Day 2: Sunday, 6/2/2024

I'm a little embarrassed by how spotty my photo game was today. There were many great things I just whiffed on! We met at the church at 7, which was something of a feat given the late night preparing. I had a small heart attack when I saw our pile of gear was missing, but that turned to relief when I realized it was missing because Mark (our amazing driver...more on him later) had already loaded it onto the bus.

We had a short commissioning in the sanctuary before we left. I wish I had taken a picture. We sat there, quiet, the room lit only by the rising sun. And then we prayed, as we often do before we go in to worship, that God would keep our minds clear, our voices strong, and our hearts open to what God would say to us and through us in the name of Christ. We prayed the Lord's Prayer together...and we set out.

Someone is going to ask me if we went to Buc-ee's. We did not. We did wind up needing to make a stop before lunch, but...

It's not that I love Love's or anything like that, and it has nothing to do with the Arby's inside (though honestly I do love Arby's). It's just...this was more conveniently located for when we needed it. Sometimes it really is just about being in the right place at the right time.

We stopped for lunch in Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis. I don't need to tell you a lot of these kids don't know who that is. Tragic. But also I knew that's how it would be, so we didn't take the time to go to his actual birthplace. There were a number of options for lunch, and the youth availed themselves of a variety. I wound up at McDonald's. Look. I know it's bad or whatever, but I am kindof into McDonald's. I feel you judging me.

What good is Youth Music Mission if you can't make a few poor culinary choices along the way? Live your best life, man.

Some of the youth will claim I was late getting back to the bus. I was not. But I didn't get on the bus on time because I was taking video of this. It's CJ line dancing with some enthusiastic youth outside of the bus. No doubt working off whatever they ate for lunch (can confirm 2/3 in this picture did not eat McDonalds...and can also confirm 1/3 of them concurs with my opinion of McDonald's fries versus Chick Fil A fries...you will not change my mind).

We drove by the 10th largest pyramid in the world, which is located in Memphis, TN. Yes, it's a Bass Pro Shop now, and it's awesome. We didn't stop, but we did get some good pictures of it.

We needed to stop to change into our concert clothes, which we did at a rest stop outside of Forrest City. Just as I was about to get on the bus, this guy and his wife stopped and asked us to tell him more about our choir. What was our mission? Where were we going. It was cool to be able to explain what we were up to. He wished us well and said he'd keep us in prayer.

Our concert was at Willow Grove of Sherwood. We warmed up on the bus as we got closer.

And then we sang!

We've added an element to our concert this year. Wesley and Gwyn play instruments on Baba Yetu, which is a Swahili setting of the Lord's Prayer. Not pictured: Mariann playing the egg  and conga shakers.

And we have a number of soloists as well. This isn't all of them! But it's many of them. Proud of all our soloists, who are doing an amazing job! 

This is a little farther back so you can get a feel for the room.

This year I sent out some signs folks could use to advertise if they wanted, and I was happy to see they took me up on it!

Also I love it when family who happen to be local to our concerts come to hear us sing! Eva's grandparents were able to come to this concert.

And this is the Motherland, so I had a WHOLE LOT of family. (Well...and my father-in-law is the facilities manager at Willow Grove!)

After the concert we went to dinner. It was a chaperone dinner, so the rooms ate with their chaperones (I neglected to mentioned on an earlier bus ride we did what I call the "Sorting Hat," which is a game where they youth learn who their roommates and chaperones are...I'd explain the game to you, but honestly it doesn't translate well, but it was fun!).

Several folks went to the Purple Cow, which is basically a burger joint, but they offer...purple milkshakes.

A couple of the chaperones did upload pics of their rooms. It's a shame they can't have any fun with it. This first one is in front of the Purple Cow.

Did these guys eat at the Target snack bar? I'm I the only one who has ever done that?

After dinner we went to the airport to pick up one more singer, and we are now whole. There are two singers on the trip who left Europe on Saturday to make it back in time. I appreciate folks who make choir a priority. Everyone on the trip is doing that, of course...but I can't imagine the jet lag.

Ordinarily I'd put in a few more pictures of chaperone groups, but for some reason I didn't take pictures of most of them. Alas...bad blogger! I'll have another opportunity before the week is out. This is critically important.

