At this morning’s 10:30 worship service we all got commissioned by Pastor Joe! He led the congregation in a prayer as we prepare to leave for tour on Thursday of this week. As I was sitting in this service and listening to Joe’s message… I couldn’t help but think how perfect it fit with what this group is about to go out into the world and do. He talked about how everyone gets revitalized during mission trips. Which is exactly one of the things I’m looking forward to as I take this tour to Come Up For Air.

If you have some time, CLICK HERE to listen to Pastor Joe’s message. If you’re looking at this post a few weeks after it was posted you’ll want to select the sermon titled “Me2We – Week 2 / Pastor Joe Schultz / 5/30/10″ so that you get the right one.

The kids are all super excited and can’t wait for Thursday morning to get here!

Wow, what an incredible 10 days this Ministry Tour has been. Definitely a Tour to Remember!

It was truly a blessing to watch these kids, some shy, and quiet, some loud and boisterous, develope bonds with one another as well as friendships that well may last a lifetime. Watching the kids as they approached the elderly in the convalesce homes, at first hesitantly, not knowing what to expect – then by the end of the Tour,  jumping out eagerly after each performance to talk and hold hands with them and delight in the fact that they brought smiles and tears of joy to many of the residents.

I think this tour caused many of the kids to think about a lot of things in a different way from what they were used to. Some learned for the first time what a college dorm looks like. Some learned how hard and busy it is behind the scenes of a puppet show. For some, they learned sympathy and love for the elderly.  Many of the kids learned for the first time how exciting it is to swim in the Atlantic ocean, while others discovered a new love of white water rafting on the Pigeon Forge river. And some just learned how important it was to use deodorant on a pact bus loaded with teenagers!

But, for me, the one thing I’ll never forget about this tour was after the homecoming performance and talking with one of the mother’s as she waited patiently for her freshman daughter to finish saying her good-bye’s to each and every kid that went on tour, that – the girl on stage talking nonstop to everybody, was not the same shy quiet girl she dropped off 10 days ago’. For me, that’s what makes it worth all the sleepless nights pulling hallway duty.