Chattanooga Children's Music Mission: Final Day

If you read yesterday's post, it may not surprise you that the kids slept a lot more Saturday night. They were worn *all the way* out! We had to get up a little earlier to be ready to leave for church, but I think we all got more sleep than we did on Friday night.

I enjoyed  traveling with Stitch. If you've been wondering where he slept at night, he took the top bunk.

Breakfast this morning was French Toast Sticks and sausage. And the good bananas as well as rice krispies. Interestingly, the kids sorted themselves mostly by room. I feel like the kids really connected with each other while we were away, especially with the others they roomed with. Since that's mostly what we're trying to do--build relationships--that's great!

Ms. Jennifer always takes such good care of us when we come up to Camp Lookout. She picked up the supplies for our ice cream sundaes on Saturday. The staff of Camp Lookout (all of them) are the very best to work with! Everything is always just as it should be there...and I've really come to rely on them. Thanks for being awesome, Camp Lookout!

After breakfast we loaded up the bus and headed toward First Centenary UMC. It's the same place we went last year. The sanctuary is absolutely beautiful.

We sang a few songs by ourselves, and we joined up with their choir to sing one song as well. Here we are in warmup before the service.

Stitch asked to play the finger cymbals for one of our songs. It was a good effort.

Ms. Jan (the music director) gave the Chancel Choir the week off, so we were happy to sit in their usual location. We especially enjoyed using the top secret door in the back to get in and out!

This was the view from my seat. I've posted pictures of that stained glass before. It's glorious. And it's a delightful place to sing.

After church, First Centenary treated us to lunch with some of their kids and parents. I took some pictures, but for whatever reason they were all blurry (see one example below if you dare).

Sorry about that. The little purple blobs are our kids. The not purple blobs are their kids...

We got on the road home and achieved the trifecta: significant traffic. Unfortunately, unlike the other times we encountered traffic, this one stung. Because I had a rehearsal at the church at 3:45, the 30 minutes we spent stopping and going here meant we didn't have time to stop for Bucee's. I hated to do it, but I had to be a crusher of the dreams of children and tell them we couldn't stop.

Does this break your heart?

After that...a couple of hours back to Atlanta. I went around the bus and asked all the kids to act like they were asleep so I could post pictures of how tired they all were. They all did it! But then, about 30 minutes or so from home, this happened:

I think Colin speaks for all of them here.

So that's it. Another trip in the books. I want to believe we made a positive difference in the world and in the lives of these kids who did an amazing job. They sang well. They visited. They grew closer together. They were good citizens everywhere we went. They listened and followed directions. Honestly it was a pretty easy-going group.

If you want to hear them sing, they'll be in concert this Wednesday night (4/30) at 6:00 in the sanctuary along with our other children's choirs and the youth choir. Then they sing in Modern worship on Sunday, 5/4...and then their season is over. Hard to believe, honestly.

Next up for Music Mission (and the blog): Youth Music Mission starts Saturday, May 31! You can read about it right here!

******

And a little lagniappe for you today that has nothing to do with anything at all...a picture I took a year ago in Arkansas (just because it appeared in my photo list while I was processing music mission pictures, and I thought it looked cool).

Day 2 of the 2025 Children's Music Mission was something!

Saturday of the Children's Music Mission usually starts early. I had told my guys that they could wake up basically whenever they want as long as they are quiet over there and absolutely don't leave their room until 7am. The first noise I heard over there was sometime in the 5am hour. I heard more sustained (if somewhat subdued) rumbling between 6 and 7. At 7am the portals were flung wide, and my guys were ready to be about the day.

I should say there isn't consistency from one building to another. One building was apparently bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30am. The other was still a bit bleary and bundled in blankets at 7am. Note to self: arrange for the hazard pay for the folks in the 5:30am room. They'll never know how much I appreciate them.

Once we had some chaperones outside, we allowed the kids to go out. They engaged in...a number of activities. One of my favorites, though, was this. They picked wild flowers and gave them to us.

Is this not the sweetest thing you've ever seen? And honestly pretty good flower arranging. It isn't easy to see in this picture, but it's a pretty good little arrangement based on what's around here. The fern is a particularly nice touch.

