The Fla...

what a crazy couple of days. we have traveled from virginia to georgia to tampa, then clearwater, then orlando and now melbourne, singing and dancing and jamming on the guitar the whole way. lastnight we had one of our all time best concerts. we performed in ladylake florida, outside of orlando, and home to the famous "The Villages" retirement community. they came out in droves to hear us perform, all 340 of them. the choir was up to task and performed flawlessly, give the crowd what they came to hear. unfortunately this is where my tour journey ends, i am now sitting in the orlando international airport. no i did not get sent home, this is a planned early departure. one of my greatest friends is getting married on saturday and i am flying home for the rehearsal tomorrow. but the choir shall carry on without me. they will perform tonight in melbourne, then travel up to sanford, north carolina, to give the last performance of the tour tomorrow night before heading home saturday.

before i left i spoke to the senior class, hopefully purveying some words of wisdom. i presented them with the verse from Timothy, challenging them to live with RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, ENDURANCE and GENTLENESS as they travel on in life. i went on to tell them to really listen to the words to the last song we have always sung as our last song on tour, Not To Us/A Closing Prayer:

the time has come for us, to leave this loving place. GUIDE US and PROTECT US, and LEAD US in thy GRACE....wherever LIFE may take us, as we go our separate ways, help us share with others the things we learned today...and bring us back to this FELLOWSHIP, once again.

[note: i am horrible at remembering lyrics in this manner, they may not be 100% correct, but the main idea is there...]

the COMMUNITY of the choir still is very strong once we leave the program. there is no greater example of this then every dec 24, when we get together again. as soon as we step into the room together, it is just like every other sunday at 4pm, and all the memories come flooding back. we are then able to turn this community in to song, as our offering to GOD. it is a beautiful things and something that the class of '09 will remember for a long time to come.

South of the Border

tonight is a concert-free night. we spent all day traveling from virgina to georgia, on our way to tampa bay tomorrow. last night we put on another solid program for the folks of Old Bridge UMC in woodbridge, virgina. it was a nice church, and the people there were very welcoming. they had a beautiful sanctuary that was lit with mostly natural light. i tried to take some pictures of the sunset through the windows during the concert...but i failed epically. this morning before we left for georgia, we talked about the HOPE that we deliver to people. we are presenting a message that is needed more now then any other time in my lifetime. a message that even in these tough times, GOD is there for us, willing to LOVE, and willing to PROVIDE for us in our times of need.

today for lunch we stopped at the legendary tourist trap, south of the border. it was my first time there, and probably my last. not going to lie, it was the dirtiest place in the world...but at least now i can tell my grand kids many a year down the road, as we are traveling past the giant mexican hat on the side of the road, that yes i have indeed been there, and should visit too, on their own time...

Virginia

tour has gotten of to a great start. after a very energetic kick-off concert friday night, we left for fredricksburg, va on saturday morning. our first start stop was at New Season UMC, and church only three years old, and teeming with passion for the LORD. the congregation just moved into their own building for the first time two weeks ago. their new church building is a former funrinture store, which they have converted into a worship space. after only spending a day with them, you can tell that the congregation is just bursting with PASSION, itching to serve the GOD, and their community. my host family was telling me how once every six months, they have a "SERVICE SUNDAY", where they forgo their usual sunday morning service and go out into the community are serve those in need. instead of putting on a full concert last night, we were their sunday morning service this morning. we only did first first and third set, and in between took communion and celebrated our fathers. after the service they had a luncheon for us, and then we left for woodbridge, va. where i am righting from now. we just finished setting up the stage and are about to do a sound check, here are some pictures from fredricksburg.

Into

over the next couple of weeks, i will be traveling about 8000 miles spreading the LOVE and HOPE of GOD to people from all walks of LIFE. it occurred to me the other day that this summer is going to be a once in a lifetime experience and that i should document some how. this amazing journey starts this coming friday the 19th, when i leave with 38 youth from my youth group to go on tour with the youth choir. we will be traveling to virgina, north carolina, and florida presenting 7 concerts in 7 days to various churchs. after that, in july, i leave with 50 senior high youth and adults for mingo county, west virgina. there we will be taking part in the Appalachian Service Project, help repair the homes and souls of those who are in a much more difficult position then us. I will leave right from west virgina to san jose, costa rica. i will be leading several youth groups on tours of orphanages and medical clinics, while providing worship for nightly services. after two weeks in costa rica, i will return home to lead about 20 middle school youth in a mission trip in west chester, because while spreading the GOD'S LOVE around the world is necessary, people living just down the street need it just as much.

this summer i will be drawing on several verses to draw inspiration from.

Timothy 6:10-12
¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.¹¹But you, man of GOD, flee from all this, and pursue RIGHTOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, ENDURANCE and GENTLENESS. ¹²Fight the good fight of the FAITH. Take hold of the eternal LIFE to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

and

2 Thessalonians 3:10
¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

this is going to be an adventure and i invite you to take part in it with me through this blog, and sending a prayer or two my way. i will try and post about 4-5 times a week, depending on internet availability.