Well folks, here it is. Documentation of 18 amazing days I spent on ministry team tour. A lot of cool things happened, and God reminded me of his faithfulness. My first tour was a great experience, so without further ado...TOUR!
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006: Day 1
So today we began our journey with a few minor hiccups. First, was my realization that my suitcase was entirely too full, so I left a pile of clothes and other random things back at Prov. However, my suitcase is the still the largest out of anyone’s. What can I say? I like to be prepared. The next problem was that our vans weren't ready in time for us to leave on schedule, and then we discovered that our U-haul was a couple sizes smaller than we had ordered originally, but with some creative cramming, all of our stuff fit into the u-haul.The drive itself was pretty exciting. We passed through some amazingly beautiful areas of rock faces, thick pine trees, and sparkling lakes. I was quite impressed. Our driver/sound guy, Brad, who is from the Toronto area, takes a more aggressive approach to driving and passing than we simple country folk are used to..or at least than I am used to. We also discovered that our drive takes a lot longer with a trailer. So we ended up at our venue location a bit late. We did a rushed set-up, but everyone took the "team unity" talk we had to heart and pitched in. The program went super-well, and we dined a delicious meal of Mexican food, courtesy of church ladies. I love church ladies. Then came the best part of the day, in my opinion, I got to spend that night at my amazing friend Christina's house. It was like being back at Prov: Christina and Dave Goodman are two of the coolest people I know. And the only way it could get better....you guessed it, FONDUE! So, Me, the Goodman’s, and my tour-mates Barry and Brad all enjoyed fruit covered in melted chocolate. So if the first day of tour is any indication, this should be a wonderful adventure.
Quote of the Day: "Emily, you are a beast, and I mean that in the most feminine way possible."-Andrew Dyck
Wednesday, April 26th, 2006: Day 2
Today began with an early early morning (6:00 am) wake up call. And after a pancake and a cup of coffee, we were off to our first venue of the day. We were performing for the local Christian School, grades K-12. The show was very well received. Despite the fact that our lead singer, Kara, was sick in bed. But Kim and Barry lead in her absence. We also had a question and answer time about Prov for all the high school students. We relived some of our funny, challenging, and awkward moments of this past year at Prov. Then the school overloaded us with more food than we could really even handle. I have never seen so many Pringles in my life. I sadly said goodbye to my beloved Christina...I hate goodbyes. And now, as I write this, I am sitting in a van on our way to Thunder Bay, Ontario, where we will be performing yet again tonight.
Something cool that God has shown me thus far on tour is that even though it is my team that is coming to do ministry, we are being ministered to as well. By having people open their homes to us, prepare food, and listen to our ramblings about Prov and tour, I am really blessed. So I guess ministry really comes in all different forms, all for glorifying the same amazing God. God is good, tour is fun, and we have 16 days left.
Later that same day- It's about 11:16 at night. We have officially crossed into another time zone, for some reason that really excites me. We performed tonight for a small church called Faith Chapel in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was pleasantly surprised to see an old friend, Pam Reid, (she went to Prov last semester) at the church. I was even more surprised to find that I would be billeting at her house tonight. It was good to see her again and catch up. I'm staying with my tourmates Barry and Andrew tonight, just me and the guys. I try not to feel awkward about it, but it is somewhat uncomfortable. But then again, I've learned that God cares very little about whether I am comfortable or not. The show itself went well, and Kara seems to be feeling a bit better. God has been teaching me and providing for our team in really cool ways. Kara has been able to stay at a nurse's house for the last two nights. They have both been kind enough to care for her and change the dressing on her rather infected wound. This puts Kara (and consequently all of us) at ease knowing that it will be able to heal properly. Also, after chatting with Pam a bit tonight, she talked about what a blessing it was for us to come. Our theme for the night and the devotional was on unity, and Pam said that the Pastor had just started a sermon series on that very topic, so we, hopefully, we able to give a little extra encouragement to the congregation. Also, tonight, I was really encouraged personally. When Aslan's child began to play their first song of the night this little girl, maybe 4 or 5 year old, comes to the front of the room, and grabs a small ring with ribbons tied to it. And she proceeded to dance. She twirled and she spun in circles without a care in the world. I wish I could be that uninhibited before God. To not care who was looking, or who might think I look like an idiot. Faith like a child...hmmm...I'm still working on that one. Pam's Brother, Kevin, has graciously offered to treat me, Barry, and Andrew to Tim Horton's Coffee in the morning. I look forward to all that God has in store for tomorrow.
