Homecoming Concert (For Matt, at least!)

This afternoon we had the opportunity to visit Matt's Grandpa's farm in Windom. It was rainy and a little bit wet but the Minnesotans are very resourceful. All the students were still invited to enjoy the farm with its barns, tractors and pastures, mud and all. How? Bread bags of course! Instant rain boots!

After coming into town the First Baptist Church of Windom fed us the most delicious "hot dish" dinner. We got to visit with Matt's parents and Matt was constantly meeting new people and finding old friends! It was such a fun reunion for him! We were so pumped for our last concert and although a lot of people were tired, and felt like falling out, they persevered for the concert and the Holy Spirit SHOWED UP. The gospel was presented and several people trusted in Jesus as their savior! Praise the Lord for HIS faithfulness!

The  concert tonight was glorious and to prove it here are our pictures furnished by Amanda Jackson!

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Mountain Lake School (with no lake, and no mountain!)

This morning we packed up and left the Oak Ridge Conference Center. It has been a great place to stay, their service has been fantastic and the staff without equal. The students loaded up the buses and then assembled in the lobby for a final debriefing. The conference center management had assembled into the lobby to hear the students sing. We sang Our God is a Mountain Mover and they were so grateful.

We then loaded up the buses and headed over across the state to our next to last concert venue, a high school in a rural area named Mountain Lake MN. The students that we mingled with informed us that there was no mountain and no lake anywhere near the city:)

We had a great opportunity to sing and share the gospel directly with the school choir and afterwards we allowed the students from both choirs to meet and talk and it was really a good site to see. We are now headed to Matt's HOME TOWN. The kids can hardly wait!(and some of the adult sponsors, especially Desiree!)

We ask your prayers for our VERY last Minnesotan concert, held tonight at 7:30pm. We have several kids who are sick and we really need a final burst of energy as this concert has been advertised in their newspaper and local TV stations! We are excited and crave the presence of the Holy Spirit!

Thursday...the day before Friday!

Today we had a really neat opportunity to sing in the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

This is the first Basilica in America and is a beautiful cathedral that allows for some real beautiful acoustics. The students sang all of their a cappella songs and the music filled the room with the melodious songs. This privilege really allowed us a few moments of complete bliss hearing the voices echo and blend in some of the most harmonious sounds imaginable. Truly angelic sounding and it was a blessing to hear.
Afterwards we took the students to the Mall of America, dinner at Bucca Di Beppo's Italian Restaurant and a comedy show. This was a great reward for a week that has been really well done so far.

We look forward tomorrow to our final concerts, significant not only because they are the last we have in Minnesota, but also because they are in Matt's home town. We are so excited to share God's love and mercy through the SWAT program tomorrow, and we ask for your continued prayers!

(Digital Historian's Note: We apologize for the lack of photos but PROMISE that those that will be here soon will be so great you will forget that you got them late!)

Students Speak!

Hello all! Tonight we had a student led worship service upon our return from our concert, and really enjoyed having their input. They also were offered to share a few thoughts themselves so I thought it would be neat to get a quick picture of their thoughts. We hope to spotlight these in a real way very soon but here is a brief sampling of answers from the question:

"What do you think of Awakening so far"?

Brian O'Boyle: This has been spiritually inspiring and challenging as concerts can be trying but God is good! 

Amy Ellison: My favorite part of the day, everyday is breakfast!

Sarah Joy Crocker: I love the little Minnesotan children!

 Josh McDonald: Feed my starving children was something I liked and I liked the first homeless shelter that we did-I met a cool guy there named Joel, and his son and I was really happy to meet him and ask that you continue to pray for him.

Robert Alongi: There is a girl named Samaria who was adorable and she LOVED me wearing the banana suit, and it was tough to let go of her when she had to let go. When she really did not want to leave I offered her that I would pray for her and if I was not around or if she did not have a photo of me that Jesus was always around for her.

Lauren Alongi: First and Last Choir Tour: BEST SPRING BREAK EVER!


Kelley Shaffer: This week I have experienced the ongoing joy that only Jesus can give. I love everyone in the choir and they inspire me! 

Jacob Given: During the walk in the graveyard, I saw several graves marked infants, 2 years old, 3 years old, even 12 or 14 years old, and it just made me realize just how short life can be, and that I should cherish life no matter how long or short it is. This really shows to me how short a window of time we have that we can minister to nonbelievers as Christians. Telling others of His loving grace and how He can save them is so important. 

