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March 3, 2001 -
Living Water's First Crisis: Off to tour…. in Phoenix?!
I don't know if this is the case
for a lot of people in the group, but I woke up believing that tour was going
to be a smooth ride. The planets seemed to align correctly the night before
and the snow stopped falling, meaning that chances for plane delays would
be slim. But nevertheless, when we all met up at Phelps Gate at 1 PM that
afternoon, little did we know that we were in for a trip of our lives!… Thank
you to Andy, Issac, Karen S., and Queenie for sparing us two hours of their
time to take us from Old Campus to the Bradley Airport.
Though it was a little scary when Isaac's
car began to make some strange rattling noises while we were on our way to
the airport, we all managed to get to the airport. Baggage check-in went efficiently
as possible as our tour manager, Yeora Song, led and directed us as the shepherd
of the flock. Anxious minutes passed us by while we were waiting at the gate
to let us. Thirty minutes passed….yet the plane hadn't even arrived at the
gate! "Ummm…..we were supposed to leave right about now, weren't we?" some
droplets questioned. If our flight to San Francisco were a simple direct flight
from Hartford, things would have gone much more smoothly. Fortunately
we were appeased when the plane came just in time to land us at Baltimore
so we can barely catch our connecting flight to Oakland, CA.
Or so we thought….
Only a few minutes remained for Living
Water to get off the plane and board the next one. Karen Peterson and Yeora
Song sent us directly to gate B15, which unfortunately we had misunderstood
to be a flight that didn't board yet. "Living Water!!!….the plane is about
to leave!" Yeora shouted while pointing at another gate with its doors already
open. Rushing to catch the plane, Sam, Ezekiel, and Joohwan ran right in the
gate and found their seats in the plane. You, the reader of this journal,
will soon discover that the time Sam, Ezekiel, and Joohwan ran through the
gate was the last time that we saw them for the rest of the night and the
following morning.
So what happened?!
Following Sam, Ezekiel, and Joohwan were
the other droplets: Rebecca, Stephanie, Val, Michelle, Luan, Kyu, Mike, and
Steve (Karen P., Yeora, and Simon were going to board another Upon coming
to the door of the aircraft, we were all told that there were only four seats
left when there were 8 of us waiting to board the plane. We had to make a
decision between two options:
1) We have to choose four droplets to
join Sam, Ezekiel, and Joohwan
2) We trust God to care of Sam, Ezekiel,
and Joohwan and we find another plane
"This is chaos!…absolute chaos!" one
of the flight attendants was saying, 20 minutes after the plane was scheduled
to leave. We ended up choosing decision #2, and came back out of the gate
to meet Yeora, Karen, and Simon who were in utter surprise to see us off the
plane.
We gather together in front of the ticket
counter at the gate, mourning the fact that we had left Sam, Ezekiel, and
Joohwan alone to go to Oakland by themselves. We thought then, "maybe we'll
find another flight to get to Oakland later that night. No big deal, right?"
Ha ha ha ha!…the fun didn't stop there!
"I'm sorry, but there are no more flights
for you to go on that will be heading to the west coast" the ticket counterman
reported to us. I think I can speak on behalf of all Living Water when I say
this:
"AHHHH~!!"
Certainly, God had something planned
ahead of us. In such a time of distress, Val led us in prayer at the airport,
asking God for safety and guidance through our "situation" as Luan would like
to call it. For about thirty more minutes, Yeora, Michelle, and Karen P. were
trying their best to find another flight to somewhere near San Francisco,
whether it be through Southwest or by some other airline. But there literally
was no way for all 11 of us to go on a flight that night. What did our tour
managers do then? What any tour manager would have done in that situation…fly
to Phoenix, Arizona! Well, at least that was our only option. Because there
was no flight to San Francisco that night, the next best thing to do was to
get as closest as possible to San Francisco so that the next morning, we,
"the misconnects," can catch a plane to get there in time for a gig we
had planned at Karen Peterson's church. After much time has passed, Yeora,
Michelle, and Karen managed to get free hotel lodging at the Holiday Inn at
Phoenix as well as refunds for our tickets due to the miscommunications among
Southwest Airlines. Thanks you three!
