After a short night, Sunday was upon us and so was our longest day of the tour. Not only did we need to meet at the bus by 6:15 but we would be singing three performances by the time the day was over. Everyone made it to the church by 6:30 and we loaded up the bus and started our journey to Newport News. Most of the group went right back to sleep. The rest of the group took advantage of the leftover breakfast food that Great Bridge UMC gave to us on Saturday when we left. A couple hours later we arrived at Warwick Memorial UMC and started preparing to lead the 8:30 a.m. worship service.
It didn't take us long to get ready as the church had the risers and mics all set up for us ahead of time. We quickly tuned the instruments, practiced a few of the songs and then went out to mingle with the congregation before the service began.
One of the exciting things about singing at Warwick Memorial UMC was that their associate pastor, Jessie Squires, is a Voices of Youth alumna. We were thrilled to share our ministry with her church but to also have her speak about her experiences on Voices and how it helped to hear her call to ministry.
We were blessed to have a few alumni come to the worship services that morning and join us for "In Remembrance" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You".
Our instrumentalists and dancers added a lot to the service by showing different ways that we can lead in worship.
When the services were over, the church had a big pot from the kitchen labeled for a Voices of Youth love offering.
In between the two services, there was an opportunity for the youth to go to Sunday School, relax and have fellowship, practice, and enjoy some treats brought by Neal's family.
After the 11:00 a.m. service we quickly packed all of our instruments, folders, etc. so that we could go to lunch. Some members of Warwick Memorial UMC prepared salad, bread, lasagna, and cookies to enjoy before getting back on the bus. The church invited their youth group to eat with us as well which provided a great time of fellowship. Rachel and Jordan had a great time reminiscing with Jessie Squires about the times they enjoyed together on Voices of Youth in 2001 when they traveled to Mexico together.
We thanked the church for a great meal and made sure we didn't leave anything behind. Everyone got on the bus and prepared for the longest bus ride of the tour. We were traveling from Newport News to Harrisonburg. Even though it was a long ride, we had a stop along the way to pick up our newest member: Simone Welte. Simone was joining us through the Initiatives of Hope program in Brazil until Thursday morning. We were so impressed that she joined us just a couple hours after arriving in the USA that she was awarded the FFP button.
For the rest of the bus ride we watched movies, listened to music, engaged in conversation and slept in whatever way we found most comfortable!
We arrived at Otterbein UMC in Harrisonburg around 4:30 p.m. and had to move quickly to make sure that everything was in place for the concert that evening.
Luckily this was Rachel Hundley's church so she knew exactly where to send us when we arrived. Everything was unloaded and we wasted no time setting up the display, tuning instruments, and singing through any songs necessary. The church provided us with a lovely meal of chicken, rolls, and several sides. We changed into our concert attire and then headed upstairs for devotions. After the devotions, we headed out into the sanctuary to mingle with the congregation and were delighted to see the biggest crowd yet.
Although we were tired, the big congregation was very welcoming and responsive so it gave the group a burst of energy. Several of the youth from the Harrisonburg area shared their testimonies and helped to lead the readings.
We also had an alumnus from Staunton, Kevin Eagle, talk about how Voices of Youth helped lead him into the career of youth ministry that he is in today.
Lots of alumni were present to join us for the choral benediction and with the great acoustics, terrific crowd, and God's presence, all the people there were truly blessed.
After the concert was finished, we were assigned to our host families downstairs. We each went our separate ways although most of us found our way to Klines Dairy Bar around the corner before heading to our host homes.
We arrived at the church and started our normal routine. Everyone got unloaded and took their belongings and all the concert supplies to the appropriate locations. We met in the Sanctuary for a rehearsal, assigned all the readings, solos and testimonies and then went downstairs for dinner. We had a great time of eating and fellowship with some of the members of First UMC and then it was time to get changed and have devotions.
We mingled with the crowd and then began the service. We were blessed by a couple great testimonies by Rachel and Stephen and also had lots of alumni join us for "In Remembrance" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You". The team leader and director for next year's tour, Chad Herbek and Drew Colby, were both there as well and were introduced to the group.
We finished the service and then it was time to be matched up with our host families and head home for the evening!
