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So before I talk about today or yesterday, I have to start out with a story from California. While talking with my host in the morning before we sang, I mentioned leaving Portland and living on the West coast for a summer. He asked where I live and I mentioned I had family in Corvallis, OR. And without missing a beat he asked "Oh, is his name Bontrager?? And I stopped eating my cereal and just stared for a second and said: "Yeah. Bob Bontrager!" His reply was a non-chalant: "Oh yeah, I know him." (Now I know there not TONS of Mennonites in Corvallis, but there are quite a few - and SOMEHOW he guessed my uncle perfectly on the first guess! WOAH!!!!) So as my lid has now been blown off, I ask him my host how he knows him. I turns out that my uncle is a prime candidate to do some consulting concerning admissions to the university where my host worked! He finished out the conversation with: "Yeah, I was looking at his resume just yesterday!" WOW! What a surreal and small world. The first guess.

Moving on, today was surely a memorable one! We woke ourselves up with a brisk hike up a small peak outside of Phoenix, after a sobering and somber service remembering the Bluffton community. (Several members of the Bluffton baseball team were killed in a tragic bus accident during a trip to Florida. See the Bluffton University press release.) The hike was beautiful, providing a wonderful view of the city! Then it was off to Major League Baseball spring training in Peoria, Arizona, where we watched the Padres win 3-2 over the Mariners. We finished it off with some great Mennonite food and some singing at a quilt auction at the Glencroft retirement community in Phoenix. The crowd was great and we had a great time! It was absolutely awesome to soak up some sun in this 70 degree weather. This week of traveling has been intense and jam-packed full of some of the most memorable experiences of college. And though I'll be glad to be home, I will sure miss this great coast!

We woke up bright and early this morning, said goodbye to our host families, and hit the road. Our first destination was Joshua Tree National Park. It was an absolutely beautiful place, with vast blue sky, incredible rock formations and spiny yucca plants dotting the landscape. We were given an hour and a half to explore, to rock scramble, and to relax. When we returned, some of us had scratches and scrapes from our more adventurous rock-climbing endeavors, but I think all of us were able to appreciate the natural beauty that we had experienced.

We got a surprise when we attempted to enter the state of Arizona. It turned out that we had more weight on the back axle of bus than was allowed. I attribute this to the expert cooking of all the churches and families that have hosted us. It's hard for me to think of any other week where I have eaten this well...or this much...so maybe that was the cause of our overloaded bus. Fortunately, we were able to overcome the problem by shifting around objects (and choir members) in the bus.

Because of this, we were late arriving at our final destination, Sunnyslope Mennonite Church. The congregation patiently waited as we scrambled around, scarfing down a delicious taco salad dinner and throwing on our tuxedos. Finally, we were ready to sing. I got very warm and positive comments after the performance from people who had found our songs meaningful, and that, to me, is the most gratifying part of making music.

Our progress from Fresno to Pasadena this afternoon was momentarily stymied when the bus showed signs of overheating. However this only provided a much-needed break for some frisbee and hacky-sack, and Bob soon had the bus ready to go again with the help of some electrical tape. While waiting, many of us were astonished when the football, thrown too far, was snagged by a passing truck, never to be seen again.

We finally got a bit of beach time this afternoon, on Santa Monica beach near L.A. It was not exactly ideal beach weather, as it was in the 50s with clouds and wind. But a few brave souls still ventured into the water (a group like us does seem to induce some proving of manliness) and the rest of us enjoyed our last chance to see the Pacific before we head east to Phoenix tomorrow morning.

Our concert this evening was at Pasadena Mennonite Church, former home to GC president Jim Brenneman and family. This concert was a challenge because of tired voices. However, a pep talk from Jim Heiks energized us and we put forth extra effort to compensate for the fatigue. The result was a concert that some called one of our best musically.

As always, we were welcomed warmly. It is always a joy to be able to return the gift that we are given by our hosts through our music. During one of the several faith stories that accompany our concert, Matt Yoder speaks about learning that to follow Christ, one should "use the blessings given by God to be a blessing to others." This tour gives me one opportunity to do that, and for it I am grateful.

from David Magbee:

Tour is going great! There is great morale on the bus. The guys often break into spontaneous song to past the time and raise spirits as we travel. The concerts have been having a resounding affect on the audience. We are often approached after concerts and awarded with great praise about our performances. The hosts are continually hospitable and we are continually making contacts and requested to come back to visit. The morning performance today at Fresno Pacific University was only two songs long, but received great praise. There was much talk of students wishing to see us perform a longer set. It was also nice to see some familiar faces from the college on development trips to the area.