The flight to Phoenix fortunately went
as planned (at last!) and we ended up with 6 rooms for the 11 of us. Talk
about comfort! We each had our own double size beds, not to mention … Yeora
had the suite of the sweetest suites in the hotel all to herself! (You deserve
it Yeora!…thank you for helping to get us through) We gathered together in
Yeora's suite to confer about the plans for the next morning. With pizza and
soft drinks, we found that such situation like this turned out for the better
especially to learn more about each other. In fact, we learned that Kyu happened
to play ice hockey while growing up, Karen P. has a fear of fish that bite,
Val had a dog named Boo-ji, and Steve defied death both in the Catalina Islands
and at Mammoth. What better way to start tour off than with a full night's
worth of fellowship! But this doesn't mean that we would like to experience
this again in the future. Let us hope that future droplets won't have to experience
this again.
We wondered that night, what were Sam,
Ezekiel, and Joohwan doing all that time while we were in our comfortable
beds at the Holiday Inn in Phoenix?
Back to Top
March 5, 2001 - What a God blessed
day!
Good morning Sam! All of the droplets
got together in the morning for Quiet Time and fellowship. The morning went
pretty decently. There was a lot to look forward to that day…
Stephanie's condition hasn't gone completely
better. Her voice was almost gone and she had a fever of 105 degrees. Aww
Stephanie!…we miss you so much! We really want you to feel better so that
you can sing again with us! =(
At noon, we all drove to Karen Peterson's
high school, San Marin high school, where the students gave us a wonderful
welcome as we sang for them during their lunch period. Their questions were
delightful, hopefully, inspiring them to sing for another Christian a capella
group at whichever college they decide to go.
In addition to the lunch period jam,
the droplets sang for San Marin's jazz choir who first sang for us. We all
commend the group for their swing-beaty music that caused everyone to tap
their shoes and feel the boogie! In return, we sang for them, and because
the choir sang one of their songs that were still "under construction,"
Living Water decided to sing one of our "still in progress" songs, "God
So Loved the World." Although Val attempted to stop the song in the middle,
somehow we all managed to hit at least the last chord of the piece! Oh boy…I
have a strong feeling that we won't attempt to pull off another stunt like
that again! Sorry Val! =)
The Senior Access Center, which we
went to afterwards, offered each of us something special. The audience was
mostly composed of elders above the age of 50. Their smiles and voices were
encouraging. "Amen!" one man shouted while Michelle was giving a talk. How
wonderful these people were to us. After our performance, we all had a blessed
time conversing with the men and women of the Senior Access Center, gaining
some new knowledge about life through their experiences.
On the night when we sang for the Karen
Peterson's church, a man approached Karen and asked her if we could sing
with his youth retreat group on the same day that we sang at the Senior
Access Center. Agreeing to do this, the droplets took off to a nearby house
where about 15 high schoolers were preparing themselves for a retreat coming
up later in the future. Their joy and excitement to sing for God was contagious,
especially their movements to "King Jesus is All." It was a great opportunity
for all of Living Water to reflect upon how enthusiastic some teenagers
can be for God. Hurray!
The night ended with a relaxing time
of fellowship as some droplets watched a movie while the others played the
traditional game of cards. Boy!…that was one tiring day! We're looking forward
to doing it again tomorrow! Yahoo!
Back to Top
March 8, 2001 - Free Day!!!
Another glorious day….another glorious
time….another glorious way to be with God…and what can be better than to
spend our free time than at Alcatraz!
The droplets woke up as always convening
at Karen's house to discuss how we can possibly maximize our play time.
In order to get to Alcatraz, we decided to take the ferryboat across the
bay to get to the terminal to Alcatraz. Luckily, the ferryboat to the terminal
was one of the more "speedier" boats as Karen said. As a result, the droplets,
who waited outside on the boat, got the ride of their lives! The wind blew
extremely fast and we had so much fun pretending to be Superman or Neo from
The Matrix. It was definitely obvious that our free day was going to be
an exciting one!
