DAY 5 – WE’RE STILL ALIVE!

This morning we were able to sleep in a little later, since our meeting time back at the church was 9:00 a.m. Paul and Jonathan Works were busy loading the luggage onto the bus. A group of boys were playing basketball in the gym. Thomas Hulcher was helping fill the coolers with ice and water. Ben Con was overseeing the instruments being loaded in the van. Have I mentioned the Terp van? Every year when we go on choir tour, the Tregoning family is nice enough to loan us their van to shadow the bus. We have used it over the years for emergency trips to the doctor, grocery store stops, CVS supplies and other various uses. We are so grateful to them for their generosity in lending us their van evey year. It is a bright  red color with a University of MD terrapin painted on it. The Tregoning family is UMD alumi and the van proudly shows their support.

Today was Sports Day and participants were asked to wear their favorite team apparel. Tom was wearing a Brazil soccer jersey. Annie Elliott was wearing her DHS Track and Field Regional’s championship shirt. Other shirts included the Nationals, Redskins, Capitals, and West Virginia University. It was fun to see the diversity of everyone’s favorite team. Connie Morella, our excellent mistress of ceremonies, took the lead for the morning. First up was the breakfast report. There were a variety of selections this morning, ranging from bagels, muffins, donuts, cereal, crumpets and french toast. Definite carb loading today! We had another “Zack Fact” report from Zack Callis. Did you know that you do not have to actually wait 30 minutes before getting in the water after you eat? The only time it might apply is if you are planning on doing extremely heavy water exercise, like back flips and such. Words of wisdom from one of our resident life guard.

Fork stories were next. Matthew and Jonathan told of a large bug in their room that crawled from person to person, freaking them out. (There seems to be a pattern here with bugs and the CWS!) Scott Hembrough told us of a prank from their host who offered them wine bottles (which were actually filled with water.) We joked that it was opposite of Jesus. Instead of turning water into wine, they turned wine into water!

The winner of the fork award was David Hembrough. All I will say is that it involved    swashbuckling  and a group of our younger boys.

Connie has been working very hard on her Superlative Awards and was ready to hand out more. Calista Kibak won the “Best Pop Piano Performer.” She is our replacement for Thomas James, who always seemed to find a piano wherever we went and started playing for us. We miss him. Troy Moskowitz won the “Most Confident” award. Helena Colborn won the “Best Suntan” award and Taylor Cappeluti won the “Most Sunburn” award. Our final award went to Matthew Baldridge who won “Best Monochromatic Outfits.” His clothes always match!

Our activity for the morning was a Destination Unknown outing. It was a mystery. No one knew where we were going until we arrived. To our delight, the bus pulled into a place called Reed Gold Mine. It is a National Historic Landmark in NC and the site of the first documented gold find in the U.S. A man named John Reed discovered gold on his property and opened a small gold mining operation in 1803. The last underground mining took place in 1912. It is now open to the public for tours, with a small museum explaining the history of the place and displays about NC gold mining. Visitors can explore several hundred feet of the restored mine tunnels.

Our self-guided tour started in the Visitors Center with a 20 minute movie about the Reed family and how gold was discovered on their property, which eventually led to a gold mining operation. We then walked down a beautiful path through the woods to the mine. As we entered the tunnel, a blast of cool air enveloped us. It felt wonderful to be out of the oppressive heat! We walked down to the bottom level of the mine and the kids noticed how wet and damp the rocks were. Polly wanted us to have another singing opportunity and had us sing “Ain’t Got time to Die,” which was such a great experience, being underground and surrounded on all sides by rock formations! One of the kids joked that the very rocks were crying out (a reference to one of the songs they sing.)

 We went to the 1895 Stamp Mill where the gold was sifted and processed. Some serious, noisy machinery was in use and gave us an idea of what it may have looked like back in the heyday of gold mining.  Our final stop was to experience how to actually pan for gold. The youth were lined up in front of a water trough and were each given a pan of dirt and gravel from the property. They were taught how to swirl the water around the rocks, dispose of the larger rocks and continue to swirl and pour until there was a layer of dirt and small pebbles left in the bottom. The girl in charge told them they did a “pantastic” job of panning for gold. We also beat the statistics when nine members of our group found tiny gold nuggets in their pan! Each one was given a small vial that contained their gold nugget as a souvenir. Of course, some of the nuggets could barely be seen without a magnifying glass, but it was great fun anyway.

