Day 15 - Chester UMC

Stafford is beautiful area and some of us were lucky enough to wake up surrounded by God's stunning creation.  Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Everyone had breakfast with their host families and then reported back to the church.  Our schedule was a little more relaxed today so there was some time to play a little kickball in the meantime.

Soon the pre-school needed to use the gym so we moved over to the chapel for our morning devotions.  Jim led us in some music that got us excited about the day and then Chad continued with an inspiring devotional.

After the devotion, everyone piled on the bus as we headed to Richmond for a little museum sight seeing.  Some used the time on the bus to get a little extra sleep.

 

Once we arrived at the museums, we gave the group two hours to see the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Virginia Historical Society building.  Both buildings had a wealth of information and artwork.  Everyone seemed to find something that peeked their interest.

 

Some people also had the opportunity to enjoy the flowers and other buildings in the area.

  

Once everyone returned from their afternoon adventures, we got back into the bus and traveled to Chester UMC.  

 

We gathered into the sanctuary for rehearsal and made sure everything was ready for the evening's performance.  

Afterward, we all went to the fellowship hall for dinner of subs, chips, and homemade desserts.  Everyone finished their meals and then changed for the concert before meeting in the choir room for our pre-concert devotions led by Alexis' family group.

We headed out for the concert and were greeted by a great crowd that had come over from the Chester UMC Wednesday night fellowship dinners.  The service went well with testimonies from Kimberly and Neal.  

Everyone was paired with their host families and then we were off to their houses for another adventure.

Day 14 - Ebenezer UMC

 Tuesday morning we all gathered at the church around 8:30 a.m. with some being a bit later due to NOVA traffic.  Our faithful bus crew loaded up the bus so we would be ready to hit the road right after morning devotions. 

While on the bus, Katie awarded Drew with the FFP button for doing such a good job directing his first full Voices of Youth concert/worship service.

We decided to make a stop for lunch by a Target for those that needed to pick up some essentials.  Let's just say that not everything purchased was necessary for survival but definitely made the bus ride a little more interesting.

Everyone found their own lunch in the shopping center and then we got back on the bus and headed to Ebenezer UMC in Stafford, VA.  When we arrived, we were all pleasantly surprised to find such a beautiful church. 

We quickly unloaded and received a brief tour of the church, which we later found out has the second largest congregation in the conference.  Here are some pictures of the church so you can experience it too!

 The group went into the sanctuary and began rehearsing to prepare for the service.  These first few days of the tour are usually filled with long afternoon rehearsals but all the youth worked hard and were ready for dinner when 5:30 rolled around.

 

We had a wonderful potluck dinner where we were introduced to the host families.  Everyone seemed excited to be there and we got to meet some interesting people.  Then the group changed into their concert attire and met in the chapel for the pre-service worship. 

  

Concert time arrived and we listened to some powerful testimonies as well as enjoyed the congregational singing.  We were excited to learn after the service that several youth from the area might be interested in traveling with the group next year!

 

 After the concert we were paired with our host families and made our way to their homes for some much needed rest, hoping to re-charge and come back tomorrow at full strength.

Day 13 - Oakton UMC

 Monday morning we were able to take our time waking up at the hotel.  The youth and adults who were able to get up and out of their rooms in time enjoyed a nice breakfast.  Drew was especially excited to receive a pancake made just for him after he was notified that there were no more pancakes being made.

We all took delight that morning in not worrying about whether there would be water pressure in the shower or not!  Everyone finished packing and the group met in the lobby right before our noon checkout.   We soon met our bus driver, Ed, waiting outside and loaded up the bus.

While we were on the bus, Emily Crawford awarded the FFP button to Katie Moss.  She had smiled all through the rainy performances on Saturday and still had tons of energy for rehearsal so Emily thought she deserved it and everyone else agreed.

Next we headed to grab a bite to eat.  Since most of the group had their breakfast pretty late, Alexis decided that the group should go get some frozen yogurt at Josie’s while a few others had McDonalds.  After everyone finished eating, we headed to Oakton UMC.

 We arrived at the church a bit earlier than expected and it was raining really hard so we spent some down time on the bus.  Once we were able to contact someone to let us in the church, we started rehearsal immediately while the other adult staff waited for breaks in the rain to bring in the luggage.

The group rehearsed for quite some time to prepare for the first worship service of the tour.  Everyone worked together to make sure things were in order and then it was time for dinner.  Now this is a great way to welcome us...

We had a wonderful meal with some of the members of Oakton UMC and then changed into our concert attire.  We met for a short devotion in the choir room to focus before the concert.  Then we headed out into the sanctuary to begin mingling and getting to know the guests.  Devin and Alexis gave great testimonies about their experiences in the Dominican Republic and everyone seemed to really enjoy the service.

After the concert we were paired with our host families and went our separate ways, hoping to get some rest to continue for the next two weeks.