Before entering the terminal to Alcatraz,
the droplets headed towards a plaza for some cookies and coffee. There happened
to be this very unusual looking fountain, which the droplets decided to
climb and take pictures on. A definite Kodak moment was when Sam and Ezekiel
climbed on top of one of the spouts.
Off to Alcatraz we went! After the orientation
about the island, we trekked to the cell-house where we received audio equipment
to guide us through the various parts of the building. Some of us were timid
about the place while others felt like they were at home. For some reason
Michelle and Val looked just way too natural behind bars in the prison.
Hmmm…could it be that….?…no…can't be…..but maybe?….hmmmm. I would sleep
with one eye open girls, I think that there may be two criminals on the
loose! Just kidding!…=)
After learning that there are 5 Alcatraz
escapees loose in the world, the droplets rode the ferry back to San Francisco
to visit the famous Pier 39 where we ate delicious food including the original
Clam Chowder in a bread bowl. Mmmm! Afterwards, we visited some stores such
as this awesome hat store. At the hat store, we dressed up as people of
our dreams such as a long-haired taxi driver (Go Sam!). But it's too bad
that the guys couldn't buy these awesome ties that would have been perfect
for concert attire. Maybe next time?…=) The sea lions located right next
to the pier were a definite site. "Hey they look just like Kyu!" Val stated
as she pointed to a sleeping sea lion. "Thanks Val" Kyu responded sarcastically.
Next, the droplets decided to walk through
the famous Fisherman's Wharf received by the "not-so-wonderful" smell of
crab and lobster. Karen then invited us to a beautiful ice cream parlor,
"Ghiradelli," where the droplets indulged in the greatest ice cream ever
made! Mmmm….I can still remember how delicious the "Domingo" was! And of
course, no tour can be complete without paying a visit to the massage chairs
in a Sharper Image store. I think that Val definitely got her share of back
massages, for she sat in the chairs for 30 minutes! Afterwards the droplets
took some time to sit and relax next to a shore. Excitedly, Luan had bought
a kite earlier which she was then able to fly. The suspense of keeping the
kite up in the air captured all of our attention. The beach too was really
beautiful to look at, especially with the sun about to set.
Stopping by Chinatown on the way, we ultimately
got to Union Square, where Rebecca immediately ran to the biggest Sanrio
Surprises store that she has ever seen! In the meantime, the rest of us
visited FAO Schwartz bringing us back to the days when stuffed animals and
cool legos were the essentials in life. Definitely Yeora had a great time
sitting in a corner with a gigantic teddy bear in her arms!
At last the day was over and the droplets
were trying to get back home. Now, "trying" is the key word, for the droplets
had to run all over the city to catch a bus to take us to the ferry terminal.
After much hustling, we reached the terminal to at last get all of us onto
a ferry back home. What a beautiful scene we saw of the city! The lights
were absolutely gorgeous and the bridge even looked better up close! Absolutely
stunning!
We came back home exhausted and pooped. Boy
was that a great day though! Uh oh….we gotta wake up at 5:30 AM in the morning
you guys. Can we do it? Let's do it!! All right!…tomorrow is going to be
great! Yeeha!!!!
Back to Top
March 9, 2001 - "Enjoy the foothills"
"Time to wake up!….wake up!….really!…..get
up!…c'mon!"
Waking up at 5:30 AM definitely didn't make
the guys happy campers, but nonetheless we all managed to get to Karen's
house in time. We were looking forward to a bright start of the day at City
Team Ministries. It was going to be yet another God-blessed day for Living
Water!
"Is it me or were we JUST here sometime ago
this week?" many droplets questioned. That's right…we've spend probably
80% of our tour in the sub-standard area of living known as the "Tenderloin"
in San Francisco. After a difficult search for parking, the droplets arrived
at City Team Ministries in time to help clean up and prepare themselves
for singing. To our amazement, we were received with much enthusiasm from
the people who walked in. Afterwards, we had a lot of time to sit with the
homeless to talk about their lives and to hear about what God has been doing
for them. From train hoppers to the evicted to the simple wanderers, the
people whom the droplets met provoked a different perspective on life. We
realized that we should be more aware of how fortunate we are that God has
blessed us with homes, families, and education. It's amazing, though, that
people stay happy as they were even without a secure state of living. Let's
thank God for providing such security in their lives.
