Last Wednesday I came to Cedarville early to get certified
to drive a university van. Soon after that, I was reunited with my awesome team
and we got started with our first day of rehearsing. We had a great dinner with
all our parents that night before we said goodbye. Thursday morning we woke up, had
breakfast and a meeting with Jim, and kept on rehearsing. I also was given the
responsibility of finances (again) and was so excited to find out how much
easier my job would be this year with the new iPad and Square credit card
readers! Later that night each of the 4 summer teams played a set for each
other so we could hear each other play and share some encouragement/advice with
each other.
Every year, it is a tradition for HeartSong to go for a
midnight walk in the woods. Usually we go in October, but this year it rained
almost every Wednesday in the fall, so it was postponed to this past Thursday.
It was more adventurous this year as half of us got off the path and were lost
for a few minutes until Jim broke his “no flashlight” rule to find us. Needless
to say, the spiritual implications were very easy to find. We ended the night
by singing and praying under the stars and then having a bonfire with s’mores.
When we got back to campus, Dexter and I stayed up for another half-hour
talking about God, our teams, and prayer requests. It was an incredible night.
Friday we learned how to facilitate games before we broke
off to do our individual jobs. We did everything we needed to get done to prep
for tour, including going over junior music and writing a new intro for “O
Happy Day.” We all went to the Cousers’ house for dinner and backyard games in
the evening; it was a great time to relax and hang out with everyone before
leaving for tour. When we got back to campus, we packed up EVERYTHING before
going to bed. The next morning, after a quick breakfast, picture, and goodbye,
HeartSong Green Team left Cedarville for a summer in Michigan!
We arrived at First Baptist Church of Marysville, MI in the
afternoon. We set up and ran a couple of songs before we went to Pastor Chris’
house for dinner. While we were there, we met all of our host families. I was
so excited to find out I would be staying with a family with a 9-year-old girl
who was taking piano lessons. After dinner, we headed back to the church for
our Saturday night youth event. We played a full set of music intermixed with
our Cedarville video and some of the games we learned on Friday, including “A
Little Dicey” where the kids stack dice on top of the end of a popsicle stick
with the other end in their mouths. The event went really well, although by the
end we were all exhausted!
But God gave me a second wind on the way to our host home.
The 9-year-old was very awake and chatty and asked us all sorts of questions
about things we were interested in. We started talking all about piano, and by
the time we got home she was ready to show me her piano and play a little for
me. We ended up playing 2 or 3 duets together from her method books! I was
having a ball, I could tell she was having a ball, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her mom smiling ear
to ear. I slept so well that night and woke up to French toast before we headed to
the church.
This morning we played another full set of music, this time
including our favorite hymns instead of games. :) Everyone there was genuinely
excited to see us and loved our music, and that made all of us even more
excited to be there! We loved talking to everyone beforehand and afterwards.
When everyone had left, we had pizza with a couple of the pastors and their families.
Our host families left all of us bags of goodies, and the pastor was so
generous in giving us whatever we needed (including filling up our gas tank!).
We left the church feeling so blessed and full of joy.
And now we are approximately 4 hours away from Lake Ann
Camp! I’m sitting in the front seat with Dane; for the first 15 minutes of the
drive we were bouncing off the walls until he pointed out that we were wasting
energy and should save our excitement for when we get to the town. So here I
sit attempting to suppress my excitement for another 3.5 hours or so while I
reflect on how blessed our team has been. Throughout the year, and in the past 2
days, our weekend tours have been a blessing for us, encouraging our faith as
we have tried to encourage others. I am praying that throughout the summer we can
always remember how much God has blessed us so that we can be a blessing and
spread love to others.
Until next time, Soli Deo Gloria!
~Deanna
Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use
your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
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