Quote of the Day: "Watch out for nude sleep-walkers."-Kent Thessien
Thursday, April 27th, 2006: Day 3
Today was an adventure! This was by far the most exciting and challenging day of tour. I arose around at 7:15, I was surprisingly well-rested. I went into the guys’ room to wake them up, only to discover that they both sleep in various stages of undress. Little Awkward. I took a shower in the nicest bathroom that I have even seen in my life. The bathroom was larger than 2 of the dorm rooms at Prov. It was wonderful. We then went to Tim Horton's and enjoyed a good morning cup of coffee. We then had a team meeting and a devotional time. It was really good to get refocused on what we were doing on this tour. God put it on my heart to remember that rather than praying for him to work, I need to remember that he is always working and I asked him to open my eyes.
Today's travels took us through some of the most beautiful country that I have ever seen. Mountains, including one called "The Sleeping Giant", were along the way. As a lovely parting gift from the last church, we received a Thunder Bay delicacy...Persians! They are these completely delicious Cinnamon rolls covered in cherry icing-available only in Thunder Bay. We then begin the roughly 5 hour drive to Wawa, Ontario. We made a stop about an hour in the drive for our wonderful Kara to puke on the side of the road, her illness is rough. About another hour later, Eric, the driver of the Astro Van, radioed us and said that the transmission was having some issues. We stopped at this little co-op to check things out, and that brought my personal sketchy bathroom count to 1...ish. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with the van, so we all gathered around it, laid hands on the Astro, now renamed 'Hope', and it got us through to Wawa. We made another stop about another hour later for Kara, who was once again feeling ill.
We then pulled into the tiny town of Wawa and set up for the show. We had another delicious dinner; I seriously think that I may gain 20 pounds on this trip. It was a rather small turn-out, about 20 people, but those who came were very enthusiastic. Prov Players were even asked to do another skit at the end, our first encore! I was then off to my billet for the night, I was staying with Nicole. We stayed with the Arnold family. They have 9 kids! All of whom are really great. Their oldest daughter at home, Jillian, is one of the coolest young women I have ever met. She writes, paints, models, rock climbs, fishes, and mountain bikes. And she was also one of the prettiest people I have ever met. I got the impression that she gets a bit lonely at times. So she showed me some of the photos she had taken from last summer and some of her writings. I thought it was really cool how she let me, a total stranger, read something that was so personal and private. She also gave up her bed for me and Nicole to sleep in. Nicole and I had a nice talk about relationship, guys, and where that all fits into life. Today was full and exciting, and I'm sure tomorrow will bring even more surprises.
Today's Totals: Number of Moose Sighted: 2
Number of Sketchy Bathrooms: 1
Number of Awkward Moments: 3
Number of stops for sickness: 2
Quote(s) of the Day: "This town is total sketch-bag" -Eric Postma "Duct tape fixes everything but a broken heart"-Barry Buhler
"Here moosey-moosey-moosey!" Andrew Dyck
Friday, April 28th, 2006: Day 4
Today was really a fabulous day. I woke up around 8:15, and ate a bowl of cereal with the lovely family I was billeting with. Everyone came and picked us up and we were off to our next destination-St. Josephs Island. Apparently, St. Joes Island is the second largest fresh water island in the world. The drive here today was INCREDIBLE. Just when I thought creation couldn't get anymore beautiful, today happens. Lake Superior, mountains, and pine trees for miles. The area up here is so unpolluted by...anything...it's really quite isolated from civilization. The drive was only about 3 hours and we arrived on the Island around 2:00. We are all spending the night at the Puddingstone Country Inn. It's an adorable bed and breakfast run by Phil and his wife Bonnie. And, much to my amusement, the phone number for the Inn is 1-800-PUDDINN. We all spent the afternoon here relaxing, enjoying the beautiful Lake Superior, and I took a much needed nap. We were treated to a great home cooked dinner and then we left for our show at the Pim Street Community Church. Phil is the pastor of the church. It was a really small turnout...maybe 15 people, but it went really well, and our skits got a lot of laughs. We came back to the Inn and they served us dessert. Today was a really great chance to relax and spend some down-time as a team. Even though it's only been four days, I feel very tired and drained. And Phil and Bonnie have totally babied us. They have gone the extra mile to make sure that we are comfortable. I really never thought of hospitality as much of a ministry before, but now I see how powerful of a ministry it is. I want my own home to be a place of peace and rest where people can come and just feel like somebody really cares about them. I think that is a pretty stellar way to show the love of God.