The previous day in San Francisco was also a great time. We had the honor of being toured around the city a little bit and treated to lunch at San Wong by the wonderful Vance George, GC alum and Grammy-winning Director Emeritus of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. The group also visited the Golden Gate bridge, as well as a few areas for our popular photo-ops with the Golden Gate as our backdrop. It was a pleasant time spent in San Francisco. Not to mention the fantastic organ demonstration and the power of the acoustics in Grace Cathedral, where we had the honor of singing to the well-receiving public.

Tour continues on to Pasadena Mennonite, the former home congregation of our delightful new president Jim Brenneman. We're going strong and enjoying ourselves a great deal. Well, now it's time to return to our call-response bus singing.

So today I had the most incredible, unexplainable, lifechanging experience ever. We got to sing and play at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, CA.

As my brass quartet set up to play our Gabrielli Canzona, we decided to play a tuning note. When we cut off, the sound rang for at least five seconds. The four of us stood there for a moment, our jaws on the floor, with a collective "ohhhhhhh" coming from our lips. People in the audience laughed - but no other reaction was even close to as perfect as that. James Green, a trumpet player said later that: "After the tuning note, I was done. I didn't have to play the rest - I was set." I was pretty much in heaven as well. The acoustics in Sauder Concert Hall are incredible; but multiply that beauty by 100 and POOF! you have the acoustics we sang in today.

In my opinion, music is one undeniable argument that God exists. And in that case, I met God today. :) While singing, every cuttoff, every breath, was filled with glorious, glorious ringing, sustained beauty that came from OUR lips. It was somewhat unbelievable. When we were done, I was floating about 15 feet in the air as we returned to the bus.

Oh! During one of our songs, the sun came out and the entire room was filled with multi-colored light suddenly. It was then that we all knew that God was smiling down on us.

We had a great concert tonight in Reedly, CA as well. I'm having a great homestay tonight and am really looking forward to singing at the Fresno Pacific chapel tommorrow!

Today was incredible!

-Scott

Hour 5.5 of our 11 hour bus ride. WooooooHooooo!! This is what spring break is all about! Actually, it's really pretty outside. We're traveling through the mountains of northern California, and boy it's beautiful. We just finished a photo op that included some shirts off and lots of snowballs. Leave it to men's choir to take a photo in the snow....with our shirts off. Wow, God's creation is beautiful. We keep coming across mountains more beautiful than the last!

This morning we had a great concert at Western Mennonite School, and even had a surprise visit from kick-off champions (bi-annual talent show), the Love Kittens - with “Love Potion Number 9.” And overall, the bus ride has been great. We're finished #2 of the Rambo series!! I'm catching up on sleep...and music history! (Gotta love homework - it never ends!!!)

It was sad to leave Oregon, with all the amazing hospitality we've received from all the Oregon churches. But I'm sure it won't stop in Oregon. Last night I got to stay with my Aunt and Uncles in Corvallis, OR. It's sure great to be able to see family again. But it's also really nice to get closer to another family -- all the men on this trip. We're growing into a more cohesive group...or mob.... whichever you prefer. We're loving it. Haven't heard a bad comment yet. Who wouldn't love hanging out with friends, eating awesome Mennonite food, and then getting to sing to packed churches??? best. spring. break. ever.

In a phone call with my parents I was reminded of two pretty interesting situations that I encountered on tour.

1. I stayed with a host family two night ago in Hubbard, OR. The husband was the pastor of the church that we were singing at in the morning. When I met him, his voice and features looked strangely familiar. I went to bed not being able to place it -- and figured he just looked like someone I knew back home. The next morning as we played the Mennonite game, we figured out what it was. He had attended AMBS and Hively Ave. Mennonite church. He had actually taught me Sunday school for a few months! He had a beard then and it was easy to recognize them once I realized that. We decided that we had just traded beards.
2. At the concert last evening, a over-eager child of about 10 came up to me and inquisitively and seriously asked “Excuse me..Excuse me - where do you get your slightly Mongolian looks from?” And me, being strictly from European decent...stood there puzzled. All I could say was... “I don't know....I'm from Germany or Switzerland I think...” There was a little awkward pause and then he responded with “Oh...” and sprinted away from me. That's about all I have to say about that. surreal.
   
   

Today we continued our stay in Oregon with two concerts. Our morning visit was to Zion Mennonite Church, which I was told is Oregon's largest Mennonite congregation. This was a fun concert, as the congregation is home to choir members Brooks and Luke Gingerich, members of a family known for its talented contributions to GC choirs in the past decade. We didn't stick around long at Zion; instead we enjoyed sack lunches packed by our host families as we headed out to the coast.

