Shallowford Presbyterian Youth

It's that time of year again. Many people are gearing down, getting ready to take a breather. But for the Shallowford Chapel Choir, things are just about to get cranked up. Just a few days left until we begin tour rehearsals (kinda the singers equivalent to football two-a-days), start packing our bags, and say goodbye.

You have two chances to hear the choir before they shove off. Sunday afternoon, June 3 at Shallowford Presbyterian and Monday, June 4 at Memorial Drive Presbyterian along with our friends from Bountiful Bags. We hope you'll come show your support and send us off with a bang. These concerts are also great to bring your friends and neighbors to as well.

It has been a long two years of planning, preparation, and fundraising, but it has all lead us to the exciting days ahead of us. We certainly could not have done it without the love and support from literally thousands of people who have helped in different ways to make this tour possible. We thank you all in advance and we can't wait to share our message and our collective voice with you all.

I am so sorry and I guess flattered that so many of you have missed the blog this week. Unfortunately, our housing site does not have an internet connection that we are able to use. This makes it virtually impossible to upload and pictures or videos.

Not to mention I am awake with your kids from 6:30 am until 11:30 pm each day. :)

I assure you that we are all okay and doing great. We have some wonderful stories to share with you and know that you will all plan to attend on Sunday, July 10 during the SS hour.

See you all Friday around 4:00!


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For some reason the blog post from yesterday is nowhere to be found. Click on this link to view it:

http://shallowfordyouth.blogspot.com/2011/06/crank-city-tours-welcomes-you-to-new.html


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Oh my gosh! You'll never guess who showed up for the performance today! Okay most of you already know, but the kids and the chaperones were all shocked to be greeted by Chris when they arrived at Prien Lake Park for lunch this afternoon. We had a nice little picnic lunch provided by Nick Villaume, and the kids had a chance to run around, finally play some frisbee, with Chris, and blow off some steam.



















After about 90 minutes everyone was pretty much done with the Lake Charles heat and humidity, so we headed off for, you guessed it, another shopping mall where the kids had more free time. This time indoors and air conditioned.







Once again we were greeted with open arms at First Presbyterian of Lake Charles. After a brief warm up, we went upstairs for our authentic Gumbo dinner! Yum. The concert was perhaps the best of the tour so far. The audience was very much into it, and the space did amazing things with the kids' sound. They are starting to build some momentum as we head down the home stretch towards the homecoming concert. I think it always helps to have familiar faces in the crowd as well. Tonight we had Chris, Nick Villaume, and Tom and Betty Lamb from Shallowford. What a treat!

After the concert it was dessert and fellowship before shipping the kids off to home stays once again. Tomorrow it's off to New Orleans for Senior Night! (That was a slightly sarcastic exclamation point) I think we are going to put the child locks on the doors of the van and just drive the seniors around the french quarter so they can see it.

Another big thanks to Nick Villaume for all the leg work and publicity he did for this tour stop. The people were excited and happy to see us thanks to Nick and it was meaningful for us all to get to share our message with a community that means so much to Nick. It's also not every day that your Sr. Pastor flies out to meet your youth choir for a single concert. Perhaps even more rare is having a Sr. Pastor that the kids enjoy seeing and hanging out with. Great days are in store for Shallowford.

Two more days. Start spreading the word. We want to come home to a packed house!




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Location:Lake Charles, LA

It was back on the road today. We had a fairly easy drive so we got to turn the kids lose today in the mall of all malls. The Galleria in Houston complete with ice skating rink and Needless Markups (Neiman Marcus). After that it was just a short ride up to The Woodlands where a wonderful church was waiting on us. We talked about what a difference it makes when you arrive somewhere and you can tell they are really excited to have you there.










We arrived to a beautiful sanctuary, a wonderful music director who helped Emily work with the kids, and a great home cooked meal. We shared stories and desserts after the concert and now the kids have all gone to home stays where they are hoping to strike it rich in the McMansions of this somewhat affluent neighborhood. I'm sure they will all have great stories in the morning.






We got to Houston today and realized that about a third of the boys had left some portion of their uniform in the hotel in San Antonio. That's what happens when you let them stay somewhere for two nights! They sure can sing though!

It was good to be singing again. You could tell this was a musical congregation and they appreciated what they heard. They are trying to start their youth choirs again so it was inspiring for them to see our group. Tomorrow it's off to meet up with Nick Villaume in his home town of Lake Charles.

Some close up, candids from the day:















In related news, the call came in around 3:00 today that my camera had been found. It's now en route to Atlanta!

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Location:Houston, TX

So in a sad turn of events, after I entrusted my water proof camera to the youth all day, who successfully took lots of great pictures, I decided to put it in my pocket while riding Dragon's Revenge this afternoon. Needless to say, the dragon did indeed get its revenge. The bad news is the camera is somewhere between turns two and three. The good news is thanks to my iPhone, the show goes on.




Aside from this sad loss, Schlitterbahn was great. It was nestled in amongst the treetops providing lots of natural shade, there were a good 13,000 less people than a typical day at Whitewater, lines were short, and food was paid for. Despite the sunscreen party at the beginning of the day, the kids managed to get almost as sunburned as we thought they would but it goes great with the choir tour t-shirts that Karen designed.



The main attractions included Master Blaster (voted number 1 water ride in the world) and the before mentioned Dragon's Revenge which were some of the first, if not the first, water rides to actually send you back uphill after the initial descent (think roller coasters here). Despite a slightly longer wait, they were well worth it. They also had lots of other great rides for those looking for a lower degree of thrill.



Now the fun is essentially over! It's back to work and the regular tour schedule starting with a concert tomorrow night in Houston. Here the very meager youth choir of around 10 singers will be joining us as they try to gain some interest and momentum for their own choir. It should be a well attended concert so we are looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. Then it's off to Lake Charles where the choir has already been featured in the local paper thanks to Nick Villaume. I would share the link with you but it has been down for the last day and a half. Check out the Shallowford Facebook page for the link when it starts working again.



Now that we are away from water, there will be more pictures/videos tomorrow. Keep following us!






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Location:San Antonio, TX

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