Quote(s) of the Day:
"If this van was a woman she would be single."-Andrew Dyck
"Let's just pray that the only thing that comes out of my mouth tonight is a song." -Kara Hamm (in reference to prayer for her illness)
Saturday, April 29th, 2006: Day 5
I arose this morning at a lovely 9:15...it's sad to me that 9:15 is sleeping in. The sunlight was streaming through the window, I opened my curtains, and there was Lake Superior, sparkling in all its beauty. I took a shower and then decided to go for a walk to the Lake. (It's only about 20 yards) When I was walking toward Lake Superior, all I could think of was "Seriously? I'm really here? I'm actually at a bed and breakfast on an Island in Lake Superior? I'm surrounded by some of the most beautiful creation I have ever seen and the God who created it all knows my name?" I sat on the pier for a while, and dangled my feet into the water, it was frigid, but I didn't care. I talked with God and marveled at his creation. It was one of the most peaceful moments that I can recall. I sadly returned inside for our team meeting and brunch courtesy of Phil and Bonnie. Andrew led our team devotion this morning and talked about perservence. He's been reading through Pilgrims Progress and he shared a section out of the book with us. He said something that I found incredibly interesting, God provides us with armor to stand against Satan and his attacks. The sword of truth, the shoes of peace, etc. However, something that I had never realized before is that there is no armor for our backs. The bible never talks about something to cover our backs, all the armor is on the front of the body. Which leads to only one possible conclusion, God didn't give us armor for our backs because we can only go forward. Christians are not to turn tail and run away, we only have one choice, to face it head-on. Very cool.
Brunch was amazing! Waffles, Potatoes, Oranges, Sausage! It was soooo delicious. After eating, we said a sad goodbye to Phil and Bonnie and thanked them for their hospitality. Awaiting us was a 7 hour drive to Bradford. Needless to say, it was a loooooong drive. I slept and listened to every CD I own at least once. The scenery was once again gorgeous. We also saw two wolves just standing along side of the road. We finally arrived at Bradford Baptist Church, a lovely church set on a hill, overlooking the Ontario farmland- complete with rolling hills. Everyone was super hyper and a bit on edge from being stuck in the vans all day. And tensions began to run a little high amongst the Prov. Players as we ran through one of our skits. A small argument ensued, which I stayed out of, I hate conflict as much as always. Finally, we sort of got things settled thanks to Joy, (our staff member who comes on tour to keep things running smoothly). But some people were still frustrated and had some hurt feelings. So the Prov Players had a little meeting, people vented, we discussed how to make decisions and prayed, so I think things will go a better now. I hope. I realized that if I'm going to be an RA next year, which I am, I need to work on my conflict resolution skills...without bursting into tears. As soon as our meeting ended our billets arrived to pick us up. I got to spend the night with Kim, whom I adore. We stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Walker, a younger couple with 2 little daughters. Their house is probably one of the most beautiful, and clean, homes that I have ever seen. It was really good evening of relaxing, eating candy and talking about canoe trips and geo-caching. The Walkers are an adventurous family. It felt really good to relax and just be able to laugh after a stressful evening.
