Shallowford Presbyterian Youth

We had a wonderful day at the beach this afternoon. 100 % of the youth are sunburned and are now having aloe parties. We tried our best to get them to reapply but it seems to have failed.

A front moved in late this afternoon just in time to drop the temperature to a cool 75 degrees in time for the baseball game and not a drop of rain. The Youthworks staff even joined us for one last hoorah!! We loved them a lot!

We will be on the road tomorrow around 9 in hopes of pulling into church sometime around 1:30 or 2. We can't wait to see you all.

We're off for our last day of work projects. We had a great evening last night on the beach and are looking forward to a good cookout tonight with the community.

In other news, two of our youth thought it would be a good idea to throw each other through a window in the boys sleeping room last night so we will be making some repairs this morning. But don't worry, I knew this would happen so I brought both of their parents along as chaperones on the trip! :)


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Hey all. Sorry for the delay. They keep us pretty busy around here and there are only certain times I can use my phone and certain places I can take pictures.

We are having a wonderful week. Kids who had reservations about the work assignements going into day 1 are now loving them. Some of us are painting, others are spending times with kids, and yet others are with older residents in a rehab hospital.

We are beginning to mingle more with the other churches, one from Indiana and the other from Alabama. They think our group, and our leaders, are pretty cool!!! Imagine that. Anyway, tomorrow we switch work projects and get to spend a free afternoon at the beach!

Can't wait to share lots more pictures and stories with you all.




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Our first morning here! The youth are up early cooking my breakfast. We are staying in a great little Methodist church and managed to get good sleep last night. Today is our first real day of mission work and then tonight it's off to River Street!

So far so good. Our scripture verse for the week is John 3:30 "Jesus must become greater, I must become less."


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This morning we mustered the energy to sing in worship and kept our eyes open for most of the time. It was a beautiful, old sanctuary dating back to 1858. The best part about being in Charlotte is that we were just one little bus ride from home! We're on the road now. Look how excited our kids are about being home:













See you all soon!!!!!

Despite sore throats, sunburns, and lack of sleep, the kids really pulled it together tonight for one of their better performances. It's fun to see them finally beginning to embrace the performance a little more, allowing themselves to break loose and have fun with it. Individual singers are fInding ways that they connect and identify with the songs and you can see it on their faces and in their movements The more fun they have with it, the more fun we have in the audience. I can't wait to see how they rally for the homecoming show.









We're up again bright and early heading for Charlotte.


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We now have a brief glimpse into what it must feel like to be rockstars. After 7+ days onthe road, the bus is beginning to feel like home. Some manage to sleep, some have been glued to their gameboys, iPods, and cellphones since 285, others continue week long card games, or just talk to hear their head rattle.

Barbara Houze has joined us once more for our concert in Charleston, WV that begins in just moments. After tonight, the light at the end of the tunnel gets a little brighter. Pass the word that we're coming home and invite them to our concert on Sunday.


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Yesterday was a great day! The lines were short, the temperature was a cool 75 (sunburns were sorta held at bay (Emily's is the worst)), and the coasters were screamin'. The crowd favorites were Millenium Force topping out at speeds of 93 mph and Top Thrill Dragster reaching 120 mph in less than 4 seconds! Even some of our youth went on their very first roller coasters!

Even those that aren't fans of coasters found things to keep them busy. Andrew Bogle won a 5' tall gorilla who is now riding shotgun in the van. Emily and Jay had a rousing afternoon on the sky buckets, paddlewheel boat, and train. And the chaperones ended the evening getting tats and watching a fireworks extravaganza.

This morning, after waking up a few oversleepers, it's off to Charleston, WV for an evening concert.

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Last night we had a great night with the veterans. They enjoyed the performance and the youth got to spend some time hearing their stories afterwards. It really meant a lot to our youth to be able to perform for this distinguished group of people.

After the show we went to Ohio's version of Mayfield for some fresh ice cream and frisbee. We managed to get a few hours of sleep at the mission center of 1st Presbyterian Church. Nothing like 35 guys altogether in one room. Now it's off to the rides for 12 hours!!

Tomorrow it's time to head South again.


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Singers were dropping like flies last night as they performed under the hot lights in Crystal Lake. After a good nights sleep and another omelette by Bogle we are no worse for the wear. We leave behind the familiar faces from Emily's past and head toward Ohio.

Tonight it's Sandusky (hence the Tommy Boy reference) for a concert and a night in the mission center. Tomorrow it's Cedar Point!


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