Tour Log

The following is my journal entries during the choir tour. I realize the
names mean nothing to you, but it's for my sake.


Sunday September 5th

Man I'm having a ball. This is such an incredible time. Being with
people all the time is great. It might get old by the end of the week,
but right now i can't imagine it.

There was a bit of a hiccup in our trip yesterday before we left. Our
sound equipment was too heavy for the bus when combined with
the weight of everything else. So we weren't even sure if we could
still go. But through prayers and putting heads together we (the
leadership) decided to have a van follow the bus with all the
equipment. But that didn't work to well so we decided to put someone
in the van to drive it.

The time in the bus on the way here went well. We saw snow on the
ground on the way but there wasn't show in Orange, our destination.
But it was still very cold.

Our first program went this morning. It was kind of an interesting
church. It was in a movie theatre. It was weird but it works.

Later tonight we did another show. We did our Kirk Franklin song it
was pretty rockin and everyone was getting into it. The audience
looked a little stunned. Not sure if they appreciated it. We had a great
time buggen our up there.

I'm getting to know some people better including Glen Marika, Renea
and some others. It's so incredibly fun.

Monday September 6th

So it's been another incredible day on choir tour. A very long day.
I'm pretty tired and it's only 8:35. This morning Glen and I got up
and our host family took us to a grade-school in Orange (the city
we were in). We did two programs for different age groups. And we
also did a workshop with them. It's basically where Dr. Johnston
gives tips or pointers to their school choir. It all wen smoothly.
"Brighter Day" and "Never Gonna Stop" are so fun. Everybody gets
so into it. I just can't describe the feeling one gets when jammin out
on stage. With great friends no less.

There's this guy in the front row named Keith that has a mic for
"Brighter Day" and sort of interacts with the crowd. In the music score
there are words printed for speach, like "Get your bounce on" and
other "black gospel" things to say. So Keith always says that stuff.
He's kind of random and crazy sometimes. So it's always entertaining
to see what he'll do on stage. It's funny because there's not one black
person in the choir and everybody knows it's all kind of cheesy,
but we just have a good time and laugh about it. Nobody cares much
about what people think about us. It's so great.

When I first heard that we were doing Kirk Franklin gospel songs, I
was kind of put off by it. But now I love it because it's so great to
just
let loose with everyone.

I talked with a girl named Michelle a bunch today. She's cool/fun.
She's a bass player in the band that accompanies us. We had a good
chat on the bus today, on the way to Dubbo. We've never really talked
much before. I was surprised when she sat down and started a
conversation with me. I enjoyed the company.

I also talked with Renea a bunch today. These people are very kind
and accepting of me. It really means the world to me. Renea is so kind
to all.

Tuesday September 7th

I have so much to write and little time. This morning we went to the
Dubbo Zoo. It was alright. I had seen all the animals before. Friends
made it fun though. I was in a group with Shannon, Gavin, Lauren,
Loraine, Phil, Chris, and Jackie.

We did a show for the Christian school. We sang "Dawn" and had to
use music. It pretty bad, so did "Sunset."

So I'm staying with this single guy who lives by himself out in the
middle of the country. For some reason Jonathan (a choir member)
didn't want to stay with this guy so I reluctantly agreed to swap
places.
I was kind of ticked about the whole thing because it meant being alone
with this guy. Now that I look back I can see God's hand in the
situation. You see, I got to stick around at the school, where a bunch
of friends were staying, for awhile. Peter, My host, works at the school
so it worked out nicely.

Tonight was incredible at the school. It was a group of about 20. We
were in this gym/stage area. Like the whole night we listened to
music while doing things like jumping off a trampoline onto a huge
matte. It's kind of hard to explain. Everyone was just being totally
carefree and having a good time. enjoying one another's company.

It was Lisa's birthday. So we all payed 5 bucks and some people
went to the store and got some groceries. Then we had a meal
cooked by the girls.

We talked and laughed a lot around the table. And we all said what
we are thankful for. It was such a meaningful time.

Afterwards we played more games. I even learned a little about how
to play Cricket.

It wasn't until after dinner that I actually started doing stuff rather
than
just watching. Doing stuff made the time 100 times more fun. To
relax and be yourself is so freeing. Before that, for some reason, I
was too self conscious to do much.

I talked with Lisa some today. Mostly about music that we like. She's
a very nice girl and I enjoyed talking with her. But she's too
controlling for me.

There are countless little experiences that I've had where I've
experienced kindness and acceptance from all of my friends here.
That has made this tour and my whole Australian trip an experience
that is one of the best in my life. God's grace is abundant to me.

Wednesday September 8th

Today we did a lot of traveling. About 8 hours worth. But it really
didn't
seem that long. We did a lot in the bus. A lot of talking and some
games.

I got to know Jonno Dollin? more today. He's cooler than I thought.
I thought he was kind of annoying before I talked with him much,
which was unfair I suppose.

Not much else happened. It was fun to be with people on the bus.
Some of those guys are so funny. Especially Tim, Keith and Greg. There
were so many funny things that happened.

I saw a lot more of the Australian countryside today. It's beautiful.
Some
of it reminded me a lot of Colorado. Very green and hilly. There were
some fields with bright yellow flowers. It was incredible.

I saw the satellite dish that was in the movie "The Dish" from a
distance.

Thursday September 10th

This is for yesterday. I was too tired last night to write.

We did a show at a Christian school and at Lisa's home church (I think).
We're in Lisa's home town staying with her family. We had some free
time so a bunch went to the bay nearby. I decided to stay and take a nap
and shower. It felt wonderful. We didn't get a chance to shower
yesterday
morning because we slept in a church.

Not a whole happened that was very interesting yesterday. Our shows
went very well. We're getting a lot better at the Bush songs and
"O Solutaris Hostia." That son is incredible. It's so beautiful. I'm
hoping
we can sing it for out practice when my parents and sister are here.

I can't believe it's already Friday. We have three more shows today then
we go home to Sydney. As far as I'm concerned, the more shows the
better. I love "Wondrous Cross." The arrangement is so powerful. It's
especially meaningful when I can focus on Jesus when singing.

Friday September 10th

The last day was great. We did three shows. Two in schools and one in
a church. At the first school after our shows there were little kids
coming
up to us and asking for our autographs. It made us feel important.

We kind of got carried away with the first show so we had to rush to the
next school. Everyone was scrambling to tear down and then set up
again at the other school. By this time we pretty much have our songs
down pat. Therefore it's more fun and we can focus on what matters -
communication, both with God and the audience.

At the church we had left our suits on some chairs and gone to eat.
When we came back we were all getting ready to change. Gavin, a
friend of mine, started taking my suite and putting it on. I was like,
"You
know that's my suite right?" He said, "Yeah." And he just kept putting
it
on and I was like, "Dude that's my suite, what the world are you doing?"
"I'm putting on your suite." So I just kind of stood there wondering
what
was going on. And I said, "You're being goofy Gavin." And then he said,
"Oh you're being serious with me?" And he then realized that it really
was my suite. He said he thought I was just joking with him. It was
hilarious. We got a good laugh about it.

On the way back to Sydney we all shared stories on the mic in the front
of the bus. The time went so fast because we were having a great time.
It was great because everyone knew everyone and could share in all
the funny stories of things that had happened on tour. Gavin told about
our situation with the suite. Everyone laughed.

I'm sad that it's all over, but very thankful for the experience.