Comings Communiqué: Puppets Archives

October 16, 2010

Puppets Brazil Continues to Grow

I just received the following video from Cicero and Nice, showing their latest presentation, to a group of kids in Porto Velho. The first part of the video is a report on the local affiliate of a national TV network. Nice appears at about 1:18, talking about how their presentations include cultural stories and biblical lessons to "teach the children Christian values".

The second part of the video are some stills that Cicero put together of the event.

We are so proud to have been a part of the beginning of this great ministry!

Talk back to the missionary: Leave your opinions and questions in the comments section.

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September 30, 2010

The (puppet) Show Must Go On!

One of the most popular questions we get as we visit our supporting churches on furlough is "What happened to the puppet ministry?"

While our partnership with Cícero and Nice ended for geographical reasons (we each moved to different parts of Brazil), the work still continues. With the support of her husband Cícero, Nice has taken on puppet ministry full time. They recently put on a presentation at the mall in Porto Velho (capital city of the state of Rondônia). Here are some of the pictures they sent me:

'Nando fascinates the audience

Big Bad Wolf looks at the two remaining houses

Spectators watch from the balcony

Behind the scenes

The family that puppeteers together...

Itacyara and I are thrilled at the puppet work we began in the Cariri has spread to the other end of Brazil. And of course, Lord willing, it will be expanding to Cape Verde next year!

You can see more of Cícero and Nice's continuing work with puppets at their website.

Talk back to the missionary: Any thoughts? Leave them in the comments section.

Posted by Andrew at 12:04 PM // Comments: 0 // TrackBack: 0 //
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July 28, 2010

The Return of the Andrew and Max Show

Not Missionary Max, but Max the puppet. Daniel and I took this routine on the road back in 1993 when I was raising support to be a short term missionary. We revive it now for the VBS at Fellowship Baptist Church in Lakeland, FL.

Enjoy!

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June 27, 2010

End of an Era

Last night was the final presentation of the Amiguinhos de Jesus, a puppet ministry that began sixteen years ago. Incidentally, our last presentation was at the Faith Baptist Church in Juazeiro--also the site of the first presentation "way back in the day".

I mentioned this to one of our puppeteers, and her response was "Wow! I was five back then!"

There were almost 200 people in attendance, most of them children. As the organizer and trainer of the group, this was one of my proudest moments. The Gospel was presented several times, all in ways that never once lost the kid's attention.

Below are some pictures from the evening.

Daniel, a member of the team from years gone by, brings to life one of his famous magic tricks.

A final farewell from the Amiguinhos de Jesus puppets and puppeteers.

Daniel and Bagaço clowning around after the show.

A final group shot. *snif*

And finally...

UPDATE

Some more pictures just became available. Rather than make a new post I am going to include them here.

"Mestre Misarevlis" and Laraginha teach the kids a song.

And of course a momentous occasion such as this had to end in pizza!

Talk back to the missionary: Anybody have puppet-team related memories? Share them with us in the comments section.

Posted by Andrew at 6:48 PM // Comments: 4 // TrackBack: 0 //
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April 7, 2010

AAAAHHHHH! I'm Surrounded by PUPPETS!!!

I was surrounded by sixty of them, to be exact. Puppets that had been hand-crafted during our two-day puppetry seminar in Fortaleza using Nice Braga's flawless technique. On Saturday night I stood on the stage for a photo opp with Nice, Pastor Nogeira, and all sixty students, AND their puppets. Here is what it looked like:

What follows are more pictures from the event.

After an eventful trip to Fortaleza the previous night (I actually sideswiped a mule...but that is another story) we came to the church on Friday morning, ready for action. This picture was taken just as Eder (a seminary student who participates in our puppet team) and I were arriving on the scene. Notice the "General MacArthur-I-have-returned" stride.

Once we were set up we lost no time getting down to the serious business of puppets. Note the passion with which I am expressing the value of puppet ministry.

No, this is not a mass response to an invitation. Our sixty students are practicing the correct hand and arm position--preparing for the day when they will be able to work their very own puppet!

Our master craftsman (or is that mistress craftswoman, or master craftsperson...whatever) Nice begins the process of teaching the students how to make their own foam and fabric puppet.

Some people had a hard time grasping the concept of a "hand puppet".

Others were quite creative.

The highlight of the event was when the students divided up into small groups and present their improvised versions of a biblical story. Here a Canaanite soldier stands guard on top of the foam(!) wall of Jericho.

In another scene from the performances, Esther beguiles king Xerxes (who is stylin' in his crown and necktie combo).

Finally we were ready for the graduation ceremony, where each of the participants received a certificate declaring them official puppeteers.

If you can't tell from the pictures, this was a very energetic group, and we all agreed that it was the most fun we have ever had at one of our puppetry schools. We are also pretty pumped about the idea of these guys taking what they learned and using it in ministry. Before I left on Sunday four people from the church cornered me and peppered me with questions about what it would take for them to start their own puppet team.

Mission accomplished!

Talk back to the missionary: Puppets are a big attention-grabber here in Brazil. What are some ways you have used to gain an audience for the Gospel. Share your innovations in the comments section.

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