Unloading.

Chris handed me the Blackberry to blog on this picture, but I really should be helping. We are back at the 'burg unloading the stealthy budget truck, going to sleep in our own beds tonight, and playing at Naz tomorrow morning. And, I'll have you all know, I WAS helping unload by pushing the FOH box and blogging at the same time, thank you very much.

God bless, over and out.

-Laura Mackey

Stoughton WI

Ah, breakfast. Every meal we've had on tour has never left us hungry; this one is no exception. Shelley's church and our host families provided fruit salad, lots of muffins, cereal, juice, sparkling cider, egg bake, and krumkakke (a Norwegian delicacy). Host families ROCK. Though its rainy and glum outside, we are happy and full of food and of the Spirit.

God bless, over and out.

-Laura Mackey

The River Pantry--acoustic style

We totally just got a reality check.

After a fun afternoon on State St. in Madison, we came back to the River Pantry to set up and play. Because of the requests of the management, we had to cut down on volume, trying about three different plans before figuring out our final setup. We didn't bring our soundboard in, using theirs instead, tried using a partial drum kit but ending up just going with djembe, and finally ending up almost fully acoustic. The conflict and frustration was really taking a toll on our attitudes.

Then, in a meeting outside before eating a light suppery snack provided by Shelley's parents, Bryan reminded us why we were here.

Whether we are loud and rocking strong or quiet and more contemplative, we are still worshipping God. Our purpose here is to glorify him and "be transparent," letting Him shine though us to those we serve.

We've nourished our bodies with wonderful soup and stuff; now we nourish our souls and those of the people present with our joyful noise to our Savior, who is mighty to save.

God bless, over and out.

-Laura Mackey

Heading To Madison

Last night we stayed at my house in Elkhorn. After dinner we played an acoustic set in my living room. It was really fun.

We had a lot of time to relax and all got a pretty good night's sleep. We really needed it!

Right now we're on the road to Madison. We're going to eat lunch and hang out on State St. A lot of people haven't been here before so it should be really cool.

Tonight we're playing at the River Food Pantry in Madison. After the concert we'll head to Stoughton where people from Shelley's church will host us for the night.

-Chris

Lunch at MacArthur's

We went to get lunch in Chicago and the principal at Holy Family suggested eating at MacArthur's.

There is SO much food! And it is really good too.

Apparently this is one of President Obama's favorite places to eat in Chicago.

After lunch we'll head back to Holy Family and help out in the classrooms until school is done.

-Chris

Pulling a Randon...

The kids here at Holy Family are awesome, spunky, and seem to like having their arms autographed by the band members, much to the chagrin of Allison and I. We are scorning such behavior in the spirit of our beloved Randon Ruggles who was on the trip last year, in an attempt to be the voice of reason.

Signing skin is not allowed...though it still continues.

Some of the kids here even signed our Wartburg students' arms :)

Off to Chris's house now.
God bless-over and out

-Laura Mackey

Holy Family Lutheran school

We played at the school in Chicago today. To get there in time to set up and run a sound check, we had a 5:30 a.m. breakfast at Dani's house.

We then loaded up, forced Reid to leave the alpaca barn, and listened to upbeat tunes to keep the half-asleep, driving Alex awake.

We set up (as seen in the picture) and did a really quick sound check; then the children started pouring into the gym. I gave at least 5 high fives before we even started, so we could tell that these kids were pumped and ready to rock!

While we played, many kids sang, danced, clapped and definitely screamed! I helped on powerpoint, so I got to see everything that was happening. Some highlights include Alex throwing tees and polaroids to an ecstatic crowd, Bryan and Chris jumping off the drum stand and Meghann feeling well enough to sing! It was all very high-energy and an exciting experience for all.

-Kate