Home Concert Pics are up!

Hey, we got the home concert pics (about 70 of them) up on the flickr site! Enjoy!

For those of you who have been reading the blog, thanks for journeying with us. Your prayers and thoughts kept us going!

We're back! Concert at 7 pm!

Hey! We're back from a great tour to the gulf coast! Our last concert is TONIGHT at 7 pm in the sanctuary. Join us as we sing and share from our time together!

Pics updated

Hey! I just updated the pics so make sure to check them out! The pictures on this site are different and much higher quality than most the pics I've been posting.

Mobile posting pics from my cell phone was really convenient. It just didn't provide the best quality. See more of what we did at the flickr site.

Thoughts from Tyler

Were in Texas right now and we received an awesome message from Clay Walker. Tomorrow we are going to six flags and i am really excited. It is kinda depressing that WE are going home. The tour was amazing.

Lufkin and Clay Walker

we are in lufkin tonight. after a hearty dinner at Ray's, youth pastor Clay Walker shared with us from Acts 17 and challenged us to live a life that helps people "beg the question."

thoughts from Kaylee

So we're in Lufkin, Texas right about now and all of us just finished listening to Clay Walker (not the country singer.) It was really interesting and a lot of the stuff he said made me think.
Ken had all of the students rate there top 10 moments of the tour and now I want to go and change mine to make Clay's talk up there. So, yeah, I'm pretty glad I got to listen to him.

what students revert to when bored...

...in the van. they gnaw on their toes.

ladies and gentlemen, the flexible talents of junior emily C.

more Katrina devestation

there is so much to see. huge apartment complexes and neighborhoods absolutely wiped out and abandoned. roofs covered in plants. I can't believe it's almost been two years and there is still so much undone.

jr. high schools DO exist

ah, living proof that jr.high schools do exist. of course here in new orleans they exist inside the piggly wiggly and thier prom pics are ready...mid june...

lunch in new orleans

we took a side trip on our way to lufkin, tx. we've just toured a bunch of devestation. amazing. sad.

more brain suckers

as promised...

post concert festivities

a few brave souls took part in a pascagoula tradition after the concert: eating crawfish from Bozo's. 1 million points go to todd for sucking the brains out of one poor craw. i'll try to get a pic of it...

it has begun!

one youth group ate and ran. 75+ not including us are enjoying the concert. all together we served over 100 meals for others tonight. so sweet.

the crowd is getting thicker...

what a cool opportunity! the gracious ministry that provides meals for all the relief crew workers takes sunday nights off. so most of our crowd is made up of youth groups.

however, there are people that are here because they are received a flier from one of our students yesterday. those people along with friends we've made during this week make tonight special.

and we all miss dr. gardner who has been texting us all day, along with praying. wish you were here!

here is rick, ron, and Kim! rick has been our laison(sp) down here. ron and Kim opened thier home and thier lives to us. this couple lives across the street and came because Cassia invited them yesterday.

setting up for the big cookout outreach

we are just a few hours away from the big cookout. all the supplies are in hand. the huge grill is in place. it is going to rock!

more at eastlawn

eastlawn umc

preparing to sing at eastlawn umc

saturday night

after a day of working and rehearsing, we are finally getting some down time eating pizza and swimming with josh's friends with Ron and Kim.

saturday!

for those of you playing at home, today we have split into 2 groups.

one team is working on fixing two houses. the other team is out passing fliers for our BBQ tomorrow evening.

after lunch the free will be rehearsing while a few of the adults will head back to work more on the houses.

tonight we will dine food of the italians while swimming at a couple who is close friends with josh.

fun with sheetrock

wow. an afternoon filled with moving 12 foot pieces of sheetrock. the free even had ANOTHER concert for the day care of the church that is graciously hosting our group.

unfortunately we don't have footage of that concert or of Dr.Gardner as he carried sheetrock through the house we're working on.

