Day 16 - Centenary UMC

Thursday morning started out with breakfast provided for us at the church followed by some group building games outside of Hinton Ave UMC. We realized that it was a bit too warm to stay out for an extended period of time so we came inside and had each youth share their faith object with the group. It was interesting to see how creative the youth were in their presentations and to also hear about the sentimental value connected to some of the things they brought with them on the trip.

We then played the animal game or "Zoo" for a while and when someone got out, they had to gather their things and help to pack the bus. Eventually we got down to the experts and had to break up the game and declare the rest of the group winners. We said a prayer for Sammie who decided to stay in Charlottesville to get well and then headed toward Portsmouth, VA. Lunch was a fast food stop along the way. Not knowing exactly how long it was going to take, we left ourselves plenty of time to get to our destination. Once we arrived, we had plenty of time to meet with family groups and despite some construction, get a self-guided tour of the beautiful Centenary UMC.

After family group time, we came into the sanctuary to rehearse and find the best set-up for the night's performance.

Then it was time to get ready for dinner. We met in the fellowship hall and had a great meal with banana pudding for dessert. Everyone got into their concert attire and then met in the chapel for devotions led by the youth staff.

Shortly after the devotions had finished, we were out in the congregation mingling with those that had come to the concert.

We performed a concert and presented our own slide show for the first time with only a few technical difficulties. We were also joined by several alumni from the area that came to sing with us and Jane Springstead shared about her experiences on Voices of Youth.

At the end of the concert, Stephen B. performed a postlude for us on the organ.