Back on the bus, it was time to choose Greeters again. Did you know that every time we stop,  get off the bus and then back on again, we choose new Greeters? That means we could have four sets of Greeters in one day. This time it was Cecelia Hembrough and Bryce Taylor.  The bus stopped in Richfield for lunch. We found a great shopping area with several restaurants within walking distance. Of course, no one was allowed to be by themselves and were reminded again that they must travel in pairs of two or more. Ben Con ran immediately to Bojangles. This restaurant sustained him all through college and has since become his favorite. (Check out the photo with all of the food remnants on his table.) His new nickname is “Bo-Man.” A large group of kids went for Chinese food while others chose Subway, McDonalds or Taco Bell. Everyone was full and happy.  Our third set of Greeters on the bus were Keely Bautista and Jonathan Works. They did a splendid job greeting everyone.  We also found out that “Thing 2” had struck again. Sydney Fennington found a note in her backpack saying that she had a lovely personality and Jessie Marshall found two pieces of candy with a “Thing 2” sticker attached. I am liking this “Thing 2” creature more and more!  Connie and Zack knew that we were going hear the NC symphony play Harry Potter music this evening, so they decided to have a Harry Potter trivia game. It was a raucous and fun time as everyone tried to answer the trivia questions. A few of them included: What was Harry Potters middle name?  What was Harry’s wand made of? Name all of the Weasleys in order of birth. Everyone did a good job answering the questions, but we found out that Jessie Marshall is the master at Harry Potter trivia and is rated in the top 50 in Md. I believe it after hearing her answers!

We arrived at the Hampton Inn in Raleigh around 4:30 and had about an hour to get ready for the concert.  Everyone came out with clean changed clothes, looking refreshed and well groomed. We piled into the bus and headed for Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary. This outdoor venue is very similar to our own Wolf Trap. It’s a performing arts amphitheatre located in a lovely park on the north bank of the park’s Symphony Lake, with picnic tables, a grassy area for blankets and a small café with table and chairs. Polly and Beth had gone shopping at the Food Lion during our lunch hour and had bought picnic food for the evening. The kids each brought a beach towel to sit on and picked out a spot on the grass. Ben Con was very excited to see the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra because he has heard the orchestra performing many times and knows some of the performers. He took lessons from the Assistant Principal Trombonist, Jonathan Randazzo and performed with the horn player, Catherine Creasy, in a brass ensemble at UNCG where he graduated. He made a point to go over and greet them as soon as he was able.

We had a wonderful surprise waiting for us when we arrived and saw the Bratburd family sitting on the lawn ready to watch the concert with us! Ryan Celli also surprised us at the hotel and is planning to spend the next few days with us!  Jonathan Colborn was coincidentally sitting next to a young man who asked him to videotape his marriage proposal to his girlfriend. Jonathan not only videotaped the proposal but also took still shots of them. He promised to email the photos to the couple. Everyone applauded the young lovebirds when they realized what was happening. It was a romantic, lovely moment.

The first half of the concert was wonderful with songs that included Night on Bald Mountain, Funeral March of the Marionettes, Firebird Suite, and Ghost Busters. However, the highlight of the evening that we were all waiting for was going to be the second half, featuring the Harry Potter music extravaganza. They had just started the first song when the heavens opened up and the rain began to pour! There was laughter, mild screaming and a lot of scrambling as people grabbed their belongings and made a mad dash for shelter. Someone yelled, “This is the work of those dementors!” (If you don’t understand the meaning, you haven’t seen the Harry Potter movies.) As quick as it had started, the concert was cancelled and everyone went back to the bus. Most of us were wet and bedraggled but still laughing and happy.

Back at the hotel, the picnic food was set out in the lobby for the kids to snack on. Some kids went back to their rooms, showered and put on pajamas. Others played cards, watched TV or went to the gym to work out. The Elliott family arrived to pick up Katie early for soccer camp and we were able to visit with them for awhile. At the 11:00 curfew, everyone scattered back to their rooms.

The evening rain and cancellation of the concert reminded me that even if the best laid plans go awry, the friendship and Christian love we have for one another is really all that matters. This choir tour has built friendships that were not there before and cemented friendships that already existed to be even stronger. My hope for the future is secure knowing that we have young  people who will be leaders, with a foundation of  love and kindness to pass on to the next generation.