God is good, all of the time...

what a sweet bunch of kids! they all joined in with "God is good, all of the time." it was so cute and powerful to know that for those who were in the storm, they have that song imprinted on their hearts.

construction!

it's hard to be here and not make a physical presence in the rebuilding effort. it is hot. it is humid. it is sweaty. and it is good!

day one, pascagoula

we are singing at a day care this morning.

just a few pics from thursday

an absolute moment of joy for one of the residents of the nursing care.

we were able to enjoy a beach bonfire for the volunteers, play volleyball, and feel the water and sand between our toes.

Happy Birthday, Kaylee and Cassia

we took some time last night to celebrate Kaylee's 17th b-day and Cassia's that was last Saturday.

Pascagoula Nursing Home

what a delight to sing for many of those who lost their homes and/or family in Katrina as well as those who were recouperating after surgery.

the free sounded great and their care for the elderly was beautiful.

maybe some more pics later.

welcome to pascagoula!

hey! we're here. it's hot. and we're exhausted.

Graceland

Wednesday: Memphis

packed day. limited connectivity. enjoy.

Guest Blogger: Andrew L.

I'm having a blast. I'm disconnected, somewhat tired, and have totally lost all concept of the passing of time, but it's some of the best stuff that's happened for a long time.

The first full day brought a ropes course and an opportunity to do things we originally thought to be impossible. We were there to encourage and comfort each other, setting a precedence for the rest of a tour. Hey mom- I jumped off a telephone pole.

Last night was fairly intense. The opening concert went tremendously well, and I did another thing just outside of my bubble: I practically killed myself playing soccer with the kids at Cookson Hills.

Figuring out the logistics of setting up the sound system, assigning tasks, and making sure that everything was working took a lot out of me. I got to thinking farther ahead and faster than I should have and started to snap at everyone. I had to take a break from what I was doing to think about it. I realized that I couldn't have complete control over everything. If I tried, I would freak out, and if I managed to hold myself together long enough, things would have major problems.

And then, those kids made me think about the tendency I have to make decisions about people and situations before I have the chance to experience them. We think of poverty as a distant problem, as something that affects someone else. And we're right on one thing- it does affect someone else. A lot of someone elses. And those someone elses have the same hopes and dreams that I have.

I'm learning, even if it's actually only helping me put words to it, that I can't control my situations and expect things to work out peachily. I've got to try new things, learn new things, experience new things, and meet new people, and hope and trust that God has a purpose in it.

Because when He's in control, the smoke still leaks out of equipment every once in a while. But there's always a way to recover and be all the stronger through it.

Guest Blogger: Kaylee D.

So tour is great this year. I'd like to say that it's the best, but I don't belive that would be quite fair because tour is just different.

I love what we've done so far and I cannot wait to get down to Mississippi and find out what we're going to do down there.

Also, having such a small group of students, I believe, helps our ministry a great deal.

I've had a wonderful time with everyone, and the experiences I've had are amazing.

Guest Blogger: Micah W.

this has been a great trip. I

have learnt more about God and that God can help me get through my fears .and that perfect love cast out all fears.

Guest Blogger: Cassia W.

The first day I was very unsure of how the trip was going to turn out. I have had so much fun and I have grown in my walk with God. I was stretched at the Rope Course, mentally and physically and I have grown closer to God and my friends to a point where I can trust my friends about everything, to talk about my feelings.
I have talked about things that I wouldn't say to my friends back at home.
The people that we have met on this trip are INCREDIBLE!! They treat me with love and kindness like I have known them forever!

Guest Blogger: Kyle R.