Quote of the Day: "I just sat on the cat." -Mr. Walker
Sunday, April 30th, 2006: Day 6
Today was yet another early morning. I woke up at 6:30, took a shower, and Kim and I joined the Walker family for breakfast. They do breakfast fancy style, right down to the fresh berries floating in the juice. We arrived at the church and began to set up for the first of the two services that morning. Both of which went really well, the congregation was so warm and receptive to us. Then we had a quick lunch and drove about an hour and half to Whitby. We were performing at Hebron Church for their SNL (Sunday Night Live) program. The church was huge to accommodate the 300-400 youth that were expected. The program went so well, it was really exciting to see Aslan's Child perform with younger crowds. Then there is a lot more energy and a lot more volume. Nicole shared her testimony which was really cool to hear. After the program, my dearest Sarah McEachren picked me up. I thought I wasn't staying with her until tomorrow night, so I was a bit surprised. Sarah and her parents, both of whom are really cool people, drove me back to their house is Mississauga. The city lights of Toronto were amazing as we drove through. I never used to like cities, they always seemed so busy, and even though cities are full of people they always felt very impersonal to me. But now I am coming to see the unique beauty of a city: the lights, the diversity, the high rise building, and to be honest, I absolutely love it! Sarah and I sat up late catching up on each others lives since we'd last seen one another a week ago...and we updated one another on the last Prov gossip. It's amazing how even once school is out for summer break our lives are still so intertwined. I came to yet another odd realization, this tour I had been dreading in so many ways, and these people that I thought would drive me nuts at times are becoming like a weird sort of family. When I realized that I would be spending the whole day tomorrow with Sarah and not seeing the team, I felt a bit sad inside. So strange.
Quote of the Day: "Emily, You look like Garth Brooks."-Kent Thessien
Monday, May 1st, 2006: Day 7
Today was wonderful! I actually slept in until 10:15 this morning. Then Sarah and I went into her kitchen where she made me some of her famous chocolate chip pancakes for brunch. Then we got all prettied up and went....drum roll please...SHOPPING! She took me to the Square One Mall; I have never been in a mall that huge before. However, Sarah being the city girl in every sense of the word knew exactly what she was doing. We hit all great stores, including Old Navy, I bought 4, count 'em 4 pairs of flip-flops for 16 dollars. I love shopping. Then she took me to this adorable little shop in Toronto called "Magenta". It was tempting to buy this little tea set there, but I'm not sure how much my team out appreciate me trying to fit a tea set into our already overstuffed van. We drove back to Sarah's house and I was once again falling in love with the unique beauty of the city. Her dad grilled us dinner and made this incredible Greek salad. After dinner, it was time to for another brand new and exciting experience for me: Ikea! Sarah, her mom, and I spent 2 full hours ooing and ahhing over dressers, place settings, and pillow shams. It was so much fun; I think I should get a hope chest to fill with Ikea merchandise. After we left Ikea, they took me to see the Toronto skyline all lit up, it was so beautiful. High rise buildings poured out light, the sky dome glowed an eerie blue light, and then there was the black oblivion off to the left that is Lake Ontario. I was yet again amazed by the beauty of the city. I never used to like traveling much; I was pretty content with my simple existence in Roseau. But this tour has really shown me that there is so much more to my world than my little bubble. There are so many new and exciting places in this world to see, and quite frankly, I want to see them all. New cultures to experience, new parts of creation to marvel at, new...everything. There is a world out there in need of a savior, and I want to help to bring it to them.
Quote of the Day: "Mom, I know you were a flower child and everything, but please, that mug is ugly."-Sarah McEachern
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006: Day 8
Today was an early morning, I woke up at 5:30, then Sarah and I took her dad to his job, he works at TV studio in Toronto. He ordered us both a black coffee at Tim Horton's and then Sarah and I were off to Saint Catherines for a show at the Eden Christian High School. The school itself was pretty unique in that the bottom floor of the school was a public high school, and the top floor was a Christian High School. As we were setting up, a surprise guest arrived, Matt Shantz, a friend from Prov who lives in St. Catherines came to see the show. The show itself went really well, there were about 500 students in attendance; I had the chance to give my testimony. I was pretty nervous about giving it, but I think it went well. Hopefully, it impacted some people's heart. I wish sometimes that I could see the fruits of the ministry more quickly, but God doesn't always work on my time table. After the show, we went to...NIAGARA FALLS! It was so incredibly beautiful, we walked along the path, at marveled at the amazing creation. The sound was so cool. I could actually feel the spray of the water. The area is also populated with very...um...friendly seagulls. So I have seen my first of the 7 World Wonders. 1 down...6 to go. Then we all went back to Matt Shantz's house to hang out, relax, and catch up on some sleep. It was really surreal for some reason, sitting in Matt's House, checking my e-mail. I never expected my Prov Life and my other life to collide quite like that. Sadly, we had to leave the comfort of Matt's home and return to life on the road. We had a show at another little church. The congregation was really receptive to us. We also met a few really cool people our age, Zach, Kelsey, and Tory. I've kind of forgotten what it's like to talk to people who aren't over the age of 30. Ha. I stayed with Nicole and Kim at our billet. Mr. Devires was employed as a chainsaw wood carver. He only had 8 fingers, I noticed. Occupational Hazard.