Click Here for Pictures from Day 5

DAY 4 – WE WANT TO SEE MORE!

This morning at 7:30 a.m. everyone arrived back at the church. It’s very unusual for us to have breakfast as a group, but our hosts, with their wonderful southern hospitality, offered to serve us breakfast! It rarely happens that a host church serves us BOTH dinner and breakfast too! We were grateful and honored by their generosity. One gentleman who was cooking in the kitchen was celebrating his birthday today, so our youth sang “Happy Birthday” to him as a thank you. A generous buffet was set out consisting of pancakes, sausage, bacon, cut up fresh fruit and juice. Polly was asked by a member if we would sing Randall Thompson’s “Alleluia” before we left. Their choir director had been trying to convince the choir to sing that exact same song, but they always viewed it as too complicated. She wanted to show them that if a youth choir could sing it, they could too! Polly obliged by pulling the music folders out of the van and had the youth sing the song right around the breakfast tables. The lady recorded them to show at their next choir rehearsal! Another “WitnesSing” opportunity!

Today was our long bus ride, a six hour drive to Charlotte, NC. Polly gave the kids a quiz to see if they remembered their history tour at Tryon Palace two days ago. There was a painting of Queen Carlotta hanging on the wall and our tour guide had told us that the city of Charlotte was named after Queen Carlotta. She was also originally from Macklinberg (hence the name Macklinberg County.) A few of the kids actually remembered!

A quick reminder about “graciousness” was also in order when a few kids were overheard grumbling about having to eat fried chicken for two days in a row. It brought back memories of a tour from long ago when ham was served at almost every meal. No matter how many times it was served, everyone was expected to smile graciously and say thank you. We had the kids practice saying “thank you” as a group, especially to Mama Bowe who had sent the sun burned children to their host homes last night with their own personal tiny packs of aloe gel to apply to their skin before going to bed!

Our morning Greeters were Katie Elliott and Connor Dennie. Once again I was able to formally meet someone I didn’t know before, thanks to our greeting session. Awesome!  We were given another Brutally Honest Zack Fact by our one and only Zack Callis. Did you know that lifeguards don’t really want to go into the water to save you? They would much rather hand out band-aids for scraped knees and such. So don’t put yourself in a situation where you are drowning and they have to save you!  We also had an ice cream report from last night (since we couldn’t do our normal breakfast report. We all ate the same thing!) Many of the hosts took our youth out for ice cream. A popular location was “The Happy Cow,” located down by the riverfront. Popular flavors purchased included Brownie Batter, Chocolate Extreme, Salted Caramel and Cookie Dough. A refreshing way to beat the heat!Katie Elliott reported that there is an elusive “Thing 2” (remember the Dr. Seuss story?) running around leaving notes in people’s suitcases. She found one in the bottom of her suitcase this morning. It said that he was so happy that she is on tour this year and that she is a sweet girl. No one knows who this mysterious Thing 2 is, but whoever it is, I like him (or her!)

Since Tom Baldridge and Ben Con were driving the instrument van today, Connie Morella graciously took over as our mistress of ceremonies for the morning and “owned” the microphone. The first thing on the agenda was fork stories! Thomas Hulcher told a story of how he and Ben Con were walking up the stairs to the second floor of their host home. A cat was lounging on the second floor railing, watching them. As the boys got nearer, the cat became frightened and spun around on the railing, losing its balance and crashing through potted trees and plants as it fell down to the first floor, while the daughter was screaming. (Luckily, the cat promptly got up and ran behind the piano.)  Matthew Baldridge told a story how he and David Hembrough were riding an elevator to the upper level in their host home (it must have been a huge home!) David decided to see if the elevator would still move if the doors were forced open. (He found out that it wouldn’t.) Then the elevator stopped and they were stuck! All’s well that ends well because they got out and made it to the bus this morning.

In spite of the fabulous previous stories, the winner of today’s fork story went to Bethany Maczka. She went into the bathroom in her host home and was stuck in there when the door would not open. Even her host could not get the door open! As a comfort to Bethany, she yelled through the door not to worry, they would get her out even if they had to chop or burn the door down. Did I say comforting? It took three people to get her out, but again, all’s well that ends well. Plus she won a fork!