After cleaning up, we walked over to our
next destination: the Saint Anthony Foundation. Here, we sang at the Dining
Room while hundreds of homeless people enjoyed a warm lunch from the Foundation.
Although we were in great competition against the noise from the kitchen,
we at least managed to reach out to people within a 20 foot radius. =) We
moved to another part of the dining hall to sing for others who may have
not heard us the first time. To our shock, a man sat right in front of our
"shoe" smiling and even singing with us. God bless you Mr. Man…we hope that
you will continue to smile for the Lord!
The next place that we sang at was part of
the St. Anthony foundation targeted towards seniors of San Francisco who
can't afford a home even with Social Security. Even though we sang outside
while the majority of our audience sat inside a room with windows facing
us, the droplets found our time at the senior home to be a blessing. There
were also people listening from the balconies, from their rooms and of course
in front of us.
Last on our agenda was to visit Stanford
and spend time with their Christian a capella group, Testimony: How hard
can it be to find a big campus like Stanford?
Ha!…VERY HARD! =)
The two cars accidentally separated from
each other, leaving each car to itself to find Stanford. But we were secure
that the directions were sufficient to get us there.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen…
Both cars managed to get off the freeway
according the directions. "Bear right" the directions stated. So each car
bore right, leading both cars to a mountain. "Enjoy the foothills" the directions
also said. While the road curved this way and that, the droplets in fact
did "enjoy the foothills." The road kept rising higher and higher. While
the altitude was rising, Luan wondered "are you sure we are going the right
way?" "We're following the directions very closely" both Sam and Karen stated.
The road kept getting higher and higher to our puzzlement. "I don't remember
Stanford being on a mountain" Michelle stated.
At last, Karen's car had reached the top
of the mountain and found nothing but trees and cement. Luckily, Karen managed
to find two bikers who directed us back down the road to get to Stanford.
In the meantime, Simon's car surpassed Karen's turning point and rode through
many more mountains. Our walkie talkies weren't working either so communication
between the two cars couldn't be established. "Well since we are so high
up on this mountain, why don't we enjoy this scenery" Val stated. So Karen's
car stopped at a shoulder pass in the road so that her passengers could
enjoy the beautiful scenery. "Hey…at least we enjoyed the 'foothills!'"
Rebecca remarked. After 30 more minutes, the droplets managed to get to
Stanford. After 1.5 hours of driving, the droplets were thrilled to see
each other. "I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU GUYS!" Karen exclaimed when the droplets
reunited at the parking lot. Hurray!
Thank you so much Testimony for not only
providing Living Water with delicious burgers from "In and Out" and donuts
from "Krispy Krème," but also with your absolutely beautiful voices. After
an exchange of singing, the two groups sat together for an informal panel
of questions and answers. Testimony is a great group and we hope and pray
that their ministry continues to bless the students on their campus as they
have blessed us.
"Boy I'm pooped!" one of the guys stated.
Good thing we don't have to wake up as early as 5:30 AM ever again though.
"I wonder what God will do with us tomorrow." Yeora said. I guess we'll
wait and see!
Back to Top
March 10, 2001 - "Hare-oooo-ah!"
Starting with a gigantic yawn, the guys
dragged themselves from Mrs. Gates house to Karen's house to meet with the
girls before heading out towards the Women's Refuge. Luckily, Mr. and Mrs.
Peterson had prepared a delicious brunch for the droplets, including pancakes,
scrambled eggs, and bacon. Absolutely exquisite! Thank you Mr. and Mrs.
Peterson! Your hospitality just never ceases to bring us happiness and gratitude,
especially when you encourage people like Steve to eat more than he can
possibly imagine in order to gain wait! =)
Energized by the great brunch, the droplets
gathered together for prayer and quiet time as usual and headed out. As
always, parking was a great issue after locating the Women's Refuge, but
eventually, we managed to park right in front of the place, tightly squeezing
the huge Suburban between a wall and another car. For such a small organization
as the Women's Refuge, we didn't expect a huge audience to minister to and
we were definitely correct. By the time we started our first song, there
was one woman and three children! "This is a definite first" Simon stated
as the woman began to converse with Michelle in the middle her talk. As
unusual as it was for all of the droplets to sing in a small living room
of an apartment, we all felt that God was working differently this time.
