DAY 7 – Closer to Heaven

We have been very fortunate that Hampton Inn has allowed the use of their lobby area to our group for two nights. We were able to spread out among all of the tables and have food set out for the kids, as well as lego-building stations and card tables. The manager of the hotel emailed Beth Taylor and told her that he had only good reports about our group. They were not disruptive, they were polite and they went back to their rooms at the curfew time when they were told. Good witnessing kids!  The hotel also provided a wonderful buffet breakfast for everyone -  eggs, home fries, sausage, cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, muffins, bagels, juice and a hot drink area. Many thanks to Kelly Bratburd for procuring this great hotel for us!

In addition to having fun and witnessing, we were able to complete a small service project for our VBS program. We collected a gallon bag of the unused mini-bottles of shampoo, lotion and soaps from each room and plan on donating them to Cathy Scarbrough for her “care package” Vacation Bible School activity. I expect we will see a big smile on her face when we return.

Speaking of witnessing, I haven’t mentioned the depth of the witnessing you will see during our Homecoming concert. Between songs at each of our concerts, our youth have been voluntarily   giving a testimony about how they have witnessed God at work in their lives. I can’t begin to tell you how many people have approached me after the concerts and told me how moved they were by these testimonies. It is unusual to see a youth willing to stand up and testify for their faith. Many of these people had never seen it happen before and it touched them deeply. You will be too.

After departure it was time for sharing and stories on the bus.  Sean Carrier and Julia Beall were chosen as our morning Greeters. They were looking a bit reluctant in the beginning but ended up doing a great job. Surprisingly, there were no fork stories today! I guess no doorknobs were broken or bugs were invading any rooms. However, “Thing 2” had struck again. Bethany, Polly, Emma Annie, Celia and Zack all found a “Thing 2” craft doll in their belongings. That “Thing 2” is a sly one!

Before we knew it, the bus had arrived at Duke University. Polly’s brother Chip Edmonds attended Seminary school at Duke and was able to connect us with our host. We were met by Wes Brown, Associate Dean of the Divinity school. Duke University is a huge campus but we were heading to one specific area where the Divinity school was located. The Divinity School has 14,000 students in it alone! The direction we walked took us through some of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen. There were fountains and pools, lush greenery and beautiful flowers. The path meandered past tall trees that looked very old. I was told that the gardens had a 50 year celebration last year, which would explain why the plants looked so established. The University Chapel is under construction and renovation at the moment, so we walked past it and headed to Goodson Chapel instead. Many services and concerts are held there throughout the year.

Here’s a bit of personal trivia knowledge with a connection to Duke and one of our tour chaperones. Did you know that Deborah Bowe was married at York Chapel (which is now part of the library) on the Duke campus in 1989? Her husband Mark was a graduate student at Duke. We took some photos of her and her girls under the same archways where her wedding photos were taken!

 Once inside Goodson Chapel, we were introduced to Dr. Lester Ruth. He is a Methodist scholar, a Professor of Worship at the Divinity School, and president of the International Charles Wesley Society. Anything we wanted to know about Charles Wesley, he was able to answer. Dr. Ruth knew that the theme of our tour was “I’ll be a Witness,” so he wanted to talk to us about what it means to be a witness. He pointed out that we can’t be a witness to others until WE have been witnessed to in our own hearts. Once we realize that God gave himself and his love to ME, it is almost unfathomable to comprehend. If I caused his pain, suffering and death, how can I fathom His amazing love? No measuring tool could ever measure the depth of God’s love for us and for all of humanity. It extends everywhere. Dr. Ruth had the kids open the hymnal to the song “And Can It Be That I Should Gain,” written by Charles Wesley. This hymn was written with those exact thoughts in mind. Read the words and soak in the meaning until it fills your heart. As a group, we all sang the hymn together. Steve accompanied us on the piano and I could feel my heart stirring as we sang out the words written by Charles Wesley in 1739, so long ago and yet still witnessing to our hearts today.

We left the chapel and walked to the book store, where kids had some time to buy Duke souvenirs if they wanted. Lunch was in the Divinity Café. There was a buffet and the youth had the options to choose whatever they wanted to eat. As we finished eating Polly decided to have a “flash mob” and we started singing “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” as Duke students were curiously peeking in the doorway and smiling at us. Cross that off my bucket list now!

Our final visit on campus was the Cameron Indoor Stadium and museum. As we walked over there, I couldn’t help but admire the beautiful campus, with its old stone buildings and even older trees and shrubs. It really is a beautiful college. We walked through the museum, chock full of information about all of the Duke teams and their awards.  The kids were also able to go into the stadium and sit in the seats where the games are played. By the time we walked back through the gardens to the bus, the temperature had soared and we couldn’t wait to get back into the air conditioning. We had a quick greeting by Jordan Anderson and Rhodesia Roberts and then we were off to Greensboro.

Our evening concert was at First Presbyterian Church. This was by far the largest church we have been in yet. It was massive. There were some friendly faces in the audience once again, which makes it so nice for the performers to see people they know. Lisa and Doug Marshall were there. Ben Con had college friends in attendance as well as his UNCG trombone professor. Deborah Bowe’s parents, who live in Greensboro, were also there. Her parents, who have been reading the blog every day, thanked us for keeping them updated about the tour. Her Dad jokingly said that his fear is that the girls who stay in his house tonight will end up winning a fork and he will be on the blog tomorrow. J

As usual, the kids were great even though the acoustics in the church were not the best. Everyone is pretty tired. It has been a full week and tonight is our last concert away from home. We can’t wait until we perform in front of the home audience. It is always our best concert! I’m sure there will be a day of sleeping on the bus and catching up on our rest. See you at 5:00 at DUMC! 

Click Here to See Pictures from Day 7

DAY 6 – PERFECTING THE MIX

It was a slow moving morning. Youth were dragging themselves into the breakfast room, almost sleep walking. We are paying the price for staying up too late and having fun. One room of young boys completely slept through their alarm and had to ride in the van to the church. Others were yawning and looking bleary-eyed. Some boys forgot to comb their hair. Others had to run back to their room to get things that were forgotten. On the bus, Tom reminded everyone that they would be sitting in the front of the congregation, where everyone can see them. “Friends don’t let friends fall asleep” is our motto this morning. He told a story from a choir tour years ago about a boy who had stayed up half the night talking (and who will remain unnamed) and fell asleep during the pastor’s sermon. That is bad enough on its own, but the CWS were sitting on elevated pews right behind the pastor and the service was being televised! The boy fell into such a deep sleep that his head fell back and his mouth was hanging open. Everyone in the congregation saw him. (Ryan Celli has the video as proof.) We did not want another repeat of that episode. It was suggested to pat the sunburn of anyone who was starting to fall asleep!

Edenton United Methodist Church of Raleigh was founded in 1811 and is a beautiful brick building with a steeple that reaches high into the sky. The sanctuary is large and spacious with beautiful stained glass windows. Near the entrance, my eye was drawn to a beautiful framed picture. The entire piece was created by traditional Jewish paper cutting and was mounted in front of colored mirrors, allowing the observer to see themselves through the images and text. In the center was the burning bush with a dove above and the hands of God below. It was surrounded by Jewish and English text. It was magnificent. One of the verses said, “Surely God is in this place and I did not know.” It made me think about this week and all of the places we have visited. God was with us underground in the mine. He was with us as we walked the paths through the woods. He was with us as we sang to the fishermen on the beach. He was with us as we sang at the Governors Palace. He was with us in the Catholic church, the Baptist church and the Methodist church. If our youth did not know it before, I hope they know now that God has been with us every step of this tour. The picture in front of me spoke all of those thoughts to my mind and made me feel so blessed.