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006: Day 9Early Mornings. I hate early mornings. I awoke for the second morning in a row at 5:30 am. We ate breakfast and drove the 15 minutes through the lovely countryside back to the church and we drove off to a Christian School about 2 hours away. When we arrived at the school the principal informed us that the student body was a little bit on edge this morning because the night before a girl in the school had been in a major car accident and was in the hospital in critical condition. It was pretty obvious that God had a known in advance that we needed to be there that morning. We led worship, did some skits, and then Andrew shared about his experience with Jamie and Jordan's death. He did a really amazing job, and God worked through him. Andrew told us later that a guy had approached him afterward to talk about a friend he had lost. Andrew talked and prayed with him and shared with him a bit about perseverance, his favorite topic. The guy, whose name was Mittu, told Andrew that he was really struggling because he didn't have a very good support system for his faith; his parents were both devout Muslims. That was really hard to hear, I felt so spoiled. We left the school knowing that God really had wanted us to be for him to work in that school. Then we went to Joy's parents’ house to spend a few hours resting before our show that night. I met the youngest Lise, Justina, who reminded me so much of Juanita. We lead a youth night for Justina's youth group, that went very well and we were very well received. Barry gave his testimony and he talked about some of the really exciting places that God is taking him, so much more than he ever imagined. He and I talked a bit afterward about following God's leading and waiting in anticipating for what he will do. And that got me thinking, when was the last time that I waited with excitement for what God is going to do? When was the last time I was eager for that? These past couple months have been so hard that I have a hard time waking up and not thinking, Gee, I wonder what kind of crisis will happen today? Food for thought.
Thursday, May 4th, 2006: Day 10
Yet another early morning. 5:30 a.m. again. I stayed at the Lise house with Kara, Kim, and Joy. Her mother made us a lovely breakfast and we were off to another early show at a Christian High School. Everything went well, despite our rather late arrival. We spent some time talking with and hang out with the students before leaving for Boston. Boston, Ontario that is. We had a show at the Baptist church there that evening. The church building itself was amazing. Very old, all brick, and the most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen. The pastor told us that windows were put in during the 1840's...Wow. Brad led us in team devotions and he talked about all the amazing things that God has done on this tour and how he had protected us. The service that evening was really good, but I just felt really drained. I felt weak and dry physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I really wanted to worship God with all I had, but I felt like I had nothing left to offer him. I felt a bit guilty too because I am on this tour to do ministry and offer my gifts and love to other people, but that's very hard to do when I feel so dry. I prayed for God to refresh me and restore my passion. I was billeted with Nicole that night. We stayed with a really sweet couple. The husband owned 3 mini-coopers that were his pride and joy. I had a whole room to myself, which was a nice break. As I turned the lights out, I discovered that the ceiling of my room was covered in glow in the dark stars. Stars are one of my favorite things and seeing them always turns my thoughts God-ward. I found the cheesy pieces of plastic strangely encouraging. I felt like God was saying, I know you're tired and feeling drained. But I'm still here; I'll give you strength and joy. Look at Me.
