Saturday: Getting Our Feet Wet

Our day started at 8:45 when we arrived at the church. We got everyone checked in and then headed to the sanctuary for a commissioning. Pastor Beth prayed for us, and we headed to the bus. She stood and waved as we went by. Beth is always quick to lend and hand and very supportive! And a few extra blessings as we get underway can't hurt, right?

Those of you who followed us last year might remember this little fella, Sir Trotsalot. He'll be joining us again this year...you just never know where you might find him. You can follow him on Instagram if you'd like!

We weren't even out of the parking lot before Cole took up his normal position. "Cole, why aren't you in a seat?" This. Is. His. Seat.

We are Methodist, so naturally the first thing to do was food. We stopped to eat lunch in Greenville...

...mere miles from where my brother lives. South Carolina miles, not Atlanta miles, so it's like 3 minutes from his house. So he, my sister-in-law, and my nephew showed up to have lunch with us! My brother is the older looking one. No, the older looking one...on the left. Ha! David, if you're reading this, this is what you get for always beating me in chess.

We arrived at our first venue a little early. I don't expect that to happen ever again, but on day 1, well done.

FAMILY! I love it when we have singers' family come and see us. Oliver and Carter's aunts and grandfather came to see us. It was nice to meet them. Also they make some of the same faces Elizabeth makes.

After we sang, of course we visited. I've been doing this for a long time. I've written those words ("we visited") so many times. And with 10 concerts happening this year...I'll write it again. I find the pictures of the youth engaging with our audience inspiring.

Then it was back on the bus. I can't sleep on the bus...but some people can.

Aw. Mother daughter bus time!

We stopped at a rest area to change. In all my years of doing this, this is the very first time I have not gleefully exchanged my jeans for a pair of shorts while hoping I didn't sweat through my tshirt. But it was actually...cold? With a little rain. So we had to huddle underneath the pavilion to keep dry (and...we got our feet wet in the grass on the way to and from the bus).

There's a lot of fast food on these trips, but on this first night, we went to sit-down places and had dinner with chaperones where we got to know each other (and also teach some of the youth how tipping works).

New this year: photo contests. I created a shared folder and asked each group to upload a picture (tonight's theme: eating). The group with the best picture gets to get off the bus first. I'll include them all here for your enjoyment.

And the winner is...

Honorable mention to Ian, who asked who the winner was in our trip groupme by sending a Princess Bride gif featuring Count Rugan. ("Who won? How did it end?)

We checked into the hotel and then gathered for our devotional. Wesley sees something, but I'm not sure what.

Devotional time tonight was really just an opportunity for folks to talk about the stories they learned while we were visiting. Can confirm: they were paying attention. Many of the youth enjoy hearing the stories and sharing them. Experience tells me over time most of them will discover the joy of serving in this way. Already today I had to go pull some of them away when it was time to leave.

When devotional was over we headed to bed. As per usual, I taped them in before heading to bed myself.

One more thing. We stayed at Home 2 Suites, which is a new Hilton property. It was a little cheaper than the Hampton and also one of the only places available in Roanoke (or indeed anywhere between Greenville and Charlottesville). The sales manager told me they do not serve waffles, but there is breakfast. I have to say the hotel was nice, but the best part was the service. Our rooms were ready. All the youth rooms were on one side of the hall on one floor. They were attentive, helpful, kind, and patient. Good job, Home 2 Suites!

Looking forward to what lies ahead on Day 2! I'll let you know when we make it to DC...

Saturday, 5/27 Safely in Roanoke

Salutations and welcome to the 2023 Youth Music Mission Blog! Thank you for checking us out/following along. I'm glad you're here.

I started blogging music missions years ago as a way to let parents know we were safe. This was along enough ago that a phone tree was still a viable alternative to the blog strategy, if perhaps falling out of favor. Turns out I'm old.

Today was our first day, and it was full...if mostly on the bus. We met at the church at 8:45. It's now after midnight, and I've checked everyone into their rooms. Days on the Music Mission are long, to be sure. But rewarding. I'll look forward to detailing today's exploits in the morning, so check back tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd share here what I wrote for our program about our mission. This is going to be a great week!

Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 

~Colossians 3:12-15

Sometimes people forget that much of the New Testament consists of letters. These letters were generally written from one person to a community of people with advice for the community. These communities struggle with some of the very issues we struggle with today. I’m not sure if that’s encouraging or discouraging, honestly. But at least we are in good company.

