Days 8 & 9: Fun and Driving

The end of the trip has been so packed with things, mostly driving, that I have not been able to update the blog, but now that we are all back in New Mexico, I do want to put a few pictures up and fill in some of the details of what happened toward the end of the trip.

I believe I left off in Chicago, where the very next morning we woke up early to visit Elim School for students with special needs.  The choir not only had fun, but we also learned a lot about special needs and I think that most, if not all, of the choir took away experiences that significantly impacted their stay.  Here are a few photos of our students singing for, and with, the Elim students.

After this, the choir finally had some "free time".  We first boarded a cruise boat which took us around the Chicago harbor, beginning and ending at the Navy Pier.  Lunch was served on the cruise as well as music and an area for students to dance.  On the same boat happened to be a high school orchestra touring from Houston, so we were able to meet some other students "face to face" who were also on tour.  Here are some pictures from the cruise.

Students were then released on Navy Pier with instructions to "be back in two hours".  At the end of these two hours, we went downtown to watch the Blue Man Group, which I believe all of the students enjoyed thoroughly.  Here are some pictures of our students with the "Blue Men".

The next destination was Joplin, Missouri, but it was too far away to do the drive right away, so we stayed at a hotel in Springfield, Illinois.  Waking up the next morning, we drove to Joplin and witnessed the devastation of the tornadoes that blew through less than a year ago.  The pastor had some incredible stories and we were able to play for a group of local people who came to church that day.  Below are some photos of their sanctuary.  Another incredible thing that happened was that an Amish and Mennonite group was doing a mission trip to Joplin at that exact same time, so they got to hear our concert as well!  In the words of Bob Ippel, "only God could arrange a choir tour where we get to come face to face with Amish and Mennonite brothers and sisters in Christ."

The final leg of the journey involved an overnight drive and one final stop for breakfast in Albuquerque.  Thank you for reading the blog and I hope that all of the students and chaperons involved had a meaningful and fun time!

Day 7: Three Choirs at Trinity

This morning we woke up for another change of cities, but this was much closer than most as we were only driving to Chicago.  We arrived on the campus of Trinity College early enough that we could practice before lunch at the college's dining hall.  After lunch, the students were able to take a tour of Trinity, followed by some rest and relaxation, followed by dinner in the lunch hall.  In between each of these activities we had several rehearsals because the concert had three other choirs along with the Rehoboth Choir!  One of the choirs we sang with was the Trinity Concert Choir.  Our students were able to interact with different Trinity students all around campus during their free time.

Another choir was the Roseland Youth Choir, which can be seen below rehearsing.  This choir could really put out some sound!  Our students were able to have dinner with them and interact with these students after dinner.

The third choir was the Elim Christian Choir, which is a school for students with disabilities.  Our students had a great time with them and we will get to interact with them more tomorrow because we will be visiting their school in the morning.

The concert was wonderful as each choir got to sing songs on their own as well as some with the Rehoboth Choir.  We ended the concert with all of the choirs up front which was a really great experience for all of the students.

Day 6: A Middle School, an Elementary School, and Calvin College

This morning the students got to sleep in just a little bit, but we all had to get to Grand Rapids Christian Middle School.  The middle school students really got into the Stomp routine and really just had a blast jumping up and down and waving their hands.  If the picture below is blurry, it is because the students are dancing and having fun!

After a brief downtime, we traveled to Grand Rapids Christian Elementary School.  When the elementary school students got to the gym, the Rehoboth students made a "tunnel" with their arms to welcome the elementary students, who had a blast from the first minute they walked onto the floor.

The elementary school students also got into the music, but they especially enjoyed being able to sing their song to the Rehoboth students!  Here's a picture of the Rehoboth students enjoying a brief concert from the elementary students.

At both of the above venues, at least one student was chosen to wear a traditional Navajo dress, which was exciting for all of the students.

After this, it was on to Calvin College for the rest of the night.  First, our students got to experience eating in the college dining hall.  Then they all received tours of the campus, in groups of eight, given by current Calvin students.  Coming back from their tours, the students had some time to relax.  The students had a little more practicing to do in the chapel where they performed later that night.

After the short rehearsal, our students were treated to a fancy dinner by Calvin, where they got to eat with current Calvin students who are Rehoboth alumni.  Here are a few of the tables of Rehoboth students.

The concert, again, went wonderfully, and most of the students returned to their host families, although a few went to see some movie about being hungry and playing games.  As always, you can find the rest of the photos here.

