The day dawned bright and early on the morning of July 30th, 2016. At 4:30am to be exact. Luckily for us (although not everyone fully appreciated this kind gesture) we didn’t have to be downstairs for breakfast until 6:45! After breakfast, everyone hurried to their rooms to pack because we needed to be on the road by 7:30. And here, when they say on the road at 7:30, they MEAN on the road at 7:30! (Except this time it was closer to 7:35….)
Once on our way, we settled in for the (supposedly) 4.5 hour bus ride to the place we would stay that night. 6 HOURS later, we arrived at the bed and breakfast with restless legs and hungry stomachs! The drive was longer due to construction, but it was made endurable by pleasant conversations and intense ROOK games. Strains of music circulated throughout the bus from a group of industrious (and guilt provoking) choir members.
When we finally arrived, we were behind schedule, so we quickly ate lunch, brought our luggage to our rooms, and got ready for our program, all in 1 hour! Then we hit the road again, this time heading to a Baptist Church, where our first program would be held. When we got there, we ran through our standing arrangements, parts of songs, and had a devotional and prayer time. Finally, it was 6:30, time for our first concert to begin. It was a good first program, but there is also a lot of room for improvement. However, despite our less than perfectly program, the music seemed to connect well with the audience, and they were very appreciative as we talked with them after the concert. It was a good reminder that God can and does work through imperfect vessels.
After mingling with the audience, we headed downstairs, where some church ladies served supper to us and a group from Northern Ireland that was in Poland for a church camp, and were at our program. It was fun speaking to people whose first language is English, though I still found myself asking them to repeat themselves due to their accent! All in all, it was a good experience, and a great time! I wonder what tomorrow will hold….
-Lani Fahnestock