 Our group participated in both services. They sang, “He Never Failed Me Yet,” “One Faith, One Hope, One Lord” and “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” It was beautiful and I only saw one or two heads starting to nod.  There were some familiar faces in the audience too. Mr. Dennie arrived to pick up Connor, who had to leave early. Liz and Dean Elliott also had to take Katie home early. We will miss both of them. The Bratburd family was there, Doug and Lisa Marshall were there and Audrey Weeks (also now known as Mrs. Bullock) was there with her husband. She was beaming as she told us that she is expecting a baby in October! Meg Kalnoske and baby Maya also arrived at the church! Of course she received much love from the girls in the choir room. She has started walking and is so adorable as she takes her wobbly first steps.

Back on the bus, we headed toward Crabtree Valley Mall for lunch. Our first Greeters of the morning had been Charlotte Bowe and Matthew Baldridge. Now that we were re-boarding, the second set of Greeters were chosen: Helena Colborn and William Baldridge. Tom gave us a bit of trivia by informing us that at 12:38 today it will be the longest day of the year; otherwise known as the summer solstice. David Hembrough came forward and told us that an exciting thing had happened at the church this morning. He lost a tooth! Everyone applauded for him.

Connie Morella gave out another set of superlative awards. “Most athletic” went to Annie Elliott.  Bethany Maczka won the “Best Hugs” award. Julia Beall won “The Rock of the Alto Section” award and Jack Hembrough won “Class Clown.” Polly and Tom were awarded the OTP (One True Pairing.)  Lucas Sicard received “Avid Bottlecap Collector.”  William Baldridge received “Best Hairline.” Sean Carrier received “Most Active.” An award for wearing muscle shirts went to Jordan Anderson. It took me awhile to realize that “Suns Out, Guns Out” referred to muscles, not weapons.

There were three fork stories tonight. Annie, the “Tasmanian Devil” had a story that involved a broken hook and window. Don’t worry. She fixed it. Nuff said. Mama Bowe fell asleep in the lobby last night and was awakened by a bewildered bus driver at 5 a.m. The fork prize went to Cecelia Hembrough. She was leaning over the bathtub to turn on the water. Unfortunately, her roommate had accidentally left the shower nozzle turned on and a blast of cold water shot out, soaking her head. Brrrrr!

When we arrived at the mall, everyone broke into groups and scattered. We had several hours to get lunch and shop. I saw many souvenir bags as kids loaded back onto the bus.

Our evening concert was at Croasdaile Village retirement community. The chapel was small and cozy with a very warm feel to it. A dinner of subs and chips was served and the kids had a short rehearsal before the concert.  Our host explained to the group that even though these residents were senior citizens, they had led a very active life at one time and contributed to society in many productive ways, with many holding very important jobs.  She encouraged the kids to smile, talk to the residents and treat them respectfully. The kids did a great job interacting and talking to them. During the concert, faces were smiling, toes were tapping and it was obvious how much they were enjoying it. One elderly lady told Callista that she now knows what angels look and sound like. Another lady said that she used to sing the same songs when she was in her choir at church years ago. Another lady said that we were the best choir she had ever heard in all of her 80 years of life. High praise and high compliments. We were so proud of everyone. We were joined by two alumni during our closing song, “River in Judea.” Audrey Weeks came back to hear tonight’s concert and Laura Kassler  (Gaines) also joined us. Laura used to go on choir tours years ago with Taylor’s dad, Nathan Cappeluti  and with Lucas’s dad, Ben Sicard. She told us about some fine memories of choir tours years ago.

On the way home, our third set of Greeters for the evening was Autumn Johnson and Taylor Cappeluti. The kids were so pumped up from the evening concert that there was a spontaneous dance party on the bus. Fun, fun, fun!  Back at the hotel, the kids had some time to swim, go to the workout room, play cards and eat snacks before curfew time. We have another busy day tomorrow and hopefully they will be well rested. Sweet dreams and be proud of your witnessing!

 Click Here for Pictures from Day 6

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