This has been quite the adventure, and we still have almost half the tour to go. There's so much to tell about, so instead of writing a really looooooooooooong blog, I'll just do a "hit and run" post, nibbling away at some portions of the story of this peculiar quest of ours. Here goes...
First, driving. The three biggest cities we've driven in/through are Atlanta, Indianapolis. and Chicago. Driving in Atlanta is obnoxious because the roads all curl around and around, the people drive like they're in the Indy 500, and no matter what street you start out on, eventually it turns into Peachtree somethingorother (Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road, Peachtree Blvd., etc.).
Driving in Indianapolis has an element of magic to it, because you start off driving along 79th St., when suddenly it becomes 82nd Street, and shortly thereafter it turns into 86th St. When I drive in Indy I feel like a character in a Harry Potter novel, but without the wand.
Driving in Chicago is my favorite, not only because I know it best, but because Chicago is neatly arranged and organized. It was built on a grid system, and when you know what hundred north, south, east, or west you want to be, you just move along the grid, nice as you like. The streets don't change names randomly, and, as far as I know, not one of them is named Peachtree.
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In Chicago, at least 25% of all adult conversations involve the subject of driving, as in, "What route did you take to get here?" and "How long did it take you?" All the Chicagoans who just read that laughed, because they know it's true. Take away travel talk, you get 25% dead air during a Chicago dinner party.
The old joke is that Chicago has 2 seasons: winter and construction. Only it's not so funny when you have to drive in it. I don't know what Mapquest will tell you about how long it will take you to get from Point A to Point B in Chicago, but whatever it is, add 50 minutes, and you'll probably be right. And that's true whether you're going 3 miles away or 30. Ask any Chicagoan; they love talking traffic.
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I have fallen in love with my girlfriend's...Garmin. Heavens to Murgatroyd, how have I ever lived without one of these little miracles with a touch screen?!?! They tell you where to go without any kind of attitude (or bad language), they deal with your mistakes with grace and patience ("Recalculating..."), never nagging or offering even the slightest hint of reproach. Imagine how happy the world would be if we all treated each other like the GPS treats us...
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I've discovered that my most Christian friend is...my Jewish friend Gerri. She and her husband have taken a homeless man into their home, and treat him like one of the family. When I first heard about it, I had the same reaction you probably just did, something along the lines of, "Holy Moly, is she nuts?!?" Not at all.
Gerri is perhaps the most practical, level headed person I know. Her husband met this man at some meetings they both attend. The man spent most of the winter - in Chicago, mind you - homeless. He spent his days walking (20 miles a day was not unusual for him) looking for work and a place in a shelter. If he got "lotteried out" (shelter beds are given out by lottery, and sometimes, he lost), he could sometimes take shelter for the night in an abandoned car. One miserable, cold, rainy, bitter Chicago winter night, he lost the lottery, couldn't get to the car, and was looking at spending the night on the street. So he chanced a call to my friend and her husband. They took him in. And he's been with them now for 6 months. He's a nice guy, clean and sober, working his program, and I'm so impressed with my friend I just had to tell her story. I don't know that I could do it, but I thank God for Gerri. She's a wonder and my role model.
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People in Chicago refer to the metropolitan area as "Chicagoland." I don't know why, but everyone does it. I've heard that phrase all of my adult life and never really thought about it until my brother Fred pointed it out. "Who do they think they are," he says, "Disneyland?!? Do they have wild rides and colorful cartoon personalities? Well, yes, in fact, they do, but not in any kind of Disney-esque way. But that's another story. Meanwhile, I think I'll start referring to our hometown as Brunswickland, maybe it'll catch on. We may have to work on the wild rides, but I think we may already have some colorful cartoon personalities.
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We have experienced many gains and losses on this trip. Tim has gained confidence in driving in a large metropolitan area, and I have lost a fairly good portion of painless mobility in my left knee (albeit temporarily. Or so I assume). The kids have gained the love of camping, and I have lost the false notion that I have the agility of a much younger person. The kids gained the joy of simple pleasures - like "sledding" down a leaf covered hill on a piece of cardboard, and I have completely lost the idea that I can do that standing up and still maintain use of both my knees. 'Nuff said.