The woman stated that she felt "so blessed that God was providing her with
a personal concert when she needed uplifting in her life." After our performance,
all 14 of us spent some time chatting with the woman about her life. We
thank God for blessing us with a different experience. We all came out of
the place feeling happy and encouraged.
Our next and last stop for this day was at
UC Berkeley where the "Athletes in Action" organization invited Living Water
to help out with evangelizing at the big game against Arizona. Eight of
the droplets passed out small cards that revealed a testimony from one of
the basketball players playing during that game. After passing thousands
of these cards, the droplets got together informally and started to sing
"Blessed be Your Name, O Lord!" in the middle of the courtyard. It felt
really good just to sing informally in public. Sometimes the Lord will call
upon us to minister in such a fashion I guess! =)
That night we went over to Mrs. Gates' daughters
house to enjoy a dinner from the grill. While waiting, the droplets enjoyed
the company of the little kids in the house. "Hare-oooo-ah!" (deciphered
to be "Hallelujah!") one of the kids said who still couldn't walk on two
legs. What a wonderful time it was to play with the little kids. To return
the favor for their hospitality, Living Water gave a small concert for the
families at the apartment. Thank you so much! We really appreciated your
care!
The night had ended later than expected.
Although puddle was planned for that night, we had moved it to tomorrow
night. Little did we know that tomorrow's puddle was going to be one of
Living Water's watershed moments of the year…
Back to Top
March 11, 2001 - Living Water's Watershed
Moment
The large church known as "Glide" sounded
like a place that the droplets wanted to see that Sunday morning. We had
heard so much about this place, and we wanted to check this place out for
ourselves. The droplets left Karen's house pretty early to catch the 9:00
service, and what an enthusiastic church! It was a service that all of the
droplets will never forget.
To balance the energetic service from Glide,
we went to the City Church of San Francisco as we had originally planned
for the day. Here we had met a group of people much like ourselves who enjoyed
the more "vertical" relationship. After this service, we engaged in conversation
with some of the members of the church as well as meet the woman who would
guide us to our next destination, the Central Gardens Convalescent Home.
After enjoying a delicious lunch provided
by Thena Holmen, we arrived at Central Gardens to sing for two patients
in their room. Much like the Women's Refuge, this convalescent home provided
us with the real closeness with our audience. Each patient got his or her
own concert. We were pleased to see the smiles on both of the patients'
faces after singing three or four songs. Coincidentally, there was a birthday
party happening for another member of Central Gardens. We sang "Happy Birthday"
as best as we could as an a capella group and "The Lord Bless You and Keep
You" for the people at this party. We thank the Lord for giving us such
a responsive audience. At the same time, we pray that those who couldn't
understand the words which we spoke would somehow find the Holy Spirit surrounding
all of us who can communicate through feeling rather than through language.
The Nob Hill Healthcare Center had a couple
familiar faces; some fellow Yalies as well as Simon's Aunt and Michelle's
godmother came by to visit us. This Center provided health care for women
elderly. It was an extreme pleasure to sing for these women, especially
when they would smile back if you smiled during the performance. We had
concluded our time at the Nob Hill Healthcare Center with conversation with
the women as well as delicious snacks provided by the sponsor. Thank you
NHHC, we loved to sing for you!
All that we had left on our agenda was "puddle"
brought to us by Sam. But we did not expect to come out of this puddle as
excited and motivated to work hard for God as we were the next morning.
"Can someone tell me how doing work for God can be a burden sometimes?"
Sam curiously asked us. From there, the conversation led us to inspire ourselves
that even though it may require a lot of effort to practice and give Living
Water our full 100%, we are willing to bear the burden. We came to an agreement
that we would have to practice a lot more than we normally do in preparation
for our last concert of the year, Spring Jam. In the meantime, we planned
to reform ourselves for the sake and glory of God. We ask all of you who
read this journal to pray for us. Living Water is going through major reformations
to glorify God even better in the future. We need all the support we can
get from alumni and friends. Thank you!