Kyrsten Qualls: Even when Satan tries to attack and to get into my head Jesus is always there. When I hit my head it had been throbbing all day, but during the concert I completely forgot about it!

Lane Daughtry: God is jealous for us and we have no idea how much we mean to Him.

-Just a sampling but hopefully a good glimpse of the optimism, energy, and spiritual sensitivity that is so present in these kids.

This afternoon we also had a great concert at the Salvation Army Downtown.

This concert was again bathed in prayer and the Holy Spirit was certainly present. The director was so encouraged he videotaped the entire service, alternating between clapping his hands (with a camcorder!) and shouting praise to the Lord. He was really encouraged and seeing his passion was a great inspiration to us as well. The students singing and drama was fantastic as usual and Jess Henley shared his Faith Story. We thank God for His mercies and faithfulness in yet another successful day of ministry.

This whole trip has not been about singing, it has been about eternity. If you are unsure of where you stand with God , we would like to encourage you to read this before you die. This is the reason we gave up our time, this is the reason that we went NORTH for our spring break, this is the reason of countless hours of rehearsals and preparations, this is the reason we stayed on a bus for 22 hours and why the students and sponsors alike paid to work harder than most of us ever have with early mornings and later and later nights.

THIS is the reason we see that life is worth living.

An Army of One.... in three locations

This morning we split up into three different Salvation Army buildings all across Minneapolis. The goal was to be a servant in any way that the different centers required. These ways were certainly varied! The below is a partial list  (and more pictures are coming soon!!!) of what was accomplished.

Seniors:  cleaned up after a 300 person breakfast, scrubbed and cleaned chairs and tables, sanitized, unloaded a stock truck, cleaned gym after basketball event, cleaned out food storage, food preperation for breakfast, chopping and washing vegetables, worked in a clothes pantry, cleaned out the front lawn of cigarettes.


Freshmen/ Juniors: separate groups, clothes closet, removed winter clothing added summer clothing, organized by color, sizes, had a fashion show, wrapped presents from the salvation army, packed hygiene products for men and women, rearranged sheets and linens, stacking and sorting in a warehouse style, sorted shoes, set aside clothing items for job interviews or funerals,  heard the testimony of a Salvation Army worker who was a former inmate

Sophomores: all that the sophomores did.

Just kidding! (Well, sorta) We cleaned this indoor playspace from top to bottom as well as their gym and fitness room with some outdoor cleanup to boot. This picture certainly does no justice to the fun and play that we engaged in after scrubbing this from top to bottom. (The dust on top was the favorite to clean!) When we were finished we spent some time at the nearby cemetery meditating on eternity as this was the theme of our devotions for the day.

Below are some pictures of the Freshmen and Juniors illustrating the various activities described above. (There are no pictures of the seniors working today, they worked so hard that they had no time for photos!)

They just kept on coming...

We enjoyed lunch at the Minnehaha Falls Park. It was a great time of enjoying the scenery and having some great photo ops:)

When we finished we continued our practical mission with working at the Marie Sandovek Center. This center is a great centralized ministry point for Minneapolis. Right near downtown the mission gives food, clothing, blankets and other necessities for the homeless.

This mission had many different jobs for us to do and our students responded with such a willingness to help and immediately rolled up their sleeves to assist. The jobs were each different and some very mundane, but there was an overflow of service from each of the students. After work projects we put on a concert outdoors for the entire community and had a great turnout!

The concert was accompanied by serving free food which was a huge hit! People just came out of the woodwork and while in line for food and when eating their meal they were able to enjoy the students performance. At the close of the concert Jillie Rufe gave her Faith Story. She concluded her testimony with sharing about God's love and His sufficiency.

We thank God for a great day of service and look forward to tomorrow.

Feed my Starving Children

This morning started the practical part of our ministry here in Minnesota with a visit to a Feed My Starving Children packing center.

This ministry is really neat, you can check it out here.

This ministry is truly one of a kind. It packages a scientifically tested food product and sends it to developing countries, directly to their starving children. This food mixture is a carefully weighed and sorted mix of rice, soy, veggies and chicken flavorings. It contains vital nutrients that enable children that are malnourished to get the strength that they need.

The organization of this place is unbelievable. They allowed each student a specific role in the process. One station would sort the ingredients, another would weigh the bags, another would then seal the bags, and still others would package the sealed bags, and cart the boxes to the warehouse, where they were put on pallets to be shipped to the kids. When we finished we sang and prayed over the food. Super great ministry, and we were blessed to be a part of it. Enjoy our hairnets!

We are now heading to a homeless shelter. Looking forward to more great ministry!