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I won't name names, but we have had the church version of the old Highlights Magazine "Goofus and Gallant" in the last 2 churches we've played. Gallant church welcomes new people with smiles, handshakes, and introductions. Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst. Gallant church offers assistance to folks who are loading gear in or out of their church. Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst. Gallant church says, "thanks for coming!" when folks are on their way out. Goofus church ignores strangers in their midst. (Thanks to Faith Presbyterian Church for being so gallant!).
As Tim said, "it makes me want to make a beeline for any folks we see at our church that we don't know, make sure we introduce ourselves, welcome them, and show them around!" A novel idea, welcoming strangers to your church. Why, they might even want to come back!
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Today we're back in Indianapolis; tomorrow we play a home concert in Cincinnati; Sunday we play a home concert here in Indy. Monday will find us back on the road, moving south again, slowly heading home. We have a few more performances planned as we trek homeward, hopefully we'll have a couple more "unplanned" ones, too. We pray we have been faithful in answering the call. Like I said, it's been quite the adventure.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
So, where was I...?
When we first decided to go on this tour, in answer to what we felt was God's call, we did some searching on the internet, trying to see what we might encounter between Brunswick and Chicago. And we discovered that the National Quartet Convention would be held in Louisville, KY, during the exact time we were supposed to be passing through that area. We felt this was a God wink, one of those little heavenly nods of inspiration, directed at us. I mean, an entire convention dedicated to Christian music, happening directly in our path! It seemed like a little divine encouragement, and we welcomed it.
FYI, the NQC is a week long convention, all about southern gospel music. It's filled with the gospel greats, near greats, and hope-to-be-greats. Now, we're not southern gospel, but we hoped this would offer us an opportunity to learn how we could move our music ministry forward, and perhaps make some music business connections.
We bought tickets to the concert on Friday night. These tickets would also give us access to the convention hall on Friday, so we could check out the exhibits of the many performers and the businesses that support them (agents, record labels, etc.).
Our day there was a long one. We wandered up and down what seemed like a million aisles, collected pounds of paperwork, and sat through the first half (nearly 4 hours!) of the evening's concert. I'll just cut to the chase: although we are definitely NOT southern gospel (I believe I mentioned that earlier...), we did learn tons and it was a terrific - and exhausting - experience. If we can afford it, we may be exhibitors next year, because even though we are positively NOT southern gospel (I seem to have heard that before), this convention would be a good place for us to reach a wider audience. We think the folks there would really love this music, even though it's not what they're used to hearing.
The day after the concert we relaxed at our campsite at the General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, KY., and gave the folks a short Sunday morning concert (a little original Christian music to pack up your pop up to). Then we enjoyed a free community wide fair offered by the local mega-church (where we, of course, dropped off our CD. We hope to play that fair next year - last year they hosted over 10,000 people!). Rachel loved the horse barrel racing, Scotty loved the bounce houses, and Tim and I loved that it was a relaxing afternoon of free food and entertainment. Then we headed up the scenic route to Indianapolis, where we have been for the last couple of days.
Since we've been here we've booked some more gigs. Just today we added the Faith Presby church here in Indy to our schedule, and are hoping to connect with another local church. Plus we booked a return engagement at the South Cherokee Baptist Church in Woodstock (just outside of Atlanta) and have a couple more on the line in the Atlanta area for our return trip (thank you, Terry!). And our Cincinnati home concert is good to go as well. We're so grateful for every opportunity we can find to perform.
And for the icing on the cake, we wrote a new song today! It's based on the Apostle's Creed. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we'd write a song for that, but then again, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be doing this music in the first place. God has a wacky sense of humor. He has His plans, and sometimes I feel like I'm just hanging on for the ride. Lemme just say, never a dull moment...
Tomorrow we head to my hometown, sweet home Chicago. Looking forward to making music, seeing old friends, and enjoying some fabulous Chicago pizza! Yum!!!
When we first decided to go on this tour, in answer to what we felt was God's call, we did some searching on the internet, trying to see what we might encounter between Brunswick and Chicago. And we discovered that the National Quartet Convention would be held in Louisville, KY, during the exact time we were supposed to be passing through that area. We felt this was a God wink, one of those little heavenly nods of inspiration, directed at us. I mean, an entire convention dedicated to Christian music, happening directly in our path! It seemed like a little divine encouragement, and we welcomed it.
FYI, the NQC is a week long convention, all about southern gospel music. It's filled with the gospel greats, near greats, and hope-to-be-greats. Now, we're not southern gospel, but we hoped this would offer us an opportunity to learn how we could move our music ministry forward, and perhaps make some music business connections.
We bought tickets to the concert on Friday night. These tickets would also give us access to the convention hall on Friday, so we could check out the exhibits of the many performers and the businesses that support them (agents, record labels, etc.).
Our day there was a long one. We wandered up and down what seemed like a million aisles, collected pounds of paperwork, and sat through the first half (nearly 4 hours!) of the evening's concert. I'll just cut to the chase: although we are definitely NOT southern gospel (I believe I mentioned that earlier...), we did learn tons and it was a terrific - and exhausting - experience. If we can afford it, we may be exhibitors next year, because even though we are positively NOT southern gospel (I seem to have heard that before), this convention would be a good place for us to reach a wider audience. We think the folks there would really love this music, even though it's not what they're used to hearing.
The day after the concert we relaxed at our campsite at the General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, KY., and gave the folks a short Sunday morning concert (a little original Christian music to pack up your pop up to). Then we enjoyed a free community wide fair offered by the local mega-church (where we, of course, dropped off our CD. We hope to play that fair next year - last year they hosted over 10,000 people!). Rachel loved the horse barrel racing, Scotty loved the bounce houses, and Tim and I loved that it was a relaxing afternoon of free food and entertainment. Then we headed up the scenic route to Indianapolis, where we have been for the last couple of days.
Since we've been here we've booked some more gigs. Just today we added the Faith Presby church here in Indy to our schedule, and are hoping to connect with another local church. Plus we booked a return engagement at the South Cherokee Baptist Church in Woodstock (just outside of Atlanta) and have a couple more on the line in the Atlanta area for our return trip (thank you, Terry!). And our Cincinnati home concert is good to go as well. We're so grateful for every opportunity we can find to perform.
And for the icing on the cake, we wrote a new song today! It's based on the Apostle's Creed. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think we'd write a song for that, but then again, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be doing this music in the first place. God has a wacky sense of humor. He has His plans, and sometimes I feel like I'm just hanging on for the ride. Lemme just say, never a dull moment...
Tomorrow we head to my hometown, sweet home Chicago. Looking forward to making music, seeing old friends, and enjoying some fabulous Chicago pizza! Yum!!!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Enjoying the Great Indoors
We've made it to Indianapolis and are enjoying the hospitality of my friend Janet. After some negotiating, angling, and praying, we parked the pop-up securely on her fairly steeply inclined driveway (I say "we" as if I had anything to do with it. Ha! We've discovered many things during these past two weeks, and one of them is that I can't back up the pop-up to save my life. Tim, however, is a pop-up back up genius. He's like the Yoda of Reverse. He's gotten us out of tight squeezes, unlikely positions, and impossible situations with only a "Yeah, honey, you've got it!" from me. If there were an Olympics for backing up trailers, Tim would be bringing home the gold). We'll spend the next week and a half relying on the kindness of friends, popped down and indoors.
But as nice as it is indoors, we kinda miss the outdoors. Life popping up has been surprisingly enjoyable. Though the camper is small, it's comfortable and fits the four of us nicely. The electrical hookup at the campsites give us lights and the ability to charge up cell phones, the laptop, and even our electric toothbrush (so much for roughing it). We get fresh water from the campsite spigot, and with that and the propane stove hung on the outside of the camper, we're good to go for cooking. I was doubtful about the slide out beds when I first saw them, but after having spent many nights on them, I can say without hesitation that they offer a good night's sleep. All in all, I foresee a pop-up in the Akins family future (only one with a little more storage space, because the one drawback we've found is having to share that small a space with our sound and music gear. That's a drag. But it's a small price to pay for the joy of camping).
But back to the tour...
We left Chattanooga on Wendesday, dropping off a few CDs at local churches (in the hopes that they might - miracle of miracles - actually listen to them!). We didn't get to play in Chattanooga. We stayed at a commercial campground and there was just no opportunity there for us to perform, doggone it.
Commercial sites have a totally different vibe than state parks. Commercial sites have the ambience of a Walmart parking lot, only without the shopping carts. These sites are home to serious RVers, some of whom live in their RVs full time (ye gods). Serious RVers don't hike trails (cuz there aren't any in a Walmart parking lot, in case you haven't noticed). They don't socialize. Shoot, they don't even come outdoors. They just stay snug in their very large, very comfortable RVs. They're like turtles, only with cable TV. So no, we didn't play there.
But we did play at the campgrounds in Carrollton, Kentucky, and I'll write about that next leg of our tour - and the National Quartet Convention - tomorrow. Now I think I might just go hang out on Janet's deck, enjoy the night air and listen to the crickets for a while...
But as nice as it is indoors, we kinda miss the outdoors. Life popping up has been surprisingly enjoyable. Though the camper is small, it's comfortable and fits the four of us nicely. The electrical hookup at the campsites give us lights and the ability to charge up cell phones, the laptop, and even our electric toothbrush (so much for roughing it). We get fresh water from the campsite spigot, and with that and the propane stove hung on the outside of the camper, we're good to go for cooking. I was doubtful about the slide out beds when I first saw them, but after having spent many nights on them, I can say without hesitation that they offer a good night's sleep. All in all, I foresee a pop-up in the Akins family future (only one with a little more storage space, because the one drawback we've found is having to share that small a space with our sound and music gear. That's a drag. But it's a small price to pay for the joy of camping).
But back to the tour...
We left Chattanooga on Wendesday, dropping off a few CDs at local churches (in the hopes that they might - miracle of miracles - actually listen to them!). We didn't get to play in Chattanooga. We stayed at a commercial campground and there was just no opportunity there for us to perform, doggone it.
Commercial sites have a totally different vibe than state parks. Commercial sites have the ambience of a Walmart parking lot, only without the shopping carts. These sites are home to serious RVers, some of whom live in their RVs full time (ye gods). Serious RVers don't hike trails (cuz there aren't any in a Walmart parking lot, in case you haven't noticed). They don't socialize. Shoot, they don't even come outdoors. They just stay snug in their very large, very comfortable RVs. They're like turtles, only with cable TV. So no, we didn't play there.
But we did play at the campgrounds in Carrollton, Kentucky, and I'll write about that next leg of our tour - and the National Quartet Convention - tomorrow. Now I think I might just go hang out on Janet's deck, enjoy the night air and listen to the crickets for a while...
Monday, September 13, 2010
Today we arrived in Chattanooga, TN. It's quite a groovy little town. Lots of cool architecture, funky restaurants, and, of course, Rock City and Ruby Falls (which we'll be visiting tomorrow). We took a ride up Lookout Mountain on the Incline Railway and followed that up with a self-guided walking tour around Chattanooga.
The Incline Railway ride is quite dramatic, as the incline up the mountain is quite severe. At certain points along the ride it feels as if you could fall right out of your chair. It would have been a little less alarming if the front windows had been closed, but as it was a beautiful day, the conductor felt the need for fresh air and so he had the windows WIDE open. It added a little more suspense than I would have liked. And I think Scott was worried he was going to tumble out the window, all the way down the mountain. But I maintained a firm grasp on him, which he (for once) did not try to wriggle out of.
The view at the top of the mountain is pretty cool, but the [requisite] gift shop there is totally cheesy. Of course, the kids went ape for it, barely giving the view a second glance.
I think kids are born with what I refer to as the "Mom-Can-We-Have-This-Please-I-Really-Want-It-I-Can't-Live-Without-It" gene. A very animated and vocal reaction is triggered by proximity to cheap, easily breakable junk sold at astronomical prices in cheesy gift stores. But like my parents before me, I denied them their tchotchkies. But I did buy them Skittles, so it wasn't a total wash for them.
Tonight we are at a very nice commercial campground in Chattanooga, TN. The bathrooms are spotless, which is saying a lot when it comes to campgrounds. Spotless and air conditioned, quite the luxury. Tomorrow we will go the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, and of course, see Rock City. And hopefully we'll be able to put on a performance here in the campground tomorrow night.
And speaking of concerts, yesterday morning we performed our first "road" church concert and it was awesome! We played for the congregation of the South Cherokee Baptist Church, in Woodstock, GA. The folks welcomed us warmly, and enjoyed the music so much that they've invited us to come back and play for them again on our way back home. After the service, they treated us to a terrific lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Thanks, Carolyn, for the lunch, and thanks, too, to Holly, Pam, Nancy, Jamie, Donna and Dee for keeping us entertained at lunch. And thanks to Pastor Steven, Terry (the church pianist), and especially Judy, the church musical director, for letting us come and play for y'all. We can't wait to come back and play some more for you!
The Incline Railway ride is quite dramatic, as the incline up the mountain is quite severe. At certain points along the ride it feels as if you could fall right out of your chair. It would have been a little less alarming if the front windows had been closed, but as it was a beautiful day, the conductor felt the need for fresh air and so he had the windows WIDE open. It added a little more suspense than I would have liked. And I think Scott was worried he was going to tumble out the window, all the way down the mountain. But I maintained a firm grasp on him, which he (for once) did not try to wriggle out of.
The view at the top of the mountain is pretty cool, but the [requisite] gift shop there is totally cheesy. Of course, the kids went ape for it, barely giving the view a second glance.
I think kids are born with what I refer to as the "Mom-Can-We-Have-This-Please-I-Really-Want-It-I-Can't-Live-Without-It" gene. A very animated and vocal reaction is triggered by proximity to cheap, easily breakable junk sold at astronomical prices in cheesy gift stores. But like my parents before me, I denied them their tchotchkies. But I did buy them Skittles, so it wasn't a total wash for them.
Tonight we are at a very nice commercial campground in Chattanooga, TN. The bathrooms are spotless, which is saying a lot when it comes to campgrounds. Spotless and air conditioned, quite the luxury. Tomorrow we will go the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, and of course, see Rock City. And hopefully we'll be able to put on a performance here in the campground tomorrow night.
And speaking of concerts, yesterday morning we performed our first "road" church concert and it was awesome! We played for the congregation of the South Cherokee Baptist Church, in Woodstock, GA. The folks welcomed us warmly, and enjoyed the music so much that they've invited us to come back and play for them again on our way back home. After the service, they treated us to a terrific lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. Thanks, Carolyn, for the lunch, and thanks, too, to Holly, Pam, Nancy, Jamie, Donna and Dee for keeping us entertained at lunch. And thanks to Pastor Steven, Terry (the church pianist), and especially Judy, the church musical director, for letting us come and play for y'all. We can't wait to come back and play some more for you!
Friday, September 10, 2010
And they're off!
Our tour has officially begun, and (amazingly, barely) on the day we were actually scheduled to go! Packing for almost 6 weeks (that's how long the tour is, not how long it took to pack, although it was close...) took more time, effort and space than we'd bargained for, and almost prevented our scheduled departure. But we persevered, and crammed stuff, kids, and ourselves into the van and made it all the way to...Blythe Island Campground.
For anyone who might not be familiar with this delightful park, it's a whopping 10 miles (stretching it...) from our house. No, it's not far, but at least we got out of the house. That's something, anyway.
And it's good that we were close, because of course we forgot some important stuff. And packed waaaaaaay too much non-essential stuff (no kids, we do NOT need to bring ALL those books!). So after a slightly rough first night (cuz we set up in the dark, and not very well, but that's another story) we went back home, exchanged some big heavy things (books, books, and more books) for some small things (our very expensive tickets to the quartet convention) and made it back out on the road again.
This time we made it all the way to Little Ocmulgee State Park. Set up in the dark (again!), but did it right this time. Cooked/ate dinner in the dark (again!), but ultimately made ourselves very comfortable.
