First of all, I would like to thank all the Sacrifice of Praise tour participants for sharing their photos! So many of you captured angles or memorable moments that I never would've seen! Thank you!
I went into the week with a lot of trepidation. We were challenged to try to memorize one verse a day. That was really scary as memorization is difficult for me. We were also encouraged to use our phones as little as possible. Dave H. wanted our activities to be as a group, not as individuals. Our goal for the week was to encourage others and to step out of our comfort zone. I was incredibly blessed by the week! I would do it again in a heart beat!
Monday, June 5
After our grueling weekend of constant singing, Monday arrived to find us tired out already. All I wanted to do was sleep, but a group of us had planned a hiking trip in Curt Gowdy State Park. I wasn't about to be left out! 😄
Visiting the Visitors' Center
Thankfully we didn't see any of these guys!
We were hiking to Hidden Falls, way back in the hills.
Vlad, Leon, and Dad walked slower than we did, so we forged ahead by ourselves
It was so beautiful out there!
I'm glad the boys were with us otherwise I would've been so lost!
You could see the falls if you waded back into that rock fissure, but the water was freezing cold and most of us didn't relish the idea of a dripping wet hike back so we chose not to.
A couple of the boys clambered up the rocks to the top of the ledge.
You can just see one of the boys way up there.
"I'm on the outside looking in..."
The boys' view
The conquerors!
Poor Valeria's heart started to race on our way back, so I lagged behind with her. Shawn stayed with us as our guide. I'm so glad he did since I'm directionally challenged! If it had been up to Valeria and I, we would've been lost forever up there. 😜
Later that day, the tour participants met for a run down of our week's schedule and some time of sharing and practice.
We had an uproariously hilarious time back at Willard's that evening! Matthias and Valeria stayed for supper, making it even more fun!
Tuesday, June 6
We met at 6:15 Tuesday morning to be distributed among the vehicles. Everyone was on pins and needles to get started!
A tired but excited group, we arrived in Axtell, NE around 3 pm for our first program. We were able to bunk up at the Mosaic (I've blogged about this place before) for the rest of the day and overnight.
Awaiting orders...
Every day when we arrived at our stop for the night, we gathered for a time of sharing, Bible reading, and prayer. It was so nice to have your focus brought back to Jesus after a distracting day of travel.
We met at the Mosaic's chapel for our practice time.
The chapel is so pretty!
Suppertime!
The Smith family made us a yummy gourmet supper. Thank you, guys!
Abi and Esther's room
Valeria, Leandra, Anna, Meredith, and I stayed in this room.
The Smith's got permission for us to use this church for our program that evening.
Waiting to be arranged...
We waited down in the colorful basement for the program to begin.
A half hour before each program, we split up into pairs (boys with boys, etc) to pray. I really enjoyed this time to quiet my heart before God before going out front.
A lot of us were very nervous since this was our first night singing as a small choir!
Waiting for the guys to finish their song...
Little Bloopy 💖
Someone provided some scrumptious cupcakes as a snack afterwards. We were encouraged to go out and talk to people, which is always stretching for me to do! 😳
We had so much fun staying altogether at the Mosaic! I really enjoyed getting to know everyone even better.
Wednesday, June 7
We were all up and at it early, eating breakfast before 7 so that we could leave by 7:30.
Rest stops were always fun! It was great to all pile out and swamp a gas station. Dave H. led us in a song at one rest area as we drove through NE.
Dad and Mark prepared the chicken salad sandwiches that Smiths sent along for our lunch.
This gas station was a small one bathroom stop. It took a long time to get all 30+ people through the bathroom!
Almost ready for take off!
Our Wednesday evening program was held at Salem Mennonite Church in Leon, IA.
Our dresses and luggage took over their coat room. 😅
Meeting for devotions...
After our devotional time, we decided to play foursquare to run off some energy. It felt really good to move around after sitting for two days!
The women's bathroom had this tiny child size toilet in it. We girls couldn't get over how cute it was!
The church was still in the process of finishing their basement so you had to be careful of the drywall dust on the floor.
We stood around singing old SOP songs while we waited. The basement had amazing acoustics!
I love this picture of KK!
Waiting to walk up... Some of us were doing exercises trying to relax.
After we are done with our prayer time before the program, we all rush around getting last minute drinks and taking bathroom breaks before getting in line. Since we all knew our place in line it was usually (mind, I say "usually") easy to quickly get queued.
Before we were dismissed, a brother from the church read off our names, placing us with our hosts. We decided it felt like an auction block where we were being auctioned off. They would read several names, then say the hosts' name. The hosts stood up so that you could see them and you had to raise your hand so that they could see you. It was pretty awkward and confusing, but what an adventure!
Abi and I along with Janell and Leandra stayed with Omar and Rose Miller. They treated us like royalty!
Thursday, June 8
We met back at the church at 8:15 the next morning.
Our group left for the church early so that we could help make sandwiches for the travel lunch.
Our next stop was our church in Griswold, Glory Christian Fellowship.
We ate a quick lunch, then brought in our "black" laundry. Mom and Charlou graciously offered to wash it all for us.
Most of us only had one black dress so they needed washed frequently.
After lunch, we quickly ran over to the Care Center to sing a couple songs for the residents.
Some people wanted to play volleyball that afternoon. Several of us just watched. 😋
What a sorry group! By this time, everyone was incredibly tired. Several of us were coming down with, or had a flu bug that was going around- cold, fever, etc.
Dave had us do this exercise to make sure we were blending well.
This is the funniest music stand ever!
Shoulder and back massages were a necessity that week!
Charlou made a wonderful tour mom! She took wonderful care of us, and was so much fun to be around!
All the washed and ironed clothes...
😉
Gram brought these fun emoji cupcakes for our supper.
The church families provided a potluck meal for us. Thank you all!
KK got the wrong shirt! 😂
Getting ready for the evening program at the Griswold Community Center...
We lined up through the kitchen and into the back room.
The end of the liners
It was so nice to see all the familiar faces from church and the community!
Waiting to go up after the guys song...
I woke up Thursday morning with a tickly throat. By the time the evening program rolled around, I had a full blown sore throat. Arg! I was not happy to know that I was getting sick!
We had a full house of guests that night. It felt SO good to sleep in my own bed! 😀
Coming up next... Friday-Sunday, June 9-11