Friday, May 5th, 2006: Day 11
Early morning again. Awake at 5:30 again. However, I couldn't help but be excited because tonight I got to see my dearest friend, Bethany Lambshead, I was really excited all day to see her again. It had been 2 weeks since we had last seen each other and I missed her terribly. We made the hour-long drive to London for a performance at yet another Christian High School. It went really well, but the whole team was feeling drained from the intense schedule this week. Then we drove to Byron Community Church in London, it's Jeremy, a team member's home church. We set up and then had a picnic in the park. Aren't we such a cute little family? We spent some time at Jeremy's house before heading to the church for the show. I walked up the stairs and was bear hugged by MY BETHANY LAMBSHEAD! It felt sooooo good to see her again. True friend are hard to come by and Bethany is the truest of the true. The show went really well and Brad, our sound guy shared his testimony. He was very open about what has happened in his life. I found it really encouraging, because of something that had been on my heart the past few days. So many Christians, myself included, wear a mask. We are told to pretend that everything is okay, and that we don't question the ways of God. But if the world can't see our humanity, how can the see the divinity of God within us? After the show, I went home with Bethany and her family to stay the night in Ingersoll, Ontario. After a quick stop at Wendy's for some comfort food...mmm...fries in frosty, me and Bethany stayed up late eating peanut butter cookies and watching The Chronicles of Narnia. (Which, by the way, is sooo good!) I think we fell asleep sometime around 4:00am *giggle*
Saturday, May 6th, 2006: Day 12
Today was a rather amazing day, in my opinion anyway. My body crashed today and I slept in until 11:00. Bethany and her folks returned me to London to meet the rest of the team and we said a most sad goodbye. I hate goodbyes. I lead team devotions today; the theme in our little devotional-travelly-booklet-things was discouragement. I thought that was rather ironic, considering that is the area that God has really been teaching me in and through. I think it went well. Then it was off to another city, Chatham, Ontario for a show at St. Paul’s Congregational Church. We were performing for their youth group. The youth pastor was a man named Chris Quiring, his younger brother, Mike, is a student at Prov. I had to keep reminding myself all evening that I wasn't talking to Mike...weird. I was asked to share my testimony at the meeting, of course, I said I would. But something in my heart didn't feel right, the testimony that I had written out and prepared didn't feel right, was this just nerves or something more? We had team prayer time and they prayed for me and my testimony. One of the girls in the group prayed this "God, give Emily your words to say, even if that means her testimony is drastically altered." It was then that I knew God wanted me to share something else, something that I really didn't want to share. But I told Joy, our team advisor that I was going to share something different than I had planned. But as the program began, I got more and more nervous, was this really from God? I voiced my fears to Joy and she prayed with me and I knew that I had to share this. So I did. It was really hard thing to do, and I'm pretty sure my voice was really shaking, but I did it. After the program, a lot of people thanked me for being so open and honest about my life. One young woman came up to me and shared that she had been ministering to 15 year old girl who was going through the same thing as I was, and she had gotten a call from this girl's mother saying that she had committed suicide. Wow, that was really really hard to hear. This girl felt so alone in her situation that she ended her life. I'm not sure why God had me share what I did tonight, but if any of you think of it, pray for this girl and her family. After the show, I was feeling really drained, spiritually and emotionally. Joella and I left with our billet, Kathy. To our great joy, when Kathy pulled into her driveway, we discovered that Kathy lived in and owned a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. The house was incredible. Joella and I shared a room with a king-size bed, complete with down comforter, and our own bathroom with a Jacuzzi bathtub. Wow. And Kathy shared with us the incredible story of how God dropped this business into her lap. I love that we serve a God who cares about the littlest details in our lives. I feel asleep feeling very loved by the most High.
Sunday, May 7th, 2006: Day 13
Joella and I were greeted this morning by and incredible breakfast of fresh fruit and waffles with whipped cream. We were spoiled, and the team was really jealous when they picked us up for church. We went to a lovely little church to lead their morning service. I have never met a more welcoming and generous congregation than Wheatley.
Barry led the team in a morning devotional on encouragement. I could tell that it really lifted everyone's, including my own, spirits. After the service, we ate the most amazing church potluck I have ever had. Homemade pecan pie..mmm. After lunch, Kim and I departed for our billets. Dave and Sue, and their 2 kids Tyler and Tabitha. They are a really close knit family. They took us on a little sight-seeing tour of the area. Including a drive past the Heinz Ketchup Factory...eeeewwww. They also took us to The Pelee Point National Park. It was a fun trip, complete with souvenir maps. It was like being on a weird family vacation...with people I met 3 hours prior. Kim and I walked to the point...the southern most point in all of Canada that is. We also stood on the 42 parallel, the same parallel as Rome and Barcelona, and we have pictures to prove it. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with the family and we turned in early. My bedtime is now 10:00...wow, I feel old and gray.
