By LISA BRITTON

The puppets dance across the stage, their fuzzy hair flying and their mouths open to the tonsils as they belt out a Christian song.

Well, OK, the puppets aren’t really singing … but they are entertaining.

And you never know who’s controlling the puppets from behind that black screen but that’s how the puppeteers like to perform.

andquot;No one can see you,andquot; Nichelle Sisk, 15, says with a smile.

Five puppeteers Sisk, Sarah Privett, 16, Kori Rayborn, 16, Kaitlin Mansuetti, 15, and Jesse Rayborn, 13 make up the puppet team at the Baker City Church of the Nazarene.

They call themselves the andquot;Mandamp;M Puppet Teamandquot; and their mission is this: andquot;To encourage Christians in their faith and to share the gospel with non-Christians.andquot;

Their name was inspired by Psalms 34:8: andquot;Taste and see that the Lord is good.andquot;

This Sunday, the Mandamp;Ms will give a special Mother’s Day performance for both morning services at the Nazarene Church, at 8 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. The church is located at 1250 Hughes Lane.

The Mandamp;Ms have been a team for about three years, since Jon Privett, Sarah’s father, became pastor of the Nazarene Church.

andquot;When I lived in Boise, we had a puppet team at my old church,andquot; Sarah Privett said.

Her uncle is a professional puppeteer.

andquot;He gave me two puppets and a stage so I could create something,andquot; she said.

The Nazarene Church also had a few puppets in stock, and Privett and Kori Rayborn began doing performances for children’s church.

andquot;We’d just do it intermittently,andquot; Privett said.

Soon, Tami and Kerry Rayborn (the parents of Kori and Jesse) stepped down from teaching fifth- and sixth-graders on Sundays to lead the puppet team.

Tami had been part of puppet teams in junior high, high school and college.

andquot;I knew how much I enjoyed it,andquot; she said.

The team has been the same since the start.

andquot;It’s been really neat to build a core group,andquot; Rayborn said. andquot;These kids have been great to work with.andquot;

They’ve had, however, quite the time gathering new puppets and props.

andquot;There was no budget for puppets,andquot; Rayborn said.

So they started gathering pop cans, and feeding each, one by one, into the recycle machine at Albertsons.

andquot;The first few months we did it by hand and it took three hours,andquot; Privett said.

These days, Albertsons provides big plastic bags for the cans, and the kids don’t have to stand at the machine for hours on end.

Thanks to the can money, the Mandamp;Ms have been able to buy a fancy screen that is easy to move for performances, and quite a few new puppets, which can cost between $60 and $120.

andquot;But we try to watch for sales,andquot; Rayborn said.

andquot;We didn’t have all these resources we had to work for where we are,andquot; Privett said. andquot;A lot of pop cans.andquot;

Some of the older puppets still need to be replaced.

andquot;Their mouths creak,andquot; Kori Rayborn said with a smile.

The Mandamp;Ms’ pop can drive is ongoing, and anyone who would like to donate can call Tami Rayborn at 523-2203.

These puppeteers practice every Sunday during the church’s second morning service.

andquot;We get our church and our puppets,andquot; Privett said.

Before rehearsing, though, the Mandamp;Ms head down the hall to give a little impromptu performance for the children.

andquot;They give us a theme and we interact with the kids,andquot; Privett said. andquot;The kids love it because they get to know you, in a way.andquot;

The puppet team also performs during church services, for youth groups at other churches, and has even visited local retirement homes.

andquot;It’s so fun to watch kids and even adults – light up when they see the puppets,andquot; Tami Rayborn said.

The puppets have even traveled to foreign lands for mission trips.

andquot;In Ecuador they were kind of afraid of the puppets for a while,andquot; Mansuetti said.

Kori and Jesse Rayborn and Mansuetti joined a Work and Witness trip to Riobamba, Ecuador earlier this year, and last year Kori Rayborn and Privett went to Mexico on a teen Work and Witness trip with Amor Ministries. The Rayborn children have also been to Honduras and Panama.

The puppets never draw the same response.

andquot;Every culture is different,andquot; Tami Rayborn said. andquot;Some are just so quiet.andquot;

andquot;Others are singing,andquot; Sisk said.

In Panama, more than 100 children gathered to watch the puppet performance.

andquot;It took a while to figure out if they liked it or not because they were so quiet,andquot; Kerry Rayborn said.

The puppeteers develop their programs from recorded skits they get from puppet companies. They add their own flavor to each piece by manipulating their voices or music on a computer.

For the missions, the team has used Spanish translations.

Then they have to practice, and practice some more, until the puppet movements are choreographed to the music or skit.

andquot;When I’m performing I have to be moving my mouth with the puppet,andquot; Sisk said.

A puppeteer doesn’t want, for example, their puppet to be caught with a closed mouth when it’s supposed to be speaking.

In addition to timing, it takes quite a bit of arm strength because the puppeteers kneel behind the curtain and hold the puppets high above their heads for the entire performance.

Though many of their programs are taped, the Mandamp;Ms do occasionally perform live which is kind of tricky if one puppeteer is playing multiple parts.

andquot;You have to remember what voice you’re using,andquot; Mansuetti said.

andquot;We’re still really beginners,andquot; Privett said with a smile.

But they persevere in their mission to make people smile while delivering a message.

andquot;There’s a purpose behind it all,andquot; Privett said.