We headed first to a landmark known as the Devil's Punchbowl, where waves are known to shoot up through a gap in the rocks. The tide was too low for this when we arrived, but we still admired the giant storm-driven breakers crashing nearby. We made a second brief stop in Depoe Bay before heading back inland to Salem.

Our evening concert was at Salem Mennonite Church. After a delicious soup supper we sang in the sanctuary, which is notable for its beautiful woodwork. The sanctuary is not large, and a packed audience and 52 guys made for a intimate setting. We were pleased by an opening of three songs by a talented octet from Western Mennonite School.

It is hard to believe that we have only been on tour for three days--we have already given four concerts and explored many locations. Already I can identify songs which are consistent highlights for me in our concerts:

• our energetic rendition of "Farther Along," arranged and directed by senior Brooks Gingerich
• "A Christmas Lullaby" -- somewhat out of season, but a fun chance to sing with boy soprano Quinn Brenneman, son of GC president Jim Brenneman
• the emotional swells of Franz Biebl's arrangement of "Ave Maria"
• our South African freedom song, Akanamandla, which we sing as an encore (If you are attending one of our remaining concerts, be sure that we bring this out. Its powerful simplicity and clapping make it one of the most fun to sing.)

I'm sure that other choir members would highlights other moments as well!

Tomorrow we sing at Western Mennonite School and then head out for San Francisco. We are in for a long bus ride but I'm confident that with this great group of guys it will go quickly!

We left Seattle early this morning and began the trek to Portland. Though the ride was long, we kept ourselves entertained with stories from Jim, joking, and action movies involving motorcycle chases and helicopters. Our bus driver, Bob, has proven himself a master at maneuvering our huge bus through tiny spaces, and we typically cheer and chant his name every time he makes a particularly impressive turn.

Portland was rainy today, but the city was full of life and activity. The group enjoyed Powell's bookstore, which had just about every book you could ever imagine (including books from GC profs Steve Nolt and John D. Roth...holla!) on its many floors. I, as I so frequently do, got immersed in a book and, when I looked up, discovered that all my compatriots had returned to the bus to leave. Fortunately, music center executive director Brian Wiebe was also late to leave the bookstore, though it turned out he didn't quite remember where the bus was either. With the help of cell phones, we were able to continue the tour only marginally behind schedule.

We had an absolutely perfect venue in which to perform. Portland Mennonite Church has a beautiful sanctuary with stained-glass windows and dazzling acoustics. I felt chills go up my spine as the harmonies we sang bounced off the walls. The congregation was welcoming and enthusiastic and spirits were high as we finished our concert with a South African piece (Akanamandla) that involved much stomping.

The Seattle Mennonite performance was a great success. The very hospitable congregation was extremely delightful and incredibly friendly. I had the extreme delight of staying with the wonderful and welcoming Rob and Lee Murray, along with another tour member, Andrew Mark. I personally spent a great deal of time conversing with one of my host parents, Rob, about our musical interests. The conversation covered a wide variety of topics among music and even led to conversation about local coffeehouse culture and music venues. In the morning, over breakfast we talked about a variety of things including personal goals, heritage, as well as other interests. It's likely that I'll maintain contact with this family. There were connections made and interests shared.

The tour is off to a great start, with a great first performance, a great night's rest with wonderful people, and a great time had in the city of Seattle, WA. There is already a great spirit of comraderie on the trip thus far, and we only seem to be knitting closer and closer together. We were charged with, “Go West Young Men” and West we've gone. We have great hopes lying ahead, and will continue to spread our joy about.

from Jesse Landis-Eigsti:

We flew into Seattle at 11:00 in the morning, Pacific Standard time. It was a strange feeling—-we had been awake for 10 hours, and yet, because of the time change, it was still morning. We were sent loose into the city for lunch.

Seattle is a gorgeous city. We were treated to a bright, sunny day, which, we found out from some local residents, is not always the case in Seattle in February. It was a unique experience for me to see mountains and oceans so close together, and I was struck by how green the city was.

The group went to the pier, where people were throwing fish back and forth. There were little shops and restaurants everywhere and the choir split up as people went exploring. Many people were determined to get some of Seattle's famous seafood. I was with a group that bought a donut the size of a small tire.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sights and sounds of Seattle. Six of us bought cheap plastic ninja swords as souvenirs to remind us of the day. Everywhere we went, people were friendly.