Farewell for the present

Tomorrow I will be boarding an airplane and travelling to Europe on my own wonderful, magical adventure.

Due to my absence, there won't be posting here for about three weeks, but hopefully I will return with many new insights from the lands that hosted some of the most famous versions of the most well-loved fairy tales.

Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Paris

The nature of my trip is rather unusual. I direct musical groups for adults with developmental disabilities at my church. We will be performing in several venues in France-showing what adults with disabilities are capable of, and helping local churches to start their own disability ministries.

I love the people I work with. Isn't it interesting that often the heroes of fairy tales are the lowest in society? The youngest child, the servant girl, the one who is thought to be the Fool? And yet they are the ones who overcome all judgement and prove themselves to be the most worthy at the end of the tales. And while my students don't have the highest IQs, they surpass most people I know in the qualities that really count, like love and compassion, and they certainly excel in humor! I hope that through our trip we are able to help overcome prejudice and fear of people with disabilities. For, as we learn in many fairy tales (especially Beauty and the Beast), appearances can be deceiving...