Last Wednesday a group of about 20 people from our church started heading to Abilene. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but we were on our way. We picked up a girl in Katy and were in Abilene by 1. Our group was the last one there, but they had waited for us. As soon as we got there Dr. Hawthorn (or as he will be referred to in this blog, Doc) greeted each one of us personally and we headed up to the Music Hall for rehearsal. I have to admit, by the end of the first night, when all we had done was sing, eat, go to a service, and sing some more, I was feeling a little overwhelmed and wondering why I had come. But then again, that's what everyone said it would be like. They also said it was the best trip ever, so I knew it had to get better than that. And it did.
By the second day I realized that I was not in control, which is a weird thing for me, because I'm always in control at church activities. I just had to accept that I was not an expert at this stuff by any means. By the time the third day had come and gone I had met some amazing new friends from Amarillo, Midland/Odessa, Andrews and Anson and was completely comfortable being my weird self around them. We had bowled, played a game of around the world ping-pong with our hands, and eaten some pretty gross food (eww!). Friday night we had a pizza party and scavenger hunt. I have to say that my team should definitely get the loser prize, because we were the last team in that night, we got hit by the sprinklers, we got the wrong thing (a petrified tree stump is definitely a place where time stands still), and none of the pictures turned out because we couldn't get the flash on. I know, we're amazing.
The first three days all we did was basically eat, sleep and sing. Saturday we headed out for Dallas/Arlington on two coach buses, checked into our hotel and went to a Rangers game. We mostly played cards at the Rangers game. Actually, we didn't watch the game at all. After the game an unfortunate accident happened. One of the kids bumped into Doc's wife, she fell and had to be taken to a hospital. I'll go ahead and give you a preview into the future and tell you that she's doing okay now. We usually sang two concerts a day in the Dallas area from Sunday to Wednesday. Throw in a trip to Six Flags Over Texas and the Dallas Art Museum and you've got our schedule.
At all the concerts we sang some combination of the following songs: Antiphon , Our God is God, The Majesty and Glory of Your Name, The Conversion of Saul, There is No Rose (girls only), The Awakening (guys only), Eternal Life (our commissioned piece), Restore My Joy, Recollection of Joy (our "theme song"), Beautiful River, Sit Down Servant, and Let Mount Zion Rejoice. The ensemble sang some combination of the following: My Lord, My Life, My All, It is Well with My Soul, I Go to the Rock, and Ask the Watchman. There was also a piano violin duet by Ashley Johnson and Renee Wang. Man, that's a lot of music. I totally didn't realize there was that much.
Thursday, our last day together, we drove back to Abilene for our final concert at FBC Abilene. We had a great time together, but the hardest part of the whole trip was saying goodbye Thursday night after the concert. I never realized how much I hate saying goodbye. Especially when you've gotten so close to these people over such a short amount of time. I'm pretty sure everyone cried, whether it was in public or not, I'm pretty sure they did.
I don't think I've ever been around more committed people, more committed Christians, more committed musicians, or more committed leaders. Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in Master's Singers this year. It was seriously the best camp I've ever been to. I met so many amazing people, and if any of you ever read this (you know who you are) remember this, and I quote, "I thank my God when I remember you for he has blessed my life with yours. In every prayer of mine for you I'm filled with joy for I hold you in my heart. And I pray that your love may abound yet more in knowedge and in all judgement; that you may approve excellent things. That you may be sincere being filled with the fruits of righteousness unto the glory and praise of God. Grace to you and peace to you from God our Father, Christ our Lord. I thank my God when I remember you for he has blessed my life with yours. In every prayer of mine for you I'm filled with joy for I hold you in my heart."
And to end on a less sad note just look at this picture.
That's Bailey, me, David, Bethany, Elliott and Chris and Chad in the background. Great pic, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment