Tapestry Tour '03 Update #3
7/17/03
Compiled by Tom Troyer
Here is the final Tapestry Tour update. Sorry I'm so late again, but I've been busy being a guest and other important things! And my editorial pay is low! I think I'll ask for a raise.
I've asked several people to send me some comments about our tour, but first is an accounting of the last few days of tour by Crystal:
Monday was a pretty relaxing day. We left from Martinsburg in the late morning to travel to Plain City. Upon arrival we ate lunch at Der Dutchman and then shopped at Good Steward Books. Then on to the church where we had a leisurely few hours before the program that eve. That was the end of leisurely days! The next morning we had to meet at 6:30 a.m.
We had a ten hour drive ahead of us to the program at Tryon, NC, that night. Part of the time was spent listening to people's love stories. (By the way, it was just the couples who shared.) Sometime along the way we started having bus trouble and had to go at a snail's pace. We ended up having our prayer/share on the bus, and finally got to the church twenty minutes before the program was supposed to start!
We did some really fast setting up of risers, unloading of luggage, and putting on of un-ironed uniforms. A few interesting twists were that Conrad couldn't find his shirt for awhile, and when we walked in and took our places on the risers Bradley's head was scraping the ceiling!! (The room had a very low, flat ceiling.) So Brad changed places, and we started in. Guess that's how things go when you walk in to a program last minute.
Wednesday morning we started back to South Boston. Supposedly the bus had been
at least partially fixed, but as we traveled along, we figured out that it was
still struggling. We ended up having a very, very long lunch break while the bus
got worked on. When we finally got to Faith, (where we were going to give our
last program) we had to rush around pretty badly again, but not as badly as the
night before. At least we had some time to warm up and rehearse and practice our
standing arrangement and have prayer/share at the church. We had a good program
that night, and great food afterwards......and then had to start the good-byes.
Rather hard. Sigh.
Byran:
There's something about really connecting with people that is almost unexplainable. I made connections like that on this trip. I love these people! We were just a bunch of people thrown together from all over the country, but we had so much in common.
The biggest thing was our relationship with Jesus. With Him as the focal
point, and with our common love of music, this tour was bound to be a success.
And it succeeded, smashingly. Sometimes I feel so undeservingly blessed, and I
count this as one of those times--to have met so many new friends and to have
shared this time together with them.
Our esteemed guest conductor, Lamar, here in deep contemplation. Probably wondering how to fix his bass section! Notice how I refrained from making a tenor joke at this opportune time.
Crystal:
Of course Tapestry is all about singing. But Tapestry tour would never have been the same without the presence of several key, non-singing members. Let me introduce you to these outstanding individuals.
1) Mildred Good, the tour mom (and my for-real mom). We can never thank her enough for all the work she did on behalf of Tapestry. Somewhere hidden in Tapestry archives is a note she wrote to me months ago when Tapestry was in the beginning stages -- "Go for it!" That was her attitude the whole time.
When we all got together to practice day and night before tour, she put tons of energy into cooking and doing laundry so that we could all focus constantly on our music. And then on tour she did all our uniform ironing before programs (yes, twelve shirts and fourteen dresses) and babysat two-year-old Carver so that Norvan and Jewel could sing. I can't imagine how hectic and nerve-wracking things could have gotten without her.
2) Phil Leichty, Rosie's husband. Neither did we realize ahead of time how crucial he would be to our tour experience! He kept my mom sane. From the very beginning he was there, willing to help in any way he could. And he hit it off with Carver, which was a very good thing. Many a time he entertained Carver while we were rehearsing, while Mom was busy ironing, or during a program.
Phil also was important to the riser crew, and saw to it that the programs got handed out before each performance. All around he's a great, comfortable person, and we thank him profusely for what he added to Tapestry.
3) Carver Yoder, our little guy. Nothing like a little fellow to get people loosened up. Carver was a lot of fun to have along on tour. Because of him, we would sing children's songs with motions on the bus. Because of him, we would play peek-a-boo behind pillows. Because of him, we would say the same silly phrase and play the same silly game over and over.
A little quality father-son bonding time.
Because of him, we would laugh hysterically at words like "bumblebee" and "pruck" and "Ro-ise" coming over the speakers on the bus. ("Pruck" means "truck" and "Ro-ise" was his special twist on "Rosie, "which incidentally could mean either Phil or Rosie.)
4) Leroy Weber, our bus driver. I think it can be easy to take your bus driver for granted, but obviously Tapestry tour would have been impossible without him. Leroy did a really good job with his responsibilities as bus driver. But in addition, he did a great job of being available for little odd jobs surrounding programs and of giving us encouragement about how the programs were going. Thank you, Leroy, for your work on our behalf, for staying awake when the rest of us were sleeping on the bus, for staying up late to get the bus worked on, etc. God bless you for it.
Merry:
God is so good. Tapestry has been another one of His good gifts. I am amazed as I reflect back over the the last several weeks and recalled everything I personally had been given. The best things about this tour, I believe, were the ways it so vividly portrayed what the body of Christ has the potential to be continually.
Let me see if I can explain. Nearly every individual who was part of Tapestry lived and related under a strong sense of "privilege." We were privileged to be doing something we loved -- that is to say, "Quality Choral Singing" -- with others who loved it as well. Many of us come from backgrounds where we do not normally have this quality opportunity. This sense of privilege and our understanding of its brevity (well, one and a half weeks isn't very long) caused us to make the most of every moment and view with wonder each day as it unfolded.
The Blessing Project (each Tapestry member wrote an encouraging note to every other member on an index card) helped us to focus on the things about our fellow Tap members that blessed us, and it gave us a chance to let them know, blessing them in turn. I found myself "giving" more freely than I have in a long time. When I returned home and spoke of this to my friend, Anne, immediately her response was, "But isn't that what the church should be like? How do we capture that here at home?"
And so we brainstormed. What would our churches look like if we related meaningfully to one another out of a sense of privilege instead of duty, looking to further God's design for each person's life? What would happen to the quality of our lives if we approached each day with wonder at what God would do with it and what part we would play in it?
How rich and abundant could our lives become if we would continually be viewing our fellow believers with the intent to discover how they are giving into our lives, how their character is benefiting (giving life) to those around them, envisioning how God desires to use them in the future, and then letting them know how they are a blessing, how grateful we are for them and how we see God working in their lives? I pray that I will not forget this lesson or lose sight of the wisdom that God has given us through the experience of Tapestry.
The Editor, exhausted from all the incredible effort these Updates demand.
The Editor again:
Remember the "y'all" versus "ya'll" question Crystal brought up in the last update? The feedback flooding in from Update Subscribership has made a unanimous decree!! Y'all agreed with me! Y'all said that an apostrophe replaces the left out letters, leaving "y'all" from "you all." Yes, now I want to know who y'all were in that discussion siding with the "ya'll" camp!