After an excellent puddle, the droplets went
to sleep, thinking about new ways to change the group. "I'm so excited to
see how we're gonna do tomorrow!" Karen exclaimed. We all couldn't wait
to sing at the Nihonmachi Terrace the next day.
Back to Top
March 12, 2001 - Edging towards the
end of tour
Good morning Sam!
After our breakfast and quiet time, the droplets
departed for the Nihonmachi Terrace where Michelle's grandmother lives.
Fortunately we had found the place quickly, but unfortunately there was
a big road project obstructed our way to get into the gate. After making
a few calls to the place, we were finally allowed into the place, crossing
through the road construction. While we sat in the dining hall waiting to
meet the residents, we saw the most exquisite banquet made for us, offering
all sorts of food. The conversations that we had with the residents were
a blessing as we ate lunch together. Some of the people we met had suffered
through some major losses, yet they manage to be extremely happy. Thanks
be to God for their high spirits. In addition, they all encouraged the droplets
to eat so much that afternoon! "Take take take!…you can have it!" they all
said to each of us, while pointing at a bowl of crackers. The Nihonmachi
Terrace was one of my favorite places because of the enthusiasm these elders
had for life. It's our prayer that they will continue to seek after God!
While going to City Crossroads, which was
our next destination, we found ourselves in the same exact location in the
Tenderloin as City Team Ministries. In fact, City Crossroads is located
right next to City Team. It was really good to see familiar faces when we
arrived. After searching endlessly for parking that night, the droplets
received a small briefing about the City Crossroads' mission. They provide
a place for kids and teenagers to hang out, eat, and receive the Word of
God each evening. For two hours the droplets had the chance to play with
the kids. Simon, Sam, and Mike engaged in a basketball game with the kids,
leaving them breathless as the kids continued to score excellent shots.
Val, Luan, and Rebecca played with the kids at the ping pong table, but
instead of a ping pong ball, they used a beach ball! The rest of the droplets
spent time at the foosball table (of course!), the pool table, and the video
games. After playing and eating, we weren't even sure if we could sing because
we were so exhausted. But we did so of course. Though we can honestly say
that it was probably not our best concert, we felt that the talks really
got to the heart of the Gospel. It's our prayer that these kids will grow
up living according to Christ and that they will be strong soldiers for
God.
That night, we realized that it was our second
to last night of tour. =( To savor every single moment of tour together,
some of the droplets went to a nearby lake to enjoy the scenery around Karen's
house. Despite the uneven ground and strange smell, we spent time in conversation
and praise while cars passed us by. *sigh* Tour just went way to quickly!
=(
Tomorrow is our last day of singing! We have
to make it the best ever!
Back to Top
March 13, 2001 - ...and the Anchor
Holds...
After getting themselves somewhat packed
to leave for the next day, the guys and girls ate breakfast together for
the last time in Karen's house and as usual, got a briefing about the day's
schedule and had some quiet time. Off we then went to St. Luke's Hospital!
Although the room was small, we managed to
squish ourselves in a corner to sing for the patients of the hospital. Some
of the patients were paralyzed while others had tubes all around them. As
sad as it was to see these people, it was at least a comfort to know that
God loves each and every one of them. He will take care of them according
to His will.
Following our lunch at the hospital, the
droplets headed to the First Baptist Church International Christian School.
The sanctuary in which we sang was stunningly gorgeous. The roof was as
high as a 5 story building and the decorations made the building look very
nice. Our concert for the kids, from first to seventh grade, went very nicely.
Like our concert at the Christian Academy, we asked the audience to participate
in "Deep, Deep" led by Kyu and Steve again. For some reason, kids just LOVE
to scream from the top of their lungs: "YES I LOVE MY JESUS!" What energy!
Immediately following our concert was playtime
for about 3 hours. Unfortunately, Steve was greeted with hoards of kids
trying to hang off of him, almost causing him to collapse over 20 of them.