Monday, May 8th, 2006: Day 14
I woke up today with a certain excitement in me. I was going into the states! More specifically, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. I hadn't been into the states since sometime in March- I was excited. After one last stop at our beloved Tim Horton's for ice capps. and to toss out the contraband fruit before the Detroit crossing. We crossed the border with a bit of trouble; we had to stand around for a half an hour while they checked out our IDs. We then proceeded to drive roughly 8 hours through the rather gridlocked freeways surrounding Chicago. However, we had fun in spite of the brutal drive. Brad and I looked at the yearbook and talked about whom was fun, sketchy, and relived some memories. We also watched Gone in 60 Seconds, I love that movie. By the time we got to Judson College, just outside of Chicago, we were all tired and hungry. So we went to Giadonio's for some authentic Chicago style deep dish pizza. It was incredible; I ate one piece and was full. I roomed with Kara...whom I have really come to adore.
Quote of the day: "C'mon Emily, You're an American, work your magic" -Kara, at the border crossing
Tuesday, May 9th, 2006: Day 15
This morning started off great-STARBUCKS! After a wonderful blackberry green tea drink, we began another excruciatingly long drive to Colombia Heights, Minnesota...my home state. We pulled into a restaurant for dinner around 8:30 that night and that's when our beloved Astro, Hope, began to spew smoke from under the hood. After a few moment of panicking, all the guys sticking their head under the hood and muttering "well, it looks like the (insert name of car part here) is all (insert random car problem here)", we had dinner and called the church to inform them of our misfortune. They sent over a mechanic from the church, every church should have a mechanic, he assured us that is was nothing too serious and we went to the church, and then to our billets. Kim and I stayed in a charming little camper-trailer in the front yard of our billets home. It was kind of like having our own apartment- we nicknamed our humble little abode "The Mallard Inn" We watched a bit of the local news, laughed at the cheesy little local commercials, and fell asleep.
Quote of the Day: "Welcome to Wisconsin, land of dairy farms and Laura Harsdorf."-Barry
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006: Day 16
I'm really not sure what happened to cause everyone to be in a rather crabby mood this morning, but we all seemed to be a bit tense for some reason. To make matters worse, our dearest hope wasn't feeling so well, so Joy and Eric took her to the car doctor. But we all know the cure for stress and crabbiness-SHOPPING. The team spent a few hours in the Mall of America, wandering and shopping. Then we returned to the church for a little down time. I found a couch and took a nap. We ate a banquet with the confirmation students and then lead the service. It went really well. And people actually cheered when I said I was from Roseau...no more boos from large Canadian crowds. Kim and I returned home early and fell asleep early again.
Quote of the Day: "Barry is one of the seven deadly sins."-Eric
Thursday, May 11th, 2006: Day 17
Almost there! We're all really ready for home. The anticipation is killing us all. But we also prayed this morning that God would give us joy and enthusiasm for tonight-our last show together. It was about a 6 hour drive from the Twin Cities to Cooperstown, North Dakota. We arrived at the church, which used to be the community school, but is now being converted to a rather incredible church. We set up and then ate a massive pizza buffet--The Tour 26 Pounds is close at hand. We had our last official team meeting. It was actually really sad. I realized that these people that I had spent every waking minute with for the last 17 days, laughing and ministering with, I realized that I would have to say goodbye to them tomorrow. We prayed and prepared for our last event. The Pastor said that although it is an older congregation, things needed to be shaken up a bit...don't hold, play it loud. Us? Hold Back? Never. We gave, in my opinion, one of our best programs so far. They even asked Aslan's Child for an encore. After the dismissal, we all gathered on the stage and thanked God for 17 amazing days. This tour had the fingerprints of God all over it. Nicole, Reid, Joella, and I went to our last billet. And tomorrow...HOME!
Quote of the Day: Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Jesus.
Jesus who?
Jesus wants to save you.
-Reid
Friday, May 12th, 2006: Day 18
Everyone was in a great mood this morning. We were going home. The mood in the van was light, we laughed about all the crazy, awkward, and sketchy situations that had happened. Barry drove the van a bit crazy...we all wanted to get home fast. We crossed the border hassle free and stopped in tiny St. Joseph, Manitoba for a pit stop and a prayer time. We offered our summers up to God, as well as all the people we met on tour, and thanked him for his provision and for sustaining us. As soon as the bell tower of Providence was visible, I was filled with joy. As the school grew closer and closer I was reminded of God's faithfulness. He's always guiding us...he guided us all of tour...and guided us home again. We unpacked the vans, and said goodbye to one another. My first tour was amazing...and I have a feeling that this won't be my last.
Quote of the Day: "For all of you who have never been on tour before, just remember that when you get home, nobody cares."-Joy
