Grateful Again: When God Orchestrates It All

Behind the scenes of our first rehearsal for “Leave Different” I am feeling AMAZED and GRATEFUL all at the same time. 🥹❤️

Last Friday was our first rehearsal and table read for ChiChiMa Productions’ newest Gospel Stage Play, Leave Different, and what an amazing night it was!

There was such an excitement in the room. Watching the cast cheer, laugh, and beam with anticipation as we officially began another play season was priceless.

But do you know what touched my heart the most?

The family reunion. 🥹❤️...

We have a saying "Once ChichiMa Family Always ChichiMa Family " It honestly felt like another ChichiMa Family Reunion. Watching cast members greet one another with hugs, laughter, excitement, and genuine love touched my heart in a way that I cannot fully explain. Some have shared the stage together before. Others are returning to the ChiChiMa family for this production. Yet there was already a spirit of family in the room, as if they never left one another❤️ .

As I watched it all, my prayer was simple:

“Lord, please continue to allow Mark and me to step back long enough to really SEE what You are doing.” Because sometimes when you are working in ministry, writing, writing music, planning, producing, solving problems, handling rehearsals, making decisions, and taking care of all the details, you can become so focused on the assignment that you almost miss the miracle happening right in front of you! God allowed me to see it and it was humbling. There is a fullness that comes over you that you just cannot explain. That’s GOD. 🙌🏿

Over 25 Years...and It Still Belongs to Him

I sat up that night with tears in my eyes, thinking about the fact that God has trusted us with over 25 years of effective drama ministry through His production company, ChiChiMa Productions.

Whew! 😭🙌🏿...Through the years, God has allowed us to consistently fill 600 and 700 seat venues with people coming to experience Gospel theater. We have watched people laugh, cry, worship, dance in the isles, yell at the stage, reflect, heal, and leave our productions differently than they came. Praise God 🙌🏿!

And every single time, we know:

It was GOD.

And we believe God will do it again—not because of us, but because this is HIS ministry.

Then the Enemy Tried It...

Listen...the enemy tried it right out of the gate! We had booked our longtime venue, the Eissey Campus Theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, a full year in advance.

Then came the call.

There had been water damage to the stage and orchestra pit, and the theater would have to shut down through the end of the year. Just like that, we no longer had a venue for Leave Different.

We were DISAPPOINTED.

We began searching for another theater, but everywhere we looked seemed to already be booked....For a moment, we were a production without a stage.

BUT GOD PROVIDED. 🙌🏿

On November 7, 2026, Leave Different will take the stage at the beautiful Santaluces High School Theater in Lantana, Florida!

What initially looked like a disruption became another opportunity for us to trust God. Sometimes the change in plans IS the plan.

Then Came the Table Read...

I sat listening to this cast read the script for the first time together...

I heard the laughter !

The “Oooohs!”

The “Awwws!”

The BELLY laughs! 😂

The shock.

And those priceless moments when everybody just stopped and looked at one another like, “Did that really just happen?!” 😂

As the Playwright, there is something special about hearing words that God gave you come alive through the voices of the people He has chosen to deliver them.

And sitting there, I knew all over again:

GOD ORCHESTRATED IT ALL. AGAIN. ❤️

Please Cover Us in Prayer

As we enter another play season, I am asking everyone who believes in the power of prayer to please keep “Leave Different,” our cast, crew, musicians, production team, Board, Mark, and me covered in prayer.

Because this is more than entertainment to us. This is ministry.

And we never want to lose sight of that.

I never want to walk away from a ChiChiMa production feeling like “I did something.”

Ever. Because unless the Lord is in it...

Unless He draws the people...

Unless He touches hearts...

Unless He breathes upon what we have prepared...

It will not have the impact He intended it to have. This ministry belongs to HIM.

Mark and I are simply grateful that after all these years, He continues to trust us to carry it. ❤️🙏🏿

So ...my mood is the same as it has been so many times throughout this journey:

GRATEFUL. AGAIN. 🥹🙏🏽🙌🏿 And ready to see what God is going to do next.

“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it…” — Psalm 127:1

— Sylvia Woods

Co-CEO, Playwright & Co-Founder

ChiChiMa Productions

#LeaveDifferent #ChiChiMaProductions #GospelStagePlay #DramaMinistry #ButGod #GratefulAgain #GodDidItAgain #ToGodBeTheGlory