Shallowford Presbyterian Youth

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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Wow. We were at Sea World before it opened this morning with thousands of our closest friends. The shows were great. The all new, One World, Shamu show. The Azul dolphin and high wire diving, swinging, etc. act. The sea lion show. Penguin feedings. Gator talks. It was a lot to squeeze in the 5 hours that seemed to fly by. Most of us managed to duck from shade tree to shade tree to air conditioned gift shop enough to keep from getting completely fried, but let's be honest. 100 degrees is just hot. Humidity or not, it was roasting.



After Sea World it was off to the Alamo to see a bit of history. It was a lot for a group of half dehydrated, half sunburned, tourists to take in but man did they have a great gift shop. It's pretty wild to read about the history of the Alamo and see how the city has completely grown up around this iconic building. I must say it ruined the image I had in my mind from old western movies of this lone building out in the middle of the desert. Instead it's across from Ripley's Believe it Or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records Museum. None the less, we were all glad that we took the time to see this part of San Antonio history.







Finally, it was off to the river walk. Perhaps the highlight of our day, the river walk was a great little part of town full of shops, restaurants, cafes, and people watching. Most of us took the 30 minute boat ride through the canals as we learned a little bit of history about the city. Think a much more touristy, much more crowded, and much less romantic version of a Venetian gondola ride, but informative and relaxing nonetheless. It was a great way to end another busy day.







Tomorrow it's off to Schlitterbahn for the entire day!


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Location:San Antonio, TX

We started the day off with worship at First Presbyterian Church in Waco in an absolutely beautiful hundred year old sanctuary. The host families could not have had nicer words to say about our youth and that was even before they sang. You could tell from what was said both during and following the service that this church is really trying to emphasize the importance of youth and young people in the church and in worship specifically. Our group was in held up as a great example of this in action and something for FPC to live up to.

I think the older members particularly enjoyed our revved up version of O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing, as it drew applause from a church that apparently does not clap for just anyone. The choir director leaned over to one of our chaperones after the applause and said "that is the third time in my thirty years here that they have clapped for someone." What a HUGE compliment.


After worship, it was box lunches and then back on the bus for a short ride to San Antonio for concert number two at Oak Hills Presbyterian Church. We were treated to a great tex-mex fajita dinner and had time to let the kids run around a little bit before singing.





We even had a few familiar faces in the crowd as the Adams Family was there to cheer us on!

It was another long day of singing. I can't believe that worship in Waco was just this morning! Now it's off for a couple days of fun before getting back to business. Tomorrow is Sea World, The Alamo, and the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Weather forecast for tomorrow: High Temp of 101. Wish us luck.

(the wonderful Comfort Inn WIFI is not cooperating this morning enough to allow me to post the videos from yesterdays concerts. Look for them as soon as I can post them)


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Location:San Antonio, TX

We left all the trees and hills behind us today as we made our way out of the bayou and into ranchland. Thankfully it was a dry 98 today and we managed to spend most of our day in the comfort of air conditioning. We're looking forward to going all out however in the next few days as we make it into triple digits.





Our first stop in Waco this afternoon was at the Dr. Pepper Museum. We got a little more history about the popular drink than we really wanted (think really scaled down version of the Coke museum, and then take away all the bells and whistles), but the soda fountain was pretty great at the end. Most of us enjoyed a Dr. Pepper float or shake which is what we really came for anyway.












After Dr. Pepper we decided we hadn't had enough fun for one day yet so we headed just a few miles down the road to Mammoth Site Park. Here there was a lovely jaunt down a newly constructed path to a wonderfully cool (cold not hip) building set over top of a recently closed dig site.













In the site were a handful of mammoth remains, a camel, some unidentified bones, and some beautiful new ferns! It was pretty fascinating to see these still in their original placement just as they were discovered.






Four minutes later, the usual suspects were playing frisbee in the parking lot and we knew it was time to head to the church. We were greeted by a wonderful group of eager hosts and a home-cooked Texas style BBQ dinner.

Tomorrow is double duty as we will sing in a gorgeous sanctuary at First Presbyterian of Waco for morning worship and then travel to San Antonio for an evening concert. You can kiss those clean polo shirts goodbye!

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So apparently when you are on tour, either time stands still, or there are at least 29 hours in the day. Mama Bear and the chaperones had to reassure each other this morning that yes this was only Friday, Day 2. But we are having a blast.







We left Alabama, and Mississippi behind and arrived in Cajun territory just after 4:00pm today as we pulled into the Northwest Louisiana War Veterans Home. After the concert last year in Cincinnati, the kids were very excited to share their message with this group of veterans. For some it was a little intimidating at first. For others, it was a little too close to home, reminding them of loved ones at home that they don't get to see enough. Either way it was both inspiring and an honor to sing for such a distinguished group of people. The appreciation and excitement in having us there was evident.






After the concert, the kids had the chance to visit with the residents. Some of them shared war stories and told us about their families. Others simply wanted to know more about us and where we were from and why in the world we would drive this far just to see them. I think it really hit home just how meaningful this visit was for the veterans when one man told them that we were the first guests he has visited with in over three years despite the fact that his son lives just fifteen minutes from the facility.



















By the time we left the Veterans center, it was after 7:00 and time to invade the Corral made of gold. In case you were in doubt, I can assure you that 56 teenagers (plus Jay) can put a hurtin' on some food. But the kids were great once again and even voluntarily sang happy birthday to a nearby table celebrating with family.

Jay's First Plate



Jay's Second Plate




Jay's Dessert Plate




Finally, after Golden Corral, you know what they always say: if you can, try to swim sooner than thirty minutes after an all you can eat buffet!
The kids blew off some steam and hung out together in the hotel pool for a while before heading off to their rooms to be asleep with the lights out by 11:00! Or something like that.

Tomorrow is a welcomed off day as far as singing goes, but we head to Waco, Texas for a trip to the Dr. Pepper museum, some free time, and dinner at First Presbyterian of Waco.


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Location:Bossier City, LA