Day 5: An Early Morning, a Retirement Home, and the Ocean! (...er, I mean Lake Michigan)

The students had to wake up very early again this morning, as the bus needed to start driving at about 5:15 am in order to make the trip on time.  The host families were again wonderful and brought all of the students to the bus on time, as well as provided packed lunches for the students so that we would not have to stop for too long.  Fortunately we made better time than expected and were able to stop on the beaches of Lake Michigan for a short break.  Here are some photos of the students having fun on the sand.

The students were obeying all the rules.

Some crazy kids got in the cold water...

After this, we arrived at the Raybrook Campus of the Holland Home Retirement Community.  After dinner with the residents, the students put on a mini-concert at the nursing home.  The concert was especially significant to Mr. Ippel, whose father lives at this nursing home.  Below is a photo of a practice, but for the actual mini-concert, the chapel was packed to the brim.  The lady who helped us organize it said that she had never seen the place so full in the 15 years she had worked there!

After the concert, students met up with their host families and retired for the night.  I'll leave you with a drawing by Amber Ballenger.

Day 4: Three and a Half Services, a Concert, and a Comedy Club

The students had to wake up bring and early again this morning in order to get ready to play at three different church services in the morning!  There was one traditional service and two contemporary services, and Pastor Mike, who visited Rehoboth with the volunteer group that came just a few weeks ago, delivered a phenomenal message about what he learned on his volunteer trip.  The students performed only a few songs to give the congregation a taste of the concert which they were to perform later that night.

Just after the third service, the students were able to take a short break in a room specifically designated for them to rest, and some of the students got their hands on a microphone system and held the "First Ever Hope Lutheran Church Stand-up Comedy Club".  The students took turns telling jokes to one another and they even got Pastor Mike to come tell a joke after the service was over!

The students then had a sound check in the main worship center, an essential thing to do because of just how large the center is!  While the students were practicing their "stomp" section, the sound guy exclaimed that it was so cool that they had to do the stomp routine for the 5:00 pm service!  The students really wanted to do it and so, with very little warning, the students put on the stomp routine for the offertory of the evening worship service (hence the "and a half services").

In the afternoon, the students had a choice of going to the local mall (also very large) or staying at the church, and most of the students decided to go experience the mall.  After that break, it was to dinner, quickly, on to practice with the church's choir, and then on to the performance for the night, which went wonderfully.  Below is a picture of the students with the Hope Lutheran Choir as well as the children's choir.

Well, that's all for tonight.  As always, you can see all the pictures at this link.

Day 3: A Nursing Home, a New Church, and a Service Opportunity

This morning the students woke up in their welcoming host families' homes and arrived at the nursing home bright and early in the morning.  The residents of the nursing home were seated and ready when we arrived, and although the performance was the most cramped one to date, I think that both the students and the residents appreciated the interactions and the time together.  Here are a few pictures from the performance.

The residents especially enjoyed the performance.

The next destination was Des Moines, less than an hour away, where we discovered the church where we will sing tomorrow.  The students were fascinated by the church and enjoyed the space the church had by relaxing for a short while.

After visiting the church, we were able to go to a food ministry where the students enjoyed packaging food to send to food pantries around the world at a place called "Meals from the Heartland".

The students lined up on different assembly lines and even had a little friendly competition.

The students ended up packing 10,000 meals in exactly an hour!  The students enjoyed the competition, but also getting to see their product at the end and know that their product is going to various places around the world, including the Gallup food pantry!

As always, you can see more photos here and I hope to have a lot to update you with tomorrow as tomorrow will be one of the busiest days for the students!

Day 2: Driving, Pella, and a Performance

Today we woke up bright and early at our hotel and yet again the students surprised me by their promptness: arriving at breakfast before 6:00 am, which was the stated time. As you can tell from the first picture, taken of our continental breakfast, not everyone was awake, but we still had hours on the road for the students to wake up and even practice some songs!

We arrived at Pella at 3:00 in the afternoon, parking right in front of Mrs. DeYoung's mother's house, and all of the students ran up to greet her.

The students had a little time to explore "downtown" Pella, but we soon arrived at Calvary CRC to get set up and practice.

The local high school choir that joined us for some of the pieces was a great group of students.  Below you can see our students meeting them "face to face".  Mr. Ippel wanted to rehearse one more time after dinner, just before the concert, but decided not to because the students were having so much fun playing basketball and interacting with these students, which is really one of the more important things the students are doing on the tour.  That, and they sang so well anyway that they really didn't need the extra practice.

You can also find more pictures here as I will try to take as many as possible and put the best ones here in the blog.