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Joy Prom
By Jenny | April 29, 2006
Last night was a late night for me and Nathan! In fact, I don’t think Nathan got in bed until after 1 a.m. - which is very late for us. It was our church’s Joy Prom, and it was the most amazing event I think I’ve ever seen at a church. It was started three years ago in an effort to reach out to the adults with special needs in our community. Luke 14:12-14 says, And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you.’ Several months in advance, people from our church donated tuxes, suits, dress shoes, formal evening gowns, etc. Then invitations went out to adults with special needs all around the Raleigh/Durham area. They got to come to the church and choose their outfits for the evening. We had volunteers that altered the clothes for them. Then, on the big night, they arrived in style! As they drove into the parking lot with their parents/chaperones, they were directed to the side of the church where they were moved into limousines. They drove around to the front of the church where we had red carpets rolled out and an area for the “paparazzi.” We had an incredible announcer who would announce their arrival and call them by name while those of us in the paparazzi section cheered, took pictures, and told them how beautiful and handsome they looked. Some of them were in wheelchairs or walkers, others needed assistance to walk, but the smiles on their faces were wonderful. The neat thing was to see the 10th and 11th graders from our church in their tuxes and evening gowns helping the guests out of the limos and walking them down the red carpet. It was difficult not to tear up. Then they entered the lobby and saw the amazing decorations - balloons everywhere! It looked just as nice as any prom or homecoming dance I’ve been to. Once they came in the ladies got their makeup and hair done by volunteers, and the guys got their shoes shined. Everyone got a corsage, and everyone had a host or hostess from Providence to walk around and dance with. There was a hospitality room with tvs for parents and chaperones to observe what was taking place in the other rooms. There was a room with food from Chick-fil-a, and there was another room for pictures. Then, everyone’s favorite place - the worship center was transformed into a big dance floor, complete with a disco ball and everything! We had a DJ playing music, and hundreds of people dancing! There were young adults (17 or 18-year-olds), older adults (50s and 60s), and everyone in between. Nathan’s job was to watch the volume on the soundboard (not a difficult task), so I was able to hang out with him the whole night and just watch. The majority of the attendees had such a great time dancing the night away! Some were a little timid. There were two older gentlemen that didn’t have a dance partner…they kept walking in front of the soundboard. So I asked permission from my wonderful husband to ask these two guys for a dance. Of course, he didn’t mind. But guess what? I was rejected both times. At least I tried. My good friend, Desi, met a younger gentleman just sitting on the perimeter of the dance floor. He couldn’t say much, but he kept pointing toward the balloons. Desi went and found him a turtle balloon, and it made him so happy!
He just held the turtle in his lap all night, rubbing it and admiring it. At the end of the night, he also went home with a big fish balloon. Meanwhile, Tom was breaking it down on the dance floor. He had better luck than me - I think he even got a marriage proposal! Overall, there were about 520 volunteers, and about the same number of guests. It was an incredible night, and I can’t wait for next year’s Joy Prom!
April 29th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
[...] For another story about Joy Prom: Miller Family - Joy Prom [...]
May 2nd, 2006 at 1:06 pm
hmmm… for a second there I thought the guy with Desi was Steve Wright.
April 26th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I thought it was me to?????????????