Well, usually by the last full day, you expect things to be not "as good" as the first few days. The kids get tired, the chaperones get tired, been there, done that. This was not the typical last full day.
Yes, it started off the same way... devotions and worship. The kids lay waste to yet another lot in New Orleans. Then, lunch and clean up. We went to St. Louis Cathedral and toured the facility and sang one song outside on the steps. You need to ask your kids about what happened there. Not sure I should tell it here... LOL. :-)
We hit the stores for some fun shopping time and then sang at Artillary Park right across from Jackson Square. We didn't know if we would have any audience at all. Fortunately, we did! There was a large crowd in front and behind of us. As a matter of fact, one of the people whose house we had worked on yesterday rode his bike all the way in to hear us. One of the groups in front of us was another choir. They were so excited to hear us sing. They knew at least two of our songs and when Brian announced "Many Gifts, One Spirit", they practically spazzed out. Kendall overheard one of the kids from that group say how good we were and their minister of music said, "It because they sing good music." WOW!
Dinner was in the cafeteria and then we had just a little bit of free time. We changed into our formal outfits before the final worship service. The other kids here thought we looked pretty sharp. After worship, we headed to Lovell Chapel to do our concert for an audience of one... God. You'll notice there are no pictures of us. We walked into the chapel in silence, sang our hearts out to the Lord, and then left in silence. A picture may tell a 1,000 words, but there are no words to describe what happened in that chapel. How I wish you all could have shared the experience of tonight. I worried the kids wouldn't understand why we sang to an empty room. But, they understood... the room was not empty... "For Jesus, Lord Jesus, is in this very room". What an amazing, awesome, glorious experience. By the time we sang "The Lord Be with You", I was done. It was an incredibly emotional experience.
Shelley had our devotions immediately following. What a testimony her family has had the last year and a half! Afterward, we were asked to pick three people to pray for... someone special or someone we didn't know or someone maybe we didn't get along with. After our prayer, I had expected everyone to head back to the dorms. They didn't. They hugged each other, they cried with each other, they expressed love for one another, and they were Christ for one another. You know me... no one cries alone in my presence. Girls cried... boys cried... I was a mess. Your kids are AMAZING and I love each of them like they were my own. Thank you for intrusting them to us.
Not sure what day the blog for tomorrow will get up. It'll be a long trip, but I'll do it asap. Pray for our safety in travel.
