Today was Hat Day!
Kids were showing up at the First Baptist Church this morning wearing all kinds
of hats- baseball hats, shark hats, beach hats. But Reid Taylor was in a panic.
He couldn’t find his fedora hat. He searched the bus, the church and his host
home but no one could find it. After a brainstorming process that helped him
retrace his steps, he remembered setting it down at Tryon Palace yesterday.
Beth promptly called the Palace, which was not open to the public yet. They
kindly unlocked the doors and let Reid search the grounds and he found it!
You’ve never seen such a happy smile as he ran back to the bus wearing his hat
and being welcomed with hearty applause from the entire bus! This is just one
example of how friendly and welcoming the people of North Carolina have been to
us. Another example was when a church member handed Tom a bag of goodies before
we left. It was filled with homemade sweet potato/ham biscuits! Zach Callis
volunteered to try the first one and let us know how it tasted. (Remember how
we learned yesterday that he is brutally honest?) He gave his approval with a positive
critique of having a cinnamon and a slightly sweet flavor. That was good enough
for us!
We left the church
with many praises ringing in our ears. My hostess told me that she had seen
many youth choirs over her 85 years of life but that ours was the best she had
ever heard. She also said that she really loved how the kids were smiling and seemed
to be enjoying themselves as they sang. (We’ve been talking to them about
smiling and not looking like they are emitionless. I guess it worked!) High
praise indeed!
Back on the bus we
resumed our daily traditions. The Greeters for the morning were Austin Mollard
and Rachel Burns. I had never met Rachel before so I was happy that I was able to
meet her. This is the whole purpose of having Greeters. It gives us a chance to
meet everyone on the bus and know their names. Such a clever tradition!
The breakfast reports
were quite interesting and varied. Scott and David Hembrough had a hearty
“Hungry Farmer” breakfast from the Baker’s Kitchen restaurant. Julia Bratburd
and Madison Bowe had homemade quiche with blackberries and grits. Jack
Hembrough and Jordan Anderson went to Bojangles and had chicken tenders and
sausage biscuits. However, the breakfast winners went to the Baldridge family
and Steve Kalnoske, who were placed in a Bed and Breakfast for the evening.
They had a menu with over 20 items to choose from! Some of their breakfast
items included Shrimp and Grits with homemade cornbread, Eggplant Frittata and
Stuffed French Toast with caramelized apples and crème brulee. I’m getting
hungry just writing this!
We had two great fork
stories today. Keely Bautista told a story of how there was a creepy clown doll
sitting on the mantle of her host home staring down on her bed. Then she saw a
framed photo of a man holding a baby who looked just like Tom Baldridge! Tom
joked that he had a twin brother who lived in New Bern and how it must have
been him. The fork prize of the day
however went to Jonathan Works with Bryce Taylor and Quil Kibak, who told a
story about a water bug in the house and a baby bat crawling on the floor. (I
saw the photo that they took of the bat. It did NOT look like a baby!) After Jonathan freaked out about the
water bug, Quil and Bryce continued to prank him all evening by saying they saw
more water bugs. The story was hilarious. Their prize fork appropriately had
bugs on it also.
Zach Callis, who also
happens to be a lifeguard (like our tall friend Thomas Hulcher), gave us tips
for the day on applying sunscreen (30 minutes before you go into the water) and
signs of heat exhaustion (dry tongue, clammy skin, dizziness, etc.) Mama Bowe
told the kids that she would be standing guard at the door of the bus and that
she would not let anyone off who hadn’t applied sunscreen or had a completely
filled water bottle in their hands. They know that she means it too. Don’t mess
with Mama Bowe!
We knew we were
nearing Atlantic Beach when we crossed the bridge over the InterCoastal
Waterway that connects Morehead City with the ocean. It was a beautiful sunny
day with warm breezes and equally warm water. We headed for a section of the
beach that had a lifeguard protected swim area. Between four life guards, 2 CWS
lifeguards, a patrolling helicopter, nearby boats, 5 adults standing guard and
even a family of porpoises patrolling the outer perimeter, I felt the group was
very well watched over. Most of the kids spent their time jumping over the
gentle crashing waves or playing Frisbee in the water. Others collected shells
and made sand decorations. The ones who tired of swimming came up to the beach
and played soccer or softball. It was a perfect morning.
While everyone was
playing in the water, Beth Taylor and Jonathan Colburn were nice enough to
drive to the grocery store to pick up lunch food. At 12:30, the kids walked
down to the covered pavilions where a lunch spread was waiting for them to make
their own sandwiches: ham and turkey, slices of cheese, lettuce, pickles,
chips, grapes and leftover birthday cake for dessert. The kids had to sing for
their food though. Another opportunity had arisen for a “WitnesSING.” In the
pavilion next to ours were a group of men from the “Holy Mackerel Fishing Club”
associated with the local Catholic Church. They were having a fishing contest
that day. Beth had made friends with them while she was setting up the food and
they said they would love to hear our kids sing. So right there around the
pavilion, our entire group sang (appropriately)“Witness.” Before the men had
even finished clapping, the kids were diving into the food!
The last stop before
our evening concert was at Fort Macon. During the 18th and 19th
centuries, the danger of naval attack along the North Carolina coast was
constant. Fort Macon was built as a defense after the War of 1812 and was
completed in 1834. It is built partially underground but visitors can also walk
on the top grassy area for a beautiful 360 degree view of the water and
surrounding vistas. The fort was used during the civil war, where 400 union
soldiers were housed, and also during World War II, where a small group of
soldiers set up anti-aircraft weapons on the beach to protect themselves from a
possible German invasion. It is a massive fort with 5 sides and is made of
brick and stone. Inside are 26 rooms called casements that are enclosed by
outer walls that are about 4 feet thick. Visitors can view a re-creation of the
living conditions of a typical soldier during both of those wars. Most of our
youth were too hot and tired after their morning at the beach to do much
exploration of the fort, but they were summoned by Polly via text message to
meet her inside. They had another “WitnesSING”
opportunity in one of the underground casements to sing “Ain’t Got Time To
Die.” Visitors flocked to the room to listen to our kids sing. Our theme, “I’ll
be a Witness” is ringing true on this trip!
We arrived at the First United Methodist Church
in Morehead City in time to cool off, rehearse and head to dinner. The
wonderful members of the church had prepared fried chicken, baked beans, potato
salad, hush puppies and iced tea for our dinner. The worship space in the
church is small but beautiful, with a lovely large stained glass window above
the altar of the sanctuary and plush red carpeting throughout the space that
contrasted perfectly with the clean white walls. I noticed that some of the
sunburned faces of our youth were almost as red as the carpeting. The kids were
exhausted from their day at the beach but they were real troopers and gave it
their best effort. Polly dedicated the song “One Faith, One Hope, One Lord” to
the people of Charleston who just experienced a tragedy yesterday. She
beautifully expressed the hope that one day we can all unite in the same love
that is spoken of in the song. It was very moving.
When it came time for Steve Kalnoske to do his
hymn improvisation, he jokingly thanked the person who had decided to place the
organ and piano on the opposite side of chancel from each other for all of the
exercise he was getting. That brought a nice chuckle from the audience but then
they were brought to an awed appreciation of his amazing talent as he wowed
them with his improv.
The Latin translation
of our ending song “Omnia Sol” had a double meaning for us after spending the
day basking in the sun at the beach. I hope it is as meaningful to you:
The sun warms
everything
Even while I am far
away
Love me faithfully
And know that I am
faithful.
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