Then we all met up on the lawn at the amphitheater for the concert. We were able to listen to Tenth Avenue North, Family Force 5, and Casting Crowns share their music and faith with us. We had another God moment when Casting Crowns decided to end the concert with "Lifesong", the same song we have incorporated into our concert this year!
After the concert, we headed to the Sleep Inn in Ashland to get some rest before singing at two services on Sunday morning and then heading to Blackstone to be a part of Camp Rainbow.
Sunday morning came quickly and we loaded everything on the bus for a short trip to Duncan Memorial UMC in Ashland, VA. We were excited to have Martha Springstead join us to accompany the choir for the rest of the tour after having four other pianists before her. We filed into the church and started preparing for worship.
We were challenged by Rev. David Hindman to contemplate the difference between spirituality and religion.
The choir assisted in worship with several congregational songs and anthems that changed to fit the needs of the contemporary and traditional services.
Shandy Hamner, an alumna of VOY, read the scripture for both services. Faith Van Goor spoke during the alumni message for the traditional service. Olivia K. and Sara M. shared their testimonies and how their lives had been impacted by Voices of Youth.
The service was also enhanced by our instrumentalists including Alli, Virginia, Stephen, Devon, and Mollie.
After the 11:00 a.m. service, it was time to gather in the fellowship hall for a pizza lunch. We were pleased to have the District Superintendent Mark Ogren and his wife join us for the meal.
When everyone had finished, we made sure everything was on the bus and we started on our way to the VUMAC for Camp Rainbow Connection. Seeing as how it was July 11, one stop was necessary along the way. 7 Eleven gives out free slurpees on that day so we found the nearest one and almost everyone got off the bus to enjoy the "holiday". It was a quick stop and then we were back on the road.We arrived in Blackstone at the Assembly Center around 3 p.m. and were warmly greeted by Martha Stokes. She met with us to give a brief introduction to Camp Rainbow and explain their theme for the year "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". We received our room assignments and then headed off to our respective floors. Moving in proved a bit more difficult than we anticipated as the elevator was not having a good day. After a good workout of carrying our luggage up the stairs, we all settled into our rooms and headed to the auditorium for rehearsal and concert.
It is always a joy to be a part of Camp Rainbow. The campers and staff are always extremely appreciative of the performance. We had several congregational songs and some help with the drumming from several of the campers.
The campers really loved watching the dancers during "Let Us Sing the Songs" and gave us a standing ovation when the concert was over.
Once the concert had finished, everyone moved into the cafeteria for dinner. Voices all split up and went to different tables in order to meet some of the campers and get to know them a bit better. We had a great time of fellowship and a good meal!
We had a short break after dinner and then everyone gathered for a communion service. We sang together, listened to a message, and then some of the campers assisted with communion.
The communion service ended and everyone was released for the evening to socialize, explore the grounds, and get some much needed rest!
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