We sang our blessing and then ate breakfast. Biscuits and gravy this morning. I don't know if you know this about Camp Lookout, but here they have something they call chocolate gravy. Honestly it's not really my thing, but some people swear by the stuff. Here's what I know: the bananas were absolutely on point this morning.

When not eating, 4 square seems to be the game of choice. I usually play more than I did on this trip. I blame the ball. It has NOTHING to do with the fact that I stepped in and was immediately eliminated from competition.

We warmed up a little bit, went over our program, and then headed toward our first concert. For the second time, we encountered an unreasonable amount of traffic.

I'm starting to take it personally.

But good news! We still managed to reach our first concert destination with plenty of time. It doesn't hurt that we've been to the two venues for today for the last few years, so we know exactly where we're going, and we have a good idea of how long it's going to take to get there.

We're a good group! These kids sing well, and they look great. Here we are just before the concert started.

Stitch sang with us yesterday, so today he decided to just sit and enjoy the concert.

I challenged the kids to learn some stories today. I told them that each person they talk to has a full life of stories to share. I have them some strategies for getting the conversation started...and if I saw some of them hanging around the margins I encouraged them to go chat. They really did a good job. It can be very intimidating for a child to approach an adult like that. I was proud of them.

One resident of this facility came up to me and said, "You came here before, didn't you?" He remembered us. He wasn't the only one, actually. Several folks at this place remember us from last year. I found this very moving. One thing about Music Mission that has bothered me for a long time is that we may not actually change much for the folks we meet...I mean in the long term. We greet them, and we move on. That's why I started placing more emphasis on local music missions...to build longer term relationships. But this is an indication that we are establishing something of a presence...and potentially making a sustained difference.

Stitch in one hand, and a bowl of ice cream in the other. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not authorize the distribution of ice cream to the choir immediately before lunch. But it happened, and they loved it. So while it wouldn't have been my choice, I'm glad my singers got to enjoy some frozen yummy goodness. There's always room for ice cream, no?

As is common on Music Missions, we went to an area that had multiple options for lunch. I had Panda Express. We had some at Burger King, a little Mexican place, Firehouse Subs, and a crew at Chick Fil A, which apparently was a total madhouse.

We didn't have a lot of time, though. We had to get to our next concert. For some reason I didn't get a good shot of the group in their concert formation at this concert.

The residents at our second concert told me how much they enjoyed the music and how well-mannered our kids are. They absolutely delighted in their time together, which is heartwarming to see. I sat down at one of the tables with three folks and had a great conversation about where they were from and where they had been...and how much they enjoyed visiting with our wonderful kids!

Which I guess makes me sound like a broken record. We did a concert. We visited. They liked the music. They liked that we talked with them. I'm not sure the pictures really do it justice, though...how remarkable it really is.

After our concert we went to see what Rock City is all about.

Honestly it may be easier to deal with them this way...certainly easier to keep an eye on 'em!

Stitch peers through one of the little doors.

7 states in the background! What a wonderful group of kids and adults. Also, is it just me, or does the binocular thingy on the left look like a person in this picture?

This is fat man's squeeze. One of these delightful kids I've been bragging about so much this whole time looks back at me and says, "Mr. John, are you sure you can make it?" Bro.

I got a picture here of them out on the scary-ledge-that-looks-like-it-might-fall-any-time.

Stitch photobombed...

If you're curious what Stitch photobombing looks like from the other side of the camera, Greg was kind enough to document that for you...

Waterfall!

I really thought our shirts would pop under blacklight. Honestly a little underwhelmed based on what other shirts looked like, but it's still a good picture of our tour logo.

ET Phone Home...

Have you ever played Exploding Kittens? In that game there are there these cards. They are "Nope" cards, and you use them to negate a card that someone else plays. Once when we were playing that game, I commented that it would be nice to have some of those for real life. My family provide some for my next birthday (or was it Christmas?). I always forget I have them, but I was proud I remembered I had them today! Nope! You don't need to buy anything from the gift shop.

Nope! You don't need a wooden sword.

DOUBLE NOPE! You don't need pure sugar to dump down your gullet just before you go get on the bus!

We headed back down the mountain from Rock City to pick up some pizza and head to Coolidge Park. 