I said  “communities” rather than “churches” on purpose, because at some level even secular communities struggle with some of the same sorts of issues. Arguments over what is acceptable in the community and what isn’t. Jealousy and animosity. Jockeying for power in the community. Bless our hearts, we’re human. Being human carries with it a certain amount of selfish inclination that has to be overcome if we are to coexist peacefully. Paul’s advice to the Colossians could just as easily be Jim’s advice to the Meadow Trace HOA Board. Be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Clothe yourselves with love. Let peace rule in your heart. And be thankful.

And be thankful.

It’s almost an afterthought there, tacked on at the very end, but I’ve come to believe thankfulness is actually the cornerstone of a life built on love. It’s more than just saying, “Thank you,” when someone does something nice for you. It’s a way of being. It’s thinking about the people who challenge us, the ones who get under our skin and make us mad, the ones we struggle to look in the eye—and finding in those people a reason to be thankful. Thankful for them and for the role they play in our own lives. Deep thankfulness is life-giving, even life-changing.

It is our hope and our prayer that today we will inspire you to a spirit of thankfulness and praise—that you will join us in spirit and perhaps even in song.  And as we leave today, know that we are thankful for you.  For your listening, for your sharing, and for your smiling, we “raise our joyful hymn of praise.”

Sunday. The Road Home.

All things come to an end. Except for taxes. And this trip is beginning to wind down. We're on our way and expect to arrive in about an hour and a half or so, and since I'll be headed right into Youth Bells, Youth Choir, and Adult Bells, I figured I'd go ahead and bring this Music Mission Blog to an end. Gracefully. As gracefully as Mark drives. I haven't mentioned Mark yet. He's our driver, and I've been riding with him for years. He's the best.

It's almost like the kids were worn out yesterday? They went to bed easily, and this morning they did not rise at 6am. It's not that they were hard to get out of bed; they did great. It's just they gave us an extra hour of peace, and I'm grateful for that.

We loaded the bus before we ate breakfast. I was telling Sharon about the story Regan told me yesterday on the bus, but I couldn't remember the story. She popped up over the front seat...

"Since you can't remember the story, I'll tell you again."

Kate found my crown. I told her it was mine, and this is her reaction...

We headed to First Baptist, where we were planning to sing with their children's choir in church. If you've read my blogs before, you probably read the last sentence and thought, "We were planning...so what happened and how did they adjust?" Nothing. We sang with them in church.

Photos or it didn't happen? Happy to oblige.

That's Jeff, the Minister of Music at FBC. He was a fantastic host, and we really appreciate him! We rehearsed together before the other choir went to Sunday School. Then we rehearsed on our own for a while. The space is majestic, and the choir sounded really good in there!

We needed a little bit of a break, so I let them go to the bathroom, grab some water, and stretch out. This is their interpretation of that. Actual footage...

Then we sang in church. We did it all from memory for the first time, and it went well! I should have taken away their binders two days ago.

Our friends from First Baptist also provided a Taco Bar for us for lunch. This was a HUGE hit with the choir. I appreciated it even more than they did, mostly because it meant I didn't have to find lunch for us. And it meant we will likely get back to the church on time.

We used the bathroom before we left, of course, and fortunately I had sunglasses, so I could use this restroom.

To the bus, and away we go. I was thinking just now about Spaceballs...the part of the movie where they're watching the video to figure out where Lonestar has gone. They come to the part of the movie where they are watching the part of the movie they are in. 

"You're looking at now. What's happens now is happening now." 

"What happened to then?"

"We passed then."

"When?"

"Just now."

"When will then be now?"

"Soon."

I say all this because that's where we are. I have blogged up to this moment. If I were to type the next thing that happened, I would say something like, "And next, I typed the sentence, 'and next, I typed the sentence.'" I don't even know how to punctuate that.

I learn something from every trip I take, and this was no exception. I learned that Ben and Jerry's will negotiate with you if you want to split doubles into singles so you can buy a little less ice cream for kids who, let's be honest, didn't need any to start with (thanks to Lamar for leading the charge on that one and saving us like $100 bucks!).

I learned a little bit more about logistics with kids. This trip went better than the last one because of lessons I learned last year...and the next one will be better than this one for the same reason.

In church this morning, the sermon challenged us to look for Christ in places we don't expect to see Him, and I have indeed seen his face many times this weekend. In each of the kids who came to sing. In each of the chaperones who made the trip possible. In each face in our audiences (including at least one we didn't actually get to see!). If this trip has done nothing more than raise our awareness of Christ's presence in and through us, then it was worth the miles and the somewhat less than comfortable mattresses.