Our faithful Connie Morella had more superlative awards to pass out. Scott Hembrough won the “Build the Hype” award, although I’m not really sure what that means. Keely Bautista won the “Best Laugh” award. The final award of the morning went to the “Future Dream Team,” a group of youth who Connie guarantees will keep the meaning and dream of choir tour alive: Jack Hembrough, Bryce Taylor, Helena Colborn, Annie Elliott, and Charlotte Bowe.

Around noon we stopped in Raleigh for lunch. There were a few lunch options for the youth to choose from, including Subway and Cook-Out, a southern chain that is famous for their creamy milk shakes. Once again, the heat was oppressive and we worked up a healthy sweat just walking from the bus to the restaurants.

After returning to the bus, Connie chose our afternoon Greeters – Zach Callis and Maddy Marshall. It took a while for them to greet everyone on the bus but they did a good job. Zach surprised Connie with a special decorated spoon in honor of her microphone skills.   Everyone was ready for a nap after that and there was a lot of snoozing taking place for several hours. Some kids stretched out right on the floor! It was a quiet afternoon ride, except for a few things that mysteriously started falling out of the overhead compartments. Paul was hit with a bag of apples (luckily they were sliced and not whole or we would have had to get a new bus driver!)  Polly was hit in the head with a falling roll of paper towels and Jonathan Colborn had a backpack fall on him. Maybe our bus is haunted!

As we neared Charlotte, Connie woke everyone up to pass out more superlative awards. Julia Bratburd won “Most Likely to Appear on Broadway.” Reid Taylor won the “Longest Napper” award because he apparently is always asleep on the bus. The “True Tour Squad” award (given to three buddies who can always be found together): Julia Beall, Maddy Marshall and Lydia Little-Turner. The final award went to “The ORIGINAL Dream Team” (of choir tour): Jessie Marshall, Bethany Maczka, Julia Bratburd, Connie Morella, Austin Mollard, Quil Kibak, Madison Bowe and Micah Tsoi (even though he isn’t here on this trip.)

Walking through the bus and checking on the kids made me realize that six hours on a bus is plenty of time for kids to find things to do to entertain themselves. Some girls had cornered Scott Hembrough and started applying make up to his face. Being the good sport that he is, he allowed it to happen. By the time I saw him, he looked like a flawless skin Chanel model. Jonathan Works and Emma Baldridge were also applying make up to Julia Bratburd, who by the way, always looks like a model.

When we arrived at Park Road Baptist church, we had just enough time for a short rehearsal before we were invited to the Fellowship Hall for a dinner of spaghetti casserole, salad and cupcakes for dessert. Then it was time to change and get ready for the concert. As I was sitting there in the waiting room, who should walk through the door but Nathan and Tanya Cappeluti, Taylor’s parents! They had driven all the way down from Maryland on their motorcycle and got here just in time for the concert. (They said “it only rained for an hour”)  You could have knocked me over with a feather  I was so surprised! And have I mentioned our bus driver, Paul? He has faithfully attended every single concert, which is NOT a usual thing for bus drivers to do. In fact, he had parked the bus at his hotel and then got a ride back to the church using UBER! That’s how moved he has been watching our kids sing. If you see him at the Welcome Home concert, shake his hand!

We were a little concerned during the first half of the concert. Everyone seemed so formal and there was no clapping. I guess we had gotten used to a boisterous audience in other places. But by the second half, they had relaxed and began to freely give applause. They couldn’t believe the size of our youth choir and they loved the variety of songs. During our last song, “Till We Meet Again,” Nathan Cappeluti was invited up to sing with the choir (after all, he is a CWS alumnus!) It is such a perfect ending song for our concert and I never tire of hearing it. Steve was invited to play some improvisation while the choir and audience left to greet one another and match up with host homes.

I would like to leave you with a thought from a sign that I saw during dinner tonight. It was hanging in their fellowship hall and it touched me when I saw it as being so appropriate for how I have been feeling all throughout this tour.

 It said:  There is no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. III John 1:4.  Thank you for the gift of your children on this tour.

 Click Here for Pictures from Day 4

  

DAY THREE- NEW THINGS TO SEE!

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 18^th and 19^th 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.

 Click Here for Pictures from Day 3