Joohwan, too, was "attacked" when scores of them asked for piggy back rides
and helicopter spins. Sam, Kyu, Mike, and Ezekiel played basketball while
Simon and Steve played football. The girls played with the kids in the monkey
bars and jungle gyms. Everyone came out of the school physically sore and
tired. But, spiritually, we were enlivened by the kids. There was one student
who had the condition of stunted growth who said "I know I'm small. But
I know that that's how God created me." We will be praying for you Daniel.
The way you think has inspired us!
At last, our tour has come to its last gig
at the San Francisco Teen Challenge. We were met with about 10 men who served
us dinner happily. Thanks you guys! Our conversations brought us joy and
happiness as we heard about each of their own stories and their walk with
Jesus. Finally, Val rallied us together to explain the order of the concert.
Speaking to Michelle and Yeora, she also sadly admitted "This is our last
tour concert." =( We spent much time in prayer and in reflection of the
tour as people took a seat for our concert. Arms over shoulders we prayed
together very closely, giving thanks to the Lord for such an awesome tour.
Our concert was probably the best concert we had; each of us remembered
the little things that we talked about on our watershed night. We all felt
the Holy Spirit's presence in our hearts as we sang away that night. The
talks given were focused and beautifully constructed.
While we conversed with the trainees of Teen
Challenge, it was brought up that Teen Challenge, too, had a choir! After
asking many of them to sing for us, they had finally got together to sing
"The Anchor Holds," a song relating sons and daughters of God to a ship
that, although battered and torn, still stands its ground, firm in faith,
by the anchor that we set with God. Teen Challenge was a great way to end
our tour. It was hard for some of us to leave the place because the men
we met were so friendly and welcoming. Nevertheless, we left the place feeling
so excited and pumped that our tour had gone as well as it did, due to God's
grace.
Although Simon left us that night with
his relatives, the rest of the droplets drove to the "Headlands" where we
enjoyed a spectacular view of the city. Even with our voices almost ready
to leave us, we shouted to the Lord with praise and song, giving thanks
for blessing us with our experiences from tour. What a great 1.5 weeks!
We came back home feeling refreshed and ready
to leave San Francisco on a good note. The guys left back home and got themselves
together, ready to leave the next morning.
Wow! Tour is over. =(
Back to Top
March 14, 2001 - Spring Tour...Mission
Accomplished
The trip back home went smoothly (and
definitely much easier than the trip TO San Francisco!). The group had to
split up for two planes, one stopping through Kansas City while the other
stopped by Nashville, TN. Leaving San Francisco left us sad yet happy, empty
yet inspired, heart-broken yet satisfied. We glanced back from the plane
to look at how large San Francisco is. The tall buildings, the many bridges,
the vast ocean, and the thousands of people…what a place! I wouldn't be
surprised if any one of us returned to San Francisco to relive our experiences
there during these two weeks….
********* Epilogue
and Hope **********
Here ends our blessed experience at San Francisco...
Thank You Lord for granting us an awesome time at tour. We will remain faithful
to You always and forever. You work in wonderful ways, and it's our prayer
that each and every single person we met in the tour, young or old, sick
or healthy, homeless or sheltered, broken or strong, will continue to seek
You. We know that You "Won't Let Us Go" and it's a great comfort know that
You provide for every person in many ways. We praise You and thank You for
giving Living Water a very memorable experience. We will cherish this tour
forever and ever.
Amen.
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"So what did the
droplets do while sitting in the car?!"...
might be what you are asking...
Here are some of the things that we did to pass time while travelling in
the car:
1) Playing twenty questions (answers
included: "Drosophila" and "Platypus")
2) Singing a chord instead of humming
while passing through a tunnel
3) Kissing the car's roof whenever Karen
ran through a yellow light
4) Calling "Punch Buggy" whenever
Sam or Steve finds a Volkswagon buggy (ouch!)
5) Jamming with the CDs (songs included
"Victory Chant" and "I want to know You")
6) Whistling in Simon's culture car
(including Andre Shole and Sound of Music)
7) Sleeping of course!
8) Commenting on the funny billboard
signs
9) Holding our breaths while crossing
the Golden Gate bridge
10) and of course....enjoying each other's
wonderful presence...=)