Wednesday we went downtown to Otter Creek's Wayne Reed Inner-city Daycare. Johnathan Vest (most of you know him through ZOE. He sings with us and arranges some of our music) teaches music at an inner-city elementary school. He brought his 4th grade percussion ensemble to the Wayne Reed Center to perform for the kids. He invited us to come and bring the girls and Sam. Of course, they LOVED it! I was completely amazed at the talent and abilities JV brought out in these kids. 
JV leads his group in a percussion number. They were awesome!
Maddie got to sit with her buddy, Abby Mangrum. They had a great time! At one point Abby looked over at me and said, "This is impressive!" Impressive. Gotta love that!
Here's a picture of JV and his entire group. The cute little girl in the upper row in the middle wearing the blue shirt is named "Precious". 
JV and I pose with one of his students. This kid sang a "blues" number about how his girlfriend had made him miserable. It was pretty hilarious.
It all makes me think...praise God for teachers like Johnathan Vest. JV has his masters in piano performance and is finishing his doctorate this year. He moved from a wealthy Brentwood school to teach music to these beautiful children who might end up becoming household names one day as musicians. What a gift he's giving!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
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6 comments:
That's an awesome responsibility. I'm a big believer in keeping music alive in all schools. There can be so much passion in the arts, and many other extracurricular activities like athletics or even chess club that help students succeed. Glad you had fun! Missed you at Pepperdine!
This is an incredible work, BST. Please send our blessings to him for being the man/Christian he is for those precious children who need that so much.
I'm fondly reminded of the years I taught music at an all boys high school in Harlem. They were tough years, but oh so rewarding. Perhaps someday I'll be lead back to teaching.
Glad you bought the shirt. Looks good. ha! Amanda
Praise God for teachers like this! So many people give up on the kids in areas like this and it's a shame.
Wow, and to think he was once just another geek in Belles and Beaus! It's great to hear of friends following God's calling in such a meaningful way!
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