Camping in the new millenium (I s'pose I should stop calling it that, since it's not so new anymore) is much easier than when I was younger (back in the Pleistocene Era, apparently). We stay nice and cool all night in the pop-up, thanks to the A/C. The kids can go on a nature hike and check in with me via cell phone. My laptop lets me write (and edit) to my heart's content, and the Wi-Fi (in the very comfy Little Ocmulgee Lodge) allows me to post my blog, check my email, and figure out the next leg of the trip with maps and info about interesting sites along our path.
The kids are convinced this is roughing it. I want to laugh and tell them about tents and poles and sleeping bags on the ground and all that, but I'm scared to death they'll think it sounds cool and want us to do it, and frankly, I like all the new mod cons. I have friends who got the heebie jeebies when I told them we were planning to go out with a pop-up, which they consider totally primitive. Roughing it for them is going some place without room service 24/7. I'm perfectly fine with it, but I'm not going backwards any either.
And all our modern conveniences allow us to do what we came for - we gave our first concert tonight! We set up our gear (which is packed with us in the van and the pop-up. Yes, it's quite a tight fit) and sang and played for an hour. Got lots of smiles, waves, and nods, and even got some folks dancing at their campsites. And our neighbors from the campsite next door came over and introduced themselves and bought a CD. Plus they gave us some info about a great campsite in Chattanooga, where we'll be next week, so that's an extra bonus.
So that's days 1, 2 and 3. Tomorrow we're off to Atlanta. Sunday morning we have our first church concert, at the South Cherokee Baptist Church, a small church in Woodstock, GA. We're excited about it, been talking to God a lot about it. Can't wait to see what He's got in store for us next. I'll keep you posted. You keep us in your prayers, if you would, please. We're doing the same for you!
For anyone who might not be familiar with this delightful park, it's a whopping 10 miles (stretching it...) from our house. No, it's not far, but at least we got out of the house. That's something, anyway.
And it's good that we were close, because of course we forgot some important stuff. And packed waaaaaaay too much non-essential stuff (no kids, we do NOT need to bring ALL those books!). So after a slightly rough first night (cuz we set up in the dark, and not very well, but that's another story) we went back home, exchanged some big heavy things (books, books, and more books) for some small things (our very expensive tickets to the quartet convention) and made it back out on the road again.
This time we made it all the way to Little Ocmulgee State Park. Set up in the dark (again!), but did it right this time. Cooked/ate dinner in the dark (again!), but ultimately made ourselves very comfortable.
Camping in the new millenium (I s'pose I should stop calling it that, since it's not so new anymore) is much easier than when I was younger (back in the Pleistocene Era, apparently). We stay nice and cool all night in the pop-up, thanks to the A/C. The kids can go on a nature hike and check in with me via cell phone. My laptop lets me write (and edit) to my heart's content, and the Wi-Fi (in the very comfy Little Ocmulgee Lodge) allows me to post my blog, check my email, and figure out the next leg of the trip with maps and info about interesting sites along our path.
The kids are convinced this is roughing it. I want to laugh and tell them about tents and poles and sleeping bags on the ground and all that, but I'm scared to death they'll think it sounds cool and want us to do it, and frankly, I like all the new mod cons. I have friends who got the heebie jeebies when I told them we were planning to go out with a pop-up, which they consider totally primitive. Roughing it for them is going some place without room service 24/7. I'm perfectly fine with it, but I'm not going backwards any either.
And all our modern conveniences allow us to do what we came for - we gave our first concert tonight! We set up our gear (which is packed with us in the van and the pop-up. Yes, it's quite a tight fit) and sang and played for an hour. Got lots of smiles, waves, and nods, and even got some folks dancing at their campsites. And our neighbors from the campsite next door came over and introduced themselves and bought a CD. Plus they gave us some info about a great campsite in Chattanooga, where we'll be next week, so that's an extra bonus.
So that's days 1, 2 and 3. Tomorrow we're off to Atlanta. Sunday morning we have our first church concert, at the South Cherokee Baptist Church, a small church in Woodstock, GA. We're excited about it, been talking to God a lot about it. Can't wait to see what He's got in store for us next. I'll keep you posted. You keep us in your prayers, if you would, please. We're doing the same for you!
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