Fun and Games

G'day people! Yes, well we are all having a blast here and as Paulie said we went through 4 states on Thursday. It was pretty exciting for me as an Aussie to go through Chicago :) These last 2 days we've been in Michigan in Luke's home town. We had such a fun time playing at his church last night and meeting his family and friends. Today we are on our way to Ohio!

The weather is SO cold...I reckon it's gonna snow, but my teammates are telling me that it won't happen for another month yet...:( I reckon if it has to be this cold it may as well snow but apparently it has to be a LOT colder before it snow...oh dear...

Oh now, before I forget, on Monday night the guys on our team took Julie and me snipe hunting...we'd never been before you see. It was...fun?!!!! I nearly caught one....;) Well, now we want to take team 14:22 snipe hunting...maybe we'll do that during winter partnership hey guys?!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support. Tour is going amazingly well and God has been so good and faithful. We are all getting closer as a team and love spending time together. God is amazing and it's awesome having you all on this journey with us!

Four states in one day...

On Thursday we covered four states in one day...quite an impressive feat for not being on the east coast. We were delighted to introduce several members of the team to the windy city of Chicago and its beautiful skyline.

Perhaps I should backtrack slightly. On Tuesday we drove up to West Salem, Wisconsin and set up for our early morning chapel services on Wednesday. We then headed to our host home for the evening where we blessed to enjoy quite a few amenities (including, but not restricted to, a hot tub with an input jack for an iPod).

Wednesday was quite a busy day for us. We played two high school chapel services in the morning and then drove 3 hours to Fon du Lac, where we played a youth concert. Needless to say, we were quite tired when we reached our host homes. Thursday we drove to Grand Rapids, Michigan to the home of our sound tech, Luke and that is where we are currently. We played a concert tonight (Friday) and it was a blast! Tomorrow we head for Ohio and cross yet another state off the list.

Thanks so much for all of the prayers and support, you have no idea how much they mean to us!

God Bless!

And Now A Word From Our Sponsors

Okay Paul, take it away...

Simply amazing...

...two words to describe how we are feeling right now. We have completed our first weekend on the road and are enjoying our day off in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. We spent the weekend at St. Paul's Lutheran church in Red Wing, Minnesota, and the people there were great!

We are enjoying the time that we have had to get to know one another and are still learning more and more about each other every day. I don't think that the entirety of being on the road has fully hit me yet, but I am looking forward to the times ahead, and the transition will be eased by the amazing people on my team and the amazing people we will meet as we travel.

Thanks for your prayers and support and check back often for updates.

I Fall Asleep With My Friends Around Me...

It's currently about one o'clock in the morning on Saturday, September 23, 2006. I, Nathan Walker, am about to set out on my second fall tour at 7:00 later this morning. I'm setting my alarm for six so I can pack. The procrastinator in me takes over when it's time to leave.

Having "done this all before" I can honestly say I'm both excited and scared about this tour. Not because we suck (we don't suck, you should come see us) but because I *haven't* "done this all before". Each tour is different, even if the faces are the same. Each team is different, even if personalities are the same. Each year is different -- I'm convinced that *my* life is 1% what happens to me and 99% what I choose to make of it. I'm choosing to make this year a good one.

So come out and see us. Check out our tour and drive an hour (or 15, eh Jess/Wes?) to see what we're doing this year. If you're reading this, I want to meet you. Sorry in advance if I'm shy -- I'm working on that. Sorry also if I'm loud -- I'm working on that.

Hi Moms!

~Nathan Walker

Did we really just see that?

A twister...a real life twister. Yup, we sure did. Now for me it was nothing too out of the ordinary (being that I live right in the middle of Tornado Alley) but for many members of my team is quite the new experience. So here's the scene:

We're driving up I-29 just north of Sioux Falls, SD and there to our left appears a pretty unique cloud formation known as a funnel cloud. At this point, I looked away from the formation, having seen them before and realizng that it was some distance away. But, I soon heard from my teammates that it definitely touched the ground and threw up quite a cloud of debris. Needless to say, it was quite exciting.

Parents and family, there is no need to worry. The storm was nowhere near our van and we made it safely to the church shortly after that and were prepared to take shelter if need be.
It was a great highlight to our first weekend on the road.

Thanks to all those who came out to our workshop on Saturday and the worship service on Sunday. They were both great experiences.

Training Continues

Wow.. I can't believe that tomorrow we'll have been here for 4 weeks!! Training has been going really well. I am getting so excited for this upcoming year. We led our first worship service last Sunday and it was so much fun. It was exciting to get rid of music sheets and just enjoy playing music together with the focus on God. I feel nervous and excited as I think about touring. I love my team though and I am excited to continue to get to know them better. Wow and I just realized that said the word excited a lot in this blog so far :) But I really am so yeah... keep checking back for updates from the teams. This year is going to be awesome!

~ Julie

Training, training...

Training is in full swing now. For me it's been an interesting transition from FT last year to Summer Team Round 2 this year, to FT this year. I have also had to miss a decent amount of training due to extenuating circumstances, but I finally am getting into the training lifestyle and it is great.

Teams are set and our fall tours are mostly booked, so check back for updates on our exciting times as team 14:21. We get to go to Canada!

In America with CTI...wow!

G'day all! Wow, what a busy but wonderful time we are having...right now we are in the middle of training and yes, they sure are keeping us busy and out of mischief :) If you've read Christian's post from team 14:22 you'll see that he mentioned they have their first booking this weekend. Our team also has its first booking this weekend at a church here in Willmar so we'd really appreciate your prayers as we prepare for that. Yes, there definetly are nerves there.

I hope you all enjoy reading our blogs and seeing what we're doing and what God is doing in and through us! It's tops having you on the journey with us :)

The Aussie,
Ruth

Welcome!

Welcome to CTI 14:21's one and only official blog! Members of the team will be posting their thoughts on their CTI experience here periodically.

And YOU, dear viewing public, are invited to respond! You can't post directly, but you can all comment on existing posts! Your comments are subject to moderation (that means I have to approve them before they go live) so keep them family friendly, OK?

Be sure to check out the team's bios, pictures and other posts on CTImusic.org- just click the "CTI Music Ministries" link to the right. Their tour schedule can be found there as well.

Happy commenting!

-Chris Reed
CTI Program Director / Blog moderator