So with time to sleep and reflect a bit, I’ll take a few minutes to write one last blog post about Choir Tour 2016.
On Saturday we came from Frederick, MD down to Lenoir City, TN, below Knoxville. As I mentioned in my short post on Saturday night, the Westmorelands flew home to Atlanta and then turned around and drove to Lenoir City so Gavin could finish up with us! It was a great treat for all of us to have him back with us, looking as good as new. He still has some more tests coming in Atlanta, but everything is very positive for him so far.
Central UMC in Lenoir City was our last-night stop last year also, and they’ve already asked us to come back next year if we can. They have a beautiful facility with a lot of space for sleeping and a sanctuary with a large altar area that works well for our choir. It was great to see a lot of friendly faces.
The trip home to Atlanta went fine, save a little traffic on 75S once we got into Cobb County. Traffic is how you know you’re back in Atlanta. The Homecoming Concert was among the best I’ve ever heard! But then if you’re reading this, you probably know that because you were there. It’s always great to see the alumni who come back for homecoming.
Here are some of my observations from tour:
- New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Eastern Canada are some of the most beautiful parts of God’s creation that I’ve seen. Portland, ME is exactly how you would visualize a New England coastal town in your imagination. If you have a chance to visit New England and the Atlantic coast of Canada, do it.
- Your kids make an unbelievable impact on the congregations we worship with. From the folks at Twin Towers, Mohawk Reformed Church and Central UMC in Lenoir City, all of whom hosted us to the second year in a row; to the Canadian border guards, who asked the choir to sing for them; to the wonderful management at the Hampton Inn and Residence Inn in Portland, who bent over backward to help us out when Gavin took ill, they all rave about how polite and well-behaved the kids are. Yes, I know they don’t behave that way all the time, but they *can*. That’s my point. And they definitely represent us well while they’re on tour, and not just when they’re performing.
- The community of Christians can be an unbelievable force. A.J. Jackson is one of the bus drivers, and he found out about 2 days into tour that his sister had pressure on her brain and needed immediate surgery. We raised her in our prayer concerns every day while on tour. (She is recovering well, by the way). When Gavin had to be taken to the hospital, the first thing A.J. did was call his sister to ask for her prayers also. He wanted to make sure the kids knew that he and his sister were praying for Gavin. A.J. was a great comfort to me personally Thursday afternoon when we were all so shaken about Gavin’s condition.
- Kim and Leslie are a great team. I’m not objective, of course, but ask the kids and the other counselors. They’ll tell you the same thing.
- The power of prayer is real. Anyone who saw Gavin after he rejoined us can attest to that. Zack Atkinson posted a very moving statement on Facebook to the same effect. Zack was there when Gavin collapsed, and was in the ambulance when they were working on him. I think only he and Shirley Westmoreland can truly understand what a turnaround Gavin had. From the moment he collapsed, we were all praying for him non-stop. Prayer is a powerful thing, and I hope that those of you who were not on tour don’t have to go through what we did to appreciate that. (Don’t take that wrong. I know that many of you were grieving for Gavin and praying for him as we were. You know what I mean.).
I think it will take a long time for me to process everything that happened on this trip, but I certainly won’t forget it.
So on to next year, and another trip to Mount Rushmore, and I’m sure a whole bunch of incredible moments to add to my 26 years of choir tours.
As always, thank you for your support and prayers for this group.
Jeff