Readers of previous blogs will recognize this guy. Sir Trots a Lot is traveling with us once again. We'll see what shenanigans he gets into. Hopefully no trouble. Oh, and also we're pumped to have Taylor with us this year! He's fun.

We did have a devotional time, but I didn't take a picture, and it was a relatively brief time. I wanted folks to be able to get some sleep. By "folks" I mean me.

Readers of previous blogs will also recognize this represents the end of my official night. Every student accounted for and taped into their rooms. It's not the end of my night, of course. I still have pictures to pick out for the blog, and I try to get started writing it.

A strong first day. We have miles to go. Tomorrow we will tour Little Rock for a bit, have a concert, and head towards Dallas. The time in the motherland is all too short. But I'm excited for tomorrow! And I look forward to sharing it with you. Until then...

Peace and love,

John

Day 1: Saturday, 6/1/2024

Welcome to the 2024 Youth Music Mission Blog!

The Music Mission has begun. This year is a little different from years past. We are leaving a week later than we have before, and we are starting on Saturday with three local concerts. We gathered this morning at 9:30 at the church, rehearsed for a bit, had a quick lunch, and then headed out to sing three local concerts: The Mansions of Decatur, KingsBridge, and Clairmont Place. I didn't get any good pictures at the Mansions. It was our first concert, and because one of the buses didn't start at first, we were a smidge behind where I wanted to be. But we had Faith (literally...Faith is the name of the bus didn't start, but eventually it did). The picture above is from Kingsbridge.

You'll get used to seeing pictures of visiting. It's one of our favorite things to do. In the past, most of our visits have been with folks we will likely not see again (out of town, and we won't head that way again for a few years). But these local concerts are different. We will go here each year. In fact, one of the residents of KingsBridge came to me today and said she came last year and was already looking forward to next year. We have a number of church members who live at each place as well, and it was good to see them.

Special picture...I took a quick selfie with Larry. Larry is one of the most dedicated members of the choir I've ever met. He moved to KingsBridge recently and was at our concert!

The schedule for today was just about perfect. We got to all the concert venues about 20 minutes before concert time, set up, and then had just a couple of minutes before the concert started. So I had everyone just sit down where they were. It made me feel better when they all got up and were creeking and moaning like us old folks!

The room at Clairmont Place was smaller...

It felt REALLY small when we started visiting...

One thing about moving to a church that isn't too far from the church you used to serve is that you get to see some old friends at local concerts!

After Clairmont Place we headed back to the church to touch up a few rough spots in the music and talk about tomorrow...er, today. It's now midnight. We ride at dawn. Ish. We show up at the church at 7am, and we'll be on the road by 7:30. Our first concert is in Little Rock at 5:00pm, so we have no time to lose!

I'll close tonight with the "About the Youth Music Mission" section of the program. It tells you a little about our concert program...and a lot about why we do this. Tomorrow is the next day!

Peace and love!

John

About the Youth Music Mission

We tend to think of heaven as a distant place. High above us...beyond the skies. And hidden from our view. It’s the dwelling place of the almighty. A destination of our dreaming where there is no suffering. No pain. No hunger. No loneliness.  Only eternally unflinching love and bliss where all are known and loved.

We contrast that place with the world around us. More and more it seems like it is coming  apart at the seams. All around the world there is war and famine and misery. We bury our faces in devices meant to connect us only to find they drive us farther and farther apart. We feel as far from each other as we feel from a place of peace. As the great theologian Yoda once observed, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering.”

Jesus taught us to pray that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven.  This world—with all its faults—is also the  dwelling place of the almighty. God created it and us. God came to live among us. God continues to live in us. We see glimpses of God now and then. Reminders of who we are. Reminders that we are known and loved after all.

The glimpses call us to be instruments of God’s kingdom—instruments of peace. They call us to seek out the places of hatred, injury, and despair and plant seeds of love, pardon, and hope. Living into that call is a choice each of us makes on our own. But when we do, when we commit ourselves to the vulnerability of service, we quickly find others. Like-minded and committed, we sing with one voice. We surrender ourselves to the Great Mystery. Love takes root, and hope. Healing begins.

Yes, there is a song for all of us. A song of love and trust. When love and trust reign, the rest falls away. Dust under our feet. We sing as one. And when we sing as one, we are one.