Thanks for coming along with us...for caring about our little adventure! Hope to see you on the next one at the end of May when the youth choir heads for Washington DC.

Saturday in Chattanooga. I'm super proud of these kids.

This morning began early. I had set my alarm for 6:55 because the boys wanted to be up at 7. Turns out that wasn't necessary. They were up by 6. I told them to stay in bed and quiet until 7. We got about half way there I think.

Naturally, the first activity was four square? There is a square under the pavilion outside of the dining hall, and they just started playing. Mr. John played too, and when he was in a square, he was definitely a target. It was a fun way to get going on a chilly morning while we waited for breakfast.

After breakfast, we got ourselves ready to go, and then we played a game. Youth choir singers will recognize the question game. It's zany and unpredictable. We played 3 rounds, and here are your 3 winners. Kids took 2 out of 3. Chaperones will have to prepare more for next time.

We headed out to our first concert. Today's concerts were both at places we sang just last year. Some of the kids remembered as we were pulling up, and they were excited. I'm excited too, because beginning to build longer-term relationships with some places has been a goal of mine.

As we have come to expect, the concert was fantastic. The kids really are singing well, and I'm proud of their sound. I am also continually proud of the way they engage the audience after we sing. I got a few pictures today. You can tell watching them that the seniors really enjoy the chats.

Another fun story from this concert. When we walked in, they were setting up for a 90th birthday celebration later on. When I got back on the bus, the kids practiced singing Happy Birthday, and just before our last song in the concert, we asked if Anne was in the room. She was not, as it turns out, but her daughter said, "Oh she isn't but just a minute I'll get her on video." So they got her on facetime, and we sang happy birthday to her on the phone! You'll never hear a sweeter rendition of the birthday song than I heard when our 16 kids sang to Anne.

I took this picture after the concert when we were headed back to the bus. Yes, this is our bus. You can be jealous now. It's only 8 months old!

We got onboard that beautiful bus and headed to lunch. We went to a place that had a number of fast food choices and sent our chaperones to various ones along with the kids who wanted to go there. A large-ish group went to Firehouse subs, where they were complimented by the manager for their good behavior!

One of the chaperones who went to Firehouse was Leanne. I do not say enough good things about Leanne. I can't say enough good things. She's a fantastic musician, an excellent chaperone, and an all-around wonderful person. Thank you, Leanne, for all you do to make music ministry at OG possible, and thank you especially for coming along this weekend!

 

The Rodehorsts went to Burger King, along with a couple of others. They crowned me in the parking lot. I guess King Charles doesn't need to worry about finding musical entertainment for his coronation after all...

We went to sing our second concert right after lunch...it was about a half mile away. Last year when we sang at this place, we had to sing outside! Inside this time around. We did a little more from memory this time, which helps the kids look up and be engaged (though there were notable yawns following a big meal!). In this picture, the choir is hiding more of the audience behind them.

Next we headed to the Incline Railway. We only rode up (Mark drove the bus up the mountain and met us at the top). It was a lovely day for it! Good visibility, and not too hot.

And here's a picture of us in the upper station. All of us. We had a passerby take our picture so everyone could be in it. Which is cool. What is even MORE cool is that right after this picture was taken, we walked straight through the railway gift shop without anyone stopping to touch or smell anything or whine about wanting to buy things. Sure, that might be because I had already told them they could shop at Rock City, but still...historic.

Speaking of Rock City...epic win. So many good pictures, and I don't have time to post them all, but here are some of my favorite ones...

First, there's this house thing along the path. I'm sure it has a much more profound story than that, but that's what it looked like to me. I had all the kids get inside to take a picture, and then I went to close the door! Unfortunately (or fortunately), Rock City knows that people like me exist, and it is not possible to close the door. So the kids roamed free...or as freely as one can roam under the watchful eyes of 8 parent chaperones.

The shaky bridge...

Ok, shots fired, Rock City. Fat Man's Squeeze? What are you trying to say? And then one of the kids says, "Do you think Mr. John can make it?" Ouch.

But for the record, the answer is yes...I was the first through, which allowed me to take this picture of the rest of them coming through. Also...it is truly very tight. I did have to take my backpack off to get through.

Great pic of all the kids at 7 states plaza. They claim you can see 7 states from here! I don't know if we could or not, but I do know it was a beautiful day. Apologies if the kids have their eyes closed here. I can't see really well in the blog editor!

There's this ledge, see, and you can go out on it. These are the brave ones.

Several caves at Rock City have black lights in them. That made the white on our shirts really stand out. The picture doesn't do it justice.