Let me stop here and say this. A good bus driver is everything. Mark is our driver. I've been riding with him for years now. He always gets us where we need to be. He keeps us safe. Driving down the mountain in a bus is something else. Sometimes we had to stop to let cars pass the other way because the switchbacks are so tight. And sometimes it looked like we might just drop off the side of the mountain! But we didn't. Because Mark is amazing.

At Coolidge Park we had pizza and mostly just chilled. It was pretty yummy!

Then we cleaned up and headed back to Camp Lookout, where we played some circle games (with more or less success) and then ate ice cream. Because once a day isn't enough for ice cream, apparently.

After Ice Cream, it was getting dark, and the kids started to get punchy. So we talked about their day (Many of them obviously took to heart what I said about listening...they had great stories to share about the people they visited. I sent them to bed. Earlier morning tomorrow as we get ready to go to church and sing.

2025 Children's Music Mission To Chattanooga. It begins.

I've always heard that April showers bring May flowers. Turns out they also bring something else: it's Music Mission season. I'm currently in Rising Fawn, Georgia (which is basically Chattanooga, TN) with the Music Makers choir right now (Grades 3-5). In the next 4-6 weeks we'll have an Afternoon Choir music mission and the Youth Music Mission. Each of these has its own flavor. Things I like more and things I like less. But mostly more, if I'm honest.

I started keeping a blog on these trips a long time ago. It started out as a means to an end: I needed to find a way to let parents know what we were up to without having to call a phone tree or something. But I discovered the blog became something of a diary for me...a chance to process what is happening. I celebrate the wins, and I think through the losses.

I'm excited about this year's Children's Music Mission. We have a lot of great things planned for the kids, and I have a great crew of adults here to help lead them. I mentioned that I'm in Rising Fawn, Georgia. We're at Camp Lookout, a United Methodist camp on Lookout Mountain. It's a delightful place. I bring the youth choir up here for retreats as well. But let's look back at how we got here, shall we?

If it seems like it's hard to see all the kids in this picture...it is. One thing about kids on the bus...if they aren't sticking their arms up, you almost can't see them! There are 19 kids on the bus here plus 6 adults, so there is plenty of room. They're pretty excited about it.

We also have a special passenger: Stitch. Seen here ready for his ride to our first concert. He's a class pet for one of the fifth grades at Oak Grove Elementary. I feel like he's about to have an adventure.

If you're not familiar with a Music Mission, here's what that means. We go to places that we think would enjoy our singing, and then we sing for them. All kinds of places. Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, Independent Living, homes for people with disabilities, Veterans Homes, children's homes...you name it. We start by singing a concert.

This year's program includes music about singing: new songs and songs of Thanksgiving. That's honestly a pretty common theme for me.

Then after the concert, we hang out with the audience for a while and visit.

Frankly the visiting is the more important part. For all of us. Some of these kids are new at this, and some have been doing it for a few years at this point. They do a great job.

Even Stitch did a little visiting.

Sadie is actually a big part of the reason Stitch was able to join us this weekend. Thanks, Sadie!

And sometimes we see family! What a joy to meet Josie's grandfather.

When we had finished at the Mansions of Decatur, we got on the bus and headed for Camp Lookout. You can imagine what that looked like...

We sat in that for a hot minute. All of a sudden I remembered what I forgot: movies! Oops. It's ok, though. There were card games and visiting...and Colin told me all about some amazing water slides in a water park in the Bahamas. 

We did eventually make it to Camp Lookout. I told everyone where to go, and we got settled in. 

This is one of the differences between the Kids mission and the Youth mission...earlier nights! Lights out was 11pm, and I was able to get started working on this. Shoot...I'll be done well before midnight!

I've said this before, but I feel it again. As I'm working on these trips...working on the music, setting up the logistics, raising the funds, etc...I always reach a point where I start to wonder if it's all worth it. It's a lot of effort and expense just to go sing for folks. But it is. It IS worth it. I wish you could have seen and heard those folks who came to our concert today. And I wish you could have seen the kids chatting with them.

To me, it looks like...well, it looks like we are doing exactly what Jesus told us to do. I'm so lucky to get to be a part of that.

A full day tomorrow! Breakfast starts at 8. I'd better get some sleep...because while the kids go to bed earlier, you'd better believe they're going to be up earlier!