Rest and Relaxation

After tour I feel like I need a couple of weeks of sleep to recover. I have a few days off here in St. Louis and then Im headed back to my home in Atlanta, Georgia. I was driving in my truck today and I was so relaxed. I was by myself (havent had that in two days) and it was quiet (havent had that in a few days either). The only quiet time that Im not looking forward to is the 9 hour drive that I have to take next tuesday on my way home. I am way too hyper to be in a car for longer than a few hours, so a 9 hour trip by myself is complete torture. Home is welcoming and Im excited about pulling in the driveway. This summer should be alot of fun. Im doing an internship with my church which will consists of many responsibilties. A few are counseling at two youth camps, VBS for a week, chaperoning a youth congress trip, then lots of hospital visits, outreaches, daily work, and a few books to read. It will be alot of responsibility but it will also be alot of fun. Looking forward to a great summer.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Finished at last

Well chorale tour has finally come to an end, finally. I feel like we had a really awesome tour, that many lives were touched, but Im glad its over. We saw some incredible sights, saw how different churches run, and met some great people. I think that there were two parts of the tour that I definately wont miss. The first is the long long long bus rides every day. I dont mind a nice scenic drive, a quiet one. But every day with tons of people is a different story. The second thing is living out of a suitcase. I really admire evangelists now and know where they come from. Every night packing and unpacking suitcases, doing laundry wherever you can. Besides the few small inconveniences we had a great time. It was my second tour and I am definately looking forward to the next two. I apologize for not updating as frequent as I should. Im a vagabond for a few days so finding an internet connection is interesting.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Correction

For me this tour is an opportunity of a life time. When I came to gateway I never planned or dreamed of singing or participating in the chorale. When I tried out I halph expected my music director to laugh at me. Instead I have been handed the responsibility to minister and change lives. Not to lift myself up but three weeks before tour me and the chorale met every morning at 7:30 before school in prayer in the middle of finals and work. We poured out our hearts, we interceded, we wept and asked God to burden us for the churches and the pastors that we would be coming in contact with. We asked God that everyone would not see us (Gateway) but that people would see him and feel his presence and be changed. Every church we attend we pray for the pastor and try to bless them. Every home that we visit we are polite, we make our beds, we make thank you cards, and we pray for the families and the homes. All this with sincerity. On this tour weve lost sleep, many of us payed money out of our pockets to be on tour and are losing money by being on tour, many of us have gotten sick, weve traveled all across America trying to make a difference in the kingdom of God and change someones eternity. With all this said I do find it somewhat offense and hurtful to hear or recieve comments that me and the chorale are ungrateful or show little mercy towards pastors or people we stay with or that we don't care. If I have offended someone I apologize and hopefully with God's strength you can dry your eyes and get over it. Once again these are non specific comments on a few things Ive noticed and experienced, dont take it personal! I love you all, thanks for commenting and reading!
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Coming to and End

I can definately so that I have mixed emotions about my chorale tour ending. One part of me, the part that has a sore throat, a headache, edgy nerves, sore feet, and no money says take me back home! The other part of me that has been learning and taking in every opportunity to minister and learn, every chance to feel God's presence and the companionship of the chorale, says let me stay! We have definately covered alot of road and been to a lot of churches but we pray, and I ask you to pray that God gives us the annointing, the strength and the energy to finish out this tour! Thank yall so much and still feel free to complain/comment on anything I've had to say. It's great hearing everyones perspectives and thoughts on things.
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

I love NY

Another purk of chorale tour has been our two days off. Today we were able to visit the wonderful New York City. When we started out everyone was extremely excited and pumped up. We were practically ready to conquer the city. After Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Time Square, China Town and all the other tourists spots that we visited we were ready to drop. I can not explain the soreness, the pain, and the aching that came from my feet. Yes we got some outstanding photos, smelled the interesting city smells, road the miles of filthy rat infested subways, and picked up some cheap (possibly stolen) watches, sunglasses and cologne; but I can not explain the anxiety, nay the anticipation that came from the groaning chorale that desperately wanted to get back to the bus and Hotel. At the end of a long day off that we greatly appreciated there were absolutely no complaints about long hot showers and soft hotel beds!
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Lesson learned

Well a few things that I need to clear up. Im young and definately have alot to learn. Everything I say on the blogger isn't a set in stone doctrine or belief of mine or others. They are just thoughts, responses, and reflections of daily things I have been encountering/experiencing in my life. I did get a few stirred up people that replied to my comments on some churches and their worship. I agree with some comments that were made but many things I do not. Well here is my lesson learned about churches and worship. We went to a service and the while we sang the church barely moved, I mean it was dead, there were only a few scattered responses. The atmosphere felt dead, and the service was dry. When we concluded service a chorale member felt led for the church and chorale members to pray for the pastor. After that the pastor felt led to have the church pray for the chorale. These saints that seemed shallow and dead were some of the most sincere, deep, intercessing prayer warriors I have ever seen. It was so powerful... so moving. The home that we stayed in that night was great and the next morning my friend got up early for a shower at around 6 in the morning and there in the kitchen the husband was on his knees deep in prayer. This really touched me and changed my way of thinking. The church probably wasn't used to having a big group in their church or our style of singing so their response was low, but they definately weren't dry or spiritually weak. These people had a walk with God even though it didn't show in their worship (I still don't understand that part because the Bible does say we should give our all, our highest praise, and sitting on a pew isn't our highest praise).