Before this trip began, I did not know what to expect. This is my first Free Tour and it has been absolutely amazing. It has far exceeded my expectations. I was hoping to have fun, experience the prescence of the God and experience how good it feels to minister to people and touch their hearts. All of those things have happened to me so far. We spent our first full day together at the ropes course and it was a blast. I was so pumped for it and it did not dissapoint. Not only was it fun but it taught all of us a valuable lesson that we need each other to encourage us when we need it to help us get through tough obstacles. It also showed all of us first hand the power of Christ. When some students and adults were scared and wanted to quit, Dr. Mike told us two powerful scriptures. One was that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and the other was that perfect love casts out all fears. By the end of the day, we all enjoyed a spirit-filled fun day.
Then we went to Cookson Hills. That place was absolutely incredible. To worship to the people there and learn about their stories and to play softball was a blast. While we were ministering to the people at Cookson Hills through our singing and drama, I felt the prescence of the holy spirit. Watching the drama gave me goosebumps and so did the singing. To see smiles on people's faces and to see them worship with us while we were singing made feel so good inside. I left that place filled with so much joy and I know that I will feel that same joy throughout the rest of the trip.
After Cookson Hills, we began traveling to Memphis, Tennessee. The van ride was pretty entertaining and relaxing and it is not that boring. I had never been in a car this far to the east of the United States, so I had never seen the Mississippi River before until today. It was cool and seeing a city like Memphis is cool too. Memphis gave us a place to stay but we also came here for another reason. To minister to people in an older person nursing home. That was really amazing also because there were people worshipping with us and everyone enjoyed having us sing for them and they were very thankful. After that, we dropped our belongings off at the church that we are staying at and headed for downtown Memphis to enjoy a delicious barbeque at Rendezvous. The ribs were messy but filled my stomach pretty well.
And now I sit here at the Starbucks Cafe in a bookstore typing this blog as I look forward to the rest of the tour with my newly groomed eyebrows done by Emily and Kaylee.

Guest Blogger: Tyler R.

The trip so far has been worth every penny, laugh, stumble and van ride. I found that going to places to share the gospel besides your town is amazing. The true realization for me came at Cookson Hills when we presented a concert for the kids there. I loved seeing them worship and sing along. Also, I believe the drama was powerfull and it was proved on every face in the audience. These kids seemed as though one of their deepest prayers were answered when the drama conveyed a message of mask removal. There have been some kinks to work through on the bus rides as we are all tired and cranky. Overall the trip has been fun, faith growing and friendmaking. I love singing and worshiping and I am very grateful that I get to do just that for people that need and appreciate that.

Guest Blogger: Sara W.

This trip has been a new experience for me, because on my last "TOURS" we have not truly done anything that this is as interacting tour to the point where we are actually doing something instead of just sitting in the vans almost all day long.
On this trip I feel that I have grown closer with God, because before "TOUR" I always knew that each year was going to be the same as the last year...sitting on a village tour bus and not learning anything about god. But this tour is the greatest tour ever!!!

Guest Blogger: Emily C.

Alrighty, so far tour has been a mixture of amazingness and confusion. The confusion is coming from my OCD, and not knowing what we are doing at every minute of the day. However the exictement part is greatly outweighing this minor issue of my over obsesseve need to know what is going on. Our first day was strange, trying to get comfey and settled in the vans and with each other, but it was all pretty great after we took and nap and got on the road. Monday was tough but really great for our unity and for the togetherness of our group. We went to the rope course and everyone's ego took a minor hit when we realized it wasn't nearly as easy as we all thought it was. Some people came over leaps and bounds in the way of facing their fears and others triumphed by doing something that they perceived as impossible. The encouragment being displayed was the main thing that got people through and did tons for the psyche of those who were having a particularly tough time. We were all pretty gross and tired and gosh darn stanky, yes stanky, afterwards but then we headed to Eskimo Joe's and had a good ole time chillin out in the frigid, temp wise, atmoshere. Then we went back to the, as Levi referred to it, The Sleeping Bag Church, and all went wacky from lack of sleep and exhaustion, but then hit the sack in prospects of an unearly next morning. yesterday we made our way to Cookson Hills, which is an entire blog in and of itself. All i can say was that it was AMAZING, and although initially confusinf, it was an amazing, uplifting, and altogether great experience. Today we were up bright and early, 6:30, and hit the road for Memphis where we arrived to perform at a charming old folks home, and then head to our church stay for the night. We just got done eating some very interestinf BBQ at a highly recommended joint, and then drove around observing the local culture, and another United Methodist Church van driving down a street. Well, it has been fantaulous in a word so far, and I can only expect the next 7 days to be just as great. TTYL. CIAO BELLA!

Memphis BBQ

so where is the best barbecue in Memphis located? Downtown. In an alley. Underground.

and it's packed!