The caption for this next picture is exactly what she said right before it was taken. "Mr. John I have a great story can I tell you?" The eyes show all the energy she had for the story.

Following Rock City, we dropped by Mr T's pizza to pick up some pizza and then headed to the park. This is the same park the youth choir went to last year and sang an impromptu concert. We did not sing a concert. We enjoyed our dinner and then ran around some. It's prom night, so there were lots of people in very fancy clothing around.

These guys are playing a game I don't fully understand, but it looks fun!

You might say we made our mark...

Do you know what 16 kids who have a limitless reserve of energy need on a evening like this one? That's right. Sugar. Lots of sugar. So we went for ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.

And you know what, even with the ice cream, I think our kids are mostly tired.

I don't know why kids buy the things they buy, but at Rock City several kids bought this candy:

Toxic Waste? Sounds delicious. I was dared to eat this, but I didn't. Not sure if I'm going to or not. I feel like it would give me some cred with the kids. Am I that easily manipulated? I don't think so, but now I'm not sure.

And that's the end of the day. Nights on children's choir trips are earlier than youth choir trips, but you do pay for it. It's full on from wake up to shut down.

Tomorrow is an early morning. Much to do! But that is another story for another time.

We Have Arrived at Camp

We made it! We have arrived at Camp Lookout, and everyone is in their rooms. I haven't heard anything from the boys room for the last several minutes, so I think they may actually be sleeping. Not hearing any noise from the other chaperones in my room either.

Our mission actually began with a concert at Clairmont Place. We all met there to sing just after dinner. I snapped a picture in between songs.

You know this is in between songs because they are looking at me. Because I asked them to. During most of the concert, my view looked more like this:

Honestly that's not fair. They looked up more than it appears here (though not as much as they will!). And let me just say this. They. Sounded. Amazing. There really isn't anything better than the sound of a good children's choir. Nice and light. Good singing, in tune, and not forced. Just beautiful.

We sang for a mostly full dining room, and they were appreciative. There were more than a few Oak Grove folks in the audience, and it was nice to meet them! Some of them can't attend church anymore, but they were quick to add they worship with us every week on the live stream. Technology can be an amazing tool.

After we sang, the kids went out to visit. There was some natural hesitation, especially with the younger ones, but everyone participated. It really is heartwarming to see them put themselves out there and be present for our audience. As great as the music was, this really was the best part.

After we visited for a while, we headed to church to eat dinner (Chick Fil A). Then we loaded up the bus and headed for Chattanooga. The bus was not quiet.

I tried to take a before picture with all the kids, but it just looks like empty seats, so I waited until it got dark and took this picture. It's a very cool bus. Turns out it's only 8 months old. That's what Mark told me. Oh. You don't know Mark. He and I go way back. He's been driving my youth choirs for...many years. We haven't done a trip together since the pandemic, so it's a treat to see him again! I'll introduce him later.

We arrived at camp and sent everyone to their cabins to settle in. I don't know what happened over in the girls' cabin, but over here in ours, I went into the boys' room and said, "Alright, alright, alright. Joke time. Each of you is allowed one joke." Aren't they a little young for dad jokes? Well, I'm a dad, so I laughed at them of course, and then I turned off the lights. They settled in nicely.

As I'm typing this, a storm is rolling in. Looks like it'll be here in another 30 minutes or so and last for a couple of hours. Quite the light show. Wonder if it will wake up the boys. Hope not.

Early morning tomorrow. Breakfast is at 8am, then we have some activities before we leave for the second concert of our mission!

You guys, this is SO. MUCH. FUN.

Children's Music Mission 2023!

Music Mission season has begun! This weekend, the Music Makers choir will be traveling to Chattanooga, TN. In a little over a month, the Youth Choir will travel to Washington, DC. Once upon a time, I kept up with the blog throughout the year, but [checks last post] I clearly did not do that this year.

I'm excited to embark on my second music mission trip with the children's choir. I've been taking youth on tour for almost 20 years now, but this is only my second trip with kids...and it's different. Very different. The age disparity alone completely changes everything about how we operate while we're on the road, and as a result changes everything about how I plan the trip.

But at its core, one trip is just like the other. We are going to places where we can sing and lift people's spirits. To sing and to visit. To offer our attention and our focus. There are so many ways to serve...but for this weekend, this is our way.

I'll keep this blog updated with our progress, including some pictures along the way. Our first stop will be a local concert at Clairmont Place, where we have a number of members. I'll be excited to see them and excited to share the joy of our children's choir with them.