IRRIGON – What started as a mom and son singing and guitar team has grown into the “Uncle Dan and Manda 2” puppet production that includes 11 children puppeteers and two adults.

Dan Gordanier began his music ministry with his mom when he was in his early teens. Many years later, in 1990, with the help of his wife, Tracy, and his two daughters, he began delivering a Christian message with puppets and songs.

“When Amanda was 6 years old I propped her on my right knee and ran a puppet with my left hand.” Dan said. “My other daughter, Stefani, would stand on a chair behind a curtain with a puppet.”

The Gordaniers started a kids program in Irrigon at the Community Church. They began with old flat-faced puppets and later found a woman in Pendleton who hand-made 11 puppets for $100, which are still used today. Now the couple has a large selection of puppets that range in cost from $500 to $1,100 each.

The puppet stage is made of PVC pipe with the recycled 50-year-old green velvet curtains Dan salvaged from the Irrigon High School.

Now, Dan and Amanda have formed “Shine Your Light” ministries with “This Little Light of Mine” as their theme song.

The father-daughter team are the main characters and perform in front of the stage for the most part. They use 11 children, 10 to 14 years old, from the Hermiston Assembly of God Church to help run the puppets from behind the curtain.

“The team changes as kids come and go,” Dan said. “They are the servant leaders for the other kids and are here to serve kids and give them a good program.”

The puppets perform Bible stories to familiar television theme songs, substituting Christian words to spread their message.

“Did you know David had a dog?” Dan said. “We tell the story of David and Goliath through the dog’s eyes.”

One of Dan’s favorite tunes to perform is “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Boat.”

The puppeteers attend conferences to learn more about their trade.

“This year we are taking our puppet team to conference,” Dan said. “It is like an arts festival. We will be critiqued on how we do. It lets the kids see what they do right and what they need to do to improve.”

Amanda and Dan both work full-time jobs and help with children’s programs in their church.

“I never pursued this, it just evolved,” Dan said. “We have to turn down some things – would be great to do this full-time.”

The ministry is all about the kids, Dan said.

“I love the kids,” Amanda said. “No matter what you look like they don’t judge you. I love it.”

“The kids get under your skin and into you heart,” he said. “I thought about retiring, but God showed me a vision, showed me our kids in our church and wow. The kids need this.”

Carol Marcum is the Community Editor in the East Oregonian’s Hermiston Bureau. She can be reached (800) 522-0255 or by e-mail at cmarcum@eastoregonian.com.