance” one more time. This was probably just a one-time church thing, right?
The next evening looked much like the first: another Spanish sermon, brief pause, glance at our team, followed by the question, “Drama?” We scrambled and found a story—the Prodigal Son, it is—jumped to our feet and performed, in hopes that we’d properly share Scripture and display God’s love, all with 60-seconds of prep time.
“The Good Samaritan”
Back home, acting is one of my most favorite ventures. I absolutely love getting into the mind of a new character that I have the chance to bring to life. The practice and tweaking of lines thrills me. Hmm, what would my character do in this situation? Costumes, sets, lighting, and music seamlessly coming together to enhance and draw in the audience energizes me. I am passionate about the whole process from start to finish, except for one small portion—improv.
The thing about improv is that it cannot be planned. It requires quick thinking, it keeps you on your toes, and the pressure makes me crumble almost every time. My heart shatters when the casting director says, “Now we’re going to do an improv section for the audition”. No, no, no, anything but improv! This means I cannot take the time to carefully control all the aspects of the character, the scene, or the lines. In my mind, I will not produce the best performance I believe I’m capable of.
God has taught me that’s what it comes down to—control. I do think there is value in planning, but my need to plan usually comes from a place in my heart that believes if I get to plan things out perfectly, then I’m in control of whether it succeeds or fails. The more time I have to plan, the better the product will be.
I smile when I think of how God chose to speak to me. He used one of my passions to bring my attention to a heart issue. Ever single time the pastor gave us a story to perform while walking through the church gate, or when he didn’t give us that much time and just said, “drama?” mid-church service, I cringed. That’s what I didn’t understand; I love acting. I should have jumped for joy, but instead the word “drama” caused me to buckle.
As I searched my heart, the Lord showed me that I was responding this way due to a lack of trust in His strength, His abilities, and His plan. I was only relying on my abilities to share His story. I started to pray for a release from these shackles Control had on me so that I could walk in the freedom of simply relying on the Lord’s power to guide us.
The best part of it all is that this lesson goes so far beyond our improv dramas we perform nightly at Cristo Centro. It reaches into deep places and can be translated in a wide variety of areas in my life. I’m learning to love stepping out in faith at a moments notice, and seeing how much better it can be when following the Holy Spirit, rather than trying to work from my own strength.
For this, I’m so grateful. God never fails to step into the space I create when letting go of control. He consistently shows up, dazzles me with His divine plans, and allows me to see some of what He’s up to. And all the glory goes back to Him, as it should. 
And if you happen to be wandering through Zolano, Honduras within the next week, be sure to us check out:
The NEW Local Americano Improv Troupe
Performances are nightly at 7PM at the Cristo Centro Church
Previous last-minute performances include: Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Jonah and the Whale, and Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
Come ready to see how God works through these six crazy missionaries to share His story of love!
