Thursday, March 13, 2008

...and back to Willmar.

Wow! What an unbelievable end to an unbelievable tour. The grace and power of God have been evident in our concerts and interactions with contacts in these 10 weeks. A big thanks to all of our hosts and contacts!

I will try to sum up the last few items of our tour, and hopefully find some cool pictures. ;)

We traveled to Bethany Mennonite last Wednesday (March 5), and played a youth concert there. We had a great time hanging out and even got a DVD recording of our concert. After the concert, we played volleyball with their volleyball team (and got properly stomped). Thanks for a great night, Bethany Mennonite!

After housing a few places (thanks, Albrents!), we made it to St. Timothy's Lutheran in Menasha, WI. The past years, CTI has just played their Sunday services - but this year, there was a youth lock-in that corresponded with our coming. We played for the youth and had a blast - and then sent them off to stay up all night while we slept for the next day. We played a few services the next day, and got a chance to speak at their "Adult forum" (a sort of Sunday School class). They drilled us, asked us questions we had never been asked before (not an easy accomplishment!), and even made us eat a lemon slice - rind and all! What a blast - thanks for everything, St. Timothy's.

Next we stopped at Sheboygan for a concert at Sheboygan Christian High. We got to stay with the Hendrickses and were hosted by Chris and his family. It was so much fun to get to know them and be enveloped in God's love there. They even had a prayer room in their basement where they spent time worshiping at times throughout the day. What a blessed group of people. Our concert at the school went splendidly, and we just had a great time. Thanks for everything, Hendrikse family!

Our last two events were Coulee Region Christian School and Cornerstone church. At Coulee Christian, we met the new principal, Dan Odenbach, and spent some time ministering to the kids. Dan is a very neat, dynamic guy who has just been a blessing to the school. His passion for the kids is remarkable, and it was such an encouragement to see the ministry being done there. Our concerts were for an elementary group and a middle/high school group. The school has a great group of kids and we had a fabulous time. Thanks, Coulee!

At Cornerstone, we met Billy Reames and his family, and the youth at their church. They fed us tacos (awesome!) and we got to play in their new Gathering Place (youth room). It was a phenomenal last concert with a great turnout, and we enjoyed every minute we spent there. Special thanks to Billy, who is doing a great work there at the church.


Looking back, I definitely can see the ways that God has stretched and used us this tour. I'm proud of the team members for remaining faithful and staying intentional to the end. We have had some ups and downs, but I think that most of the places that we went we were able to connect with the people and hopefully serve them by encouraging them to give more of themselves to Jesus Christ (a vocation that all of us are given!). Our greatest desire is that we are used by God to speak his words and to call others to His service.


Thank you all so much for following our progress and for your prayers. We are really blessed to be a part of this awesome ministry and serve Jesus Christ with our music. Until later...



A picture of a cat and a rooster.


... it's the best I could do.

- Brad

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Like the cat and the rooster. See you at Central in Conway, AR later this week.