This is why we sing. We aren’t selling anything. We aren’t here to argue or convince of this truth or that. We don’t need to agree or even agree to disagree. As we travel we toss seeds of love and peace to the wind and let them fall where they may. And maybe, hopefully, earth becomes just a little more like heaven.

Thank you for listening today, and sharing your stories with us. It is a joy and pleasure to be with you!

Final Thoughts on the 2024 Children's Music Mission

I was hoping to finish up the blog last night, but by the time I finished my Sunday afternoon and evening rehearsals, I ran out of time. With apologies for the late entry, here is the final post of the 2024 Children's Music Mission!

Shockingly, the kids stayed in bed a little longer on Sunday. It's as if they were busy all day on Saturday or something?

We began our day as we did the day before, with breakfast at Camp Lookout. We said thank you to "Mama Snacks," who is the chef up there. If you're wondering why they are standing on one foot, it's because right before I took the picture, I said, "Everyone stand on one foot." If someone isn't, it's because Simon didn't say.

We piled on the bus and headed for First Centenary UMC. Jan, their director of music, is 100% my hero. Here's a picture of us in their choir loft.

This was my view from up there...

One of the parents got a picture of us from the back.

One of the coolest parts was singing with their children's choir. Jan played the shaker in the front, and I joined with one of their adults playing drums in the back. Collaborating was so much fun!

With General Conference ongoing, singing in another United Methodist Church felt somehow important, and the pastor mentioned it in his sermon as well. I feel very strongly that we are the church. It's not the building, it's not the conference or the denomination. It's hearts and hands working together to be Christ in the world. That's where my focus is. But our connection is important because of the way it multiplies our effort. My favorite of these is UMCOR, which allows 100% or funds donated to disaster relief to be spent on disaster relief. But there are many other missions we support by our connection.

Jan asked what time we rehearse (6 on Wednesdays). She said, "We rehearse at 6 on Wednesdays too! So any time you are singing, we are singing together!" What a delightful way to remember we are not alone.

First Centenary streams their services! If you want to see us sing, you can head over to: https://firstcentenary.com/past-service-library#entire-service. The whole service is worth a watch, but if you want to see us sing, look at 16:50, 24:40, 30:20, 34:00, and 40:00. All the kids sing together at 40:00, so if you're only going to watch one, make it that one!

Jan and her crew provided lunch for us at the church (yummy!), and we enjoyed eating with a number of her kids and their families.

We got on the road after lunch. You can probably guess the question everyone wanted answered as soon as we stepped on the bus...are we going to stop at Buc-ees. As you know, it isn't my favorite place. Especially on a Sunday. I waited until we got out of town to make the call. Against my better judgment...

Just a crowd. What could possibly go wrong?

Not a party *I* want to go to, Bucee.

Hm. I wonder if any of the kids are going to use their money on deer corn. It's on sale! Honestly it wouldn't be the most random thing they had bought on this trip.

Our itinerary showed a 3:30p arrival. We rolled in at 3:20, which gave us just enough time to take all the gear off the bus and clean the bus up. The kids checked out with me, and at 3:40 or so I headed inside to start my youth bell rehearsal at 3:45. And youth choir at 4:30. They are preparing for their own music mission, heading to Little Rock, Dallas, and Shreveport in early June. I will of course chronicle our adventures right here Under the Oak Tree (on the music blog).

Writing during the middle of the day is different from writing at night, as I did the last two posts! Saturday night I took a picture while I was working.

I guess that's it. Before we left Camp Lookout, we talked about the music mission and its purpose. We sing and visit with others to lift their spirits, and that's important. But we also build relationships with each other. The experiences we share on this trip and in rehearsal and singing in worship become shared history. Shared history becomes glue that holds us together. We are closer for our time together. So this has been time well spent. And while I am of course dragging a bit today, I wouldn't trade this weekend. I believe in it.

Thank you to the Music Makers, their parents (especially the ones who came on the trip), and all those who have supported Music in Mission at our fundraisers this year!

If you would like to support this trip or others like it, feel free to use this QR code or link to head to our donations page.

https://oakgroveumc.shelbynextchms.com/external/form/1d7b398b-7297-4042-8011-1c0b97fec460