We started out today well rested, if a little sore from hiking, at the Western Mennonite School. After bidding a fond farewell to our host families of the last two nights, who had treated us all exceedingly well, it was only a short drive to the school.
We began, thankfully, with a more extensive warmup than we have been able to have so far. This was in preparation for singing in the morning chapel at WMS: our first of three performances in the day. We performed a very solid, slightly condensed version of our full set for a very energetic school of youths from first grade all the way up through high school. After the performance we had a little down time to talk with the students and relax before getting back to work. I was very energized and encouraged by the students reaction to our work at the start of such a daunting day of performances so late in the tour.
Soon we were rejoined by some of the students who comprised the WMS men’s a cappella choir. Scott led the combined group through a series of exercises and warmups to give a taste of what our usual rehearsal process is like back home at the college. After rehearsing with this very talented young group of guys, we were feed a very nostalgic lunch in the schools cafeteria before heading out to Mennonite Village.
Despite flagging energy levels, our morale officers managed to rouse our with our daily dose of vitamins for our second performance of the day. We performed a slightly shortened set for a very open and encouraging crowd. Following the concert, we had some time to mingle and connect with relatives and family friends living at mennonite village. We quickly returned to the road, heading for Albany Mennonite Church.
Once we arrived, we had a brief warmup in AMC’s beautiful space, following which we were blessed with some free time to relax and rest our voices. After being fed and resting for some time, the group was quite revived, and we gave a heart-felt performance for the AMC audience.
After our long day of performing, we were all ready to crash for the night. Our hosts brought us home to rest and prepare for our big travel day on Thursday. I would like to give a special shout-out to Pastor Gary for taking seven of our men into his home on very short notice! Thanks to all our hosts, we were well rested and fed, and well prepared for the final push of our tour.