Good morning everyone,
Christy A. here, with a final update from the POP brigade. We got back to Indiana in time to do our final concert, PRAISE GOD. However, it was a battle. Eugene’s air conditioning broke down again in Nebraska, so we picked up a fan to at least circulate the air in the bus. Losing a luxury such as cold air would not be such a big deal on the road except for the fact that when we left CO, something we refer to as “the plague” hit our band.
Within about 10 hours, 4 members of our band were sick with a stomach flu. First Kevin and Megan, our bassist and keyboardist, then Kristen our road manager, then Mike, our awesome sound man. Literally within 2 or 3 hours of each other they began to get sick. Fortunately, we had enough plastic bags on the bus to supply their needs, but with the bus being as hot as it was, I know it was extremely hard for them. As the trip went on the AC was half working, so that was a blessing. All band members are healthy now as far as I know. There were only 3 out of 10 of us that managed to keep from getting some sort of sick on tour. That’s battle!!
Our last show was for the youth group at Grace Community Church on Wednesday night. Their kids had just arrived back from a few different mission trips, so it was a great evening of sharing and rejoicing!
However, it had a truly bittersweet taste for the band, because due to illness both Kristen and Mike were unable to do the show. Benton, bless him, filled in as our sound tech, and the band reconfigured things to cover Kristen’s parts, but I think I accurately express the heart of the band when I say it was not the same without them. A piece of all our hearts was missing. It, at least for me, was THE HARDEST concert we had to play, but it has given me new appreciation for the place in 1 Cor. 12 when it talks about all the parts of the Body and how if one part suffers, the whole body suffers. God was faithful though, and the show went considerably well considering we were missing 1/5 of the team.
It is always so humbling to see kids lose themselves in worship. We heard back a few days later that the kids loved the worship and were upset to discover that the band was “breaking up.”
We are all so incredibly grateful for the opportunity God put before us. He has certainly surpassed any expectation of blessing any of us could have imagined. At the risk of making this extremely long, I’d just like to say it’s been an honor to serve you all and leave you with one of the psalms shared by my pastor this morning. I know all of us could use some encouragement in this time of transition. Well, consider this a hug from
Jesus:
Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
God bless,
Christy :)
