AHQ Tour '03 Update #2
3/7/03Written by Byran Smucker and special guest writer Merry Yoder!
We forgot to say, Wednesday morning after we sang at the Holiness church in
York, we were privileged to sing at the Tidings of Peace Christian school in
York, PA. That was a lot of fun. The kids loved us, we loved the
kids, a couple even sang for us!
I think we signed more autographs that morning than we previously had in our total career!
We were given a tour of the school by Sam.
After leaving Mike and Debbie's we headed for the extreme southern part of
Pennsylvania. To those of you to whom it means anything, the church we sang at
(Mountain View) is the home of The Mountain Anthems. We had supper after the
program that evening, and we discovered there was another quartet among us. So
of course we made them sing. They sing very, very well, and it was fun to sing
with them.
We like meeting other quartets, and this one intimidated us with their great blend!
We left the next morning and headed back toward Lancaster to Nickel Mines. This
was a really fun service, also a bit nerve-wracking, because there were seven
people from Bible School that were in attendance, along with a bunch of other
people that we knew. The service went well, and we ended up hanging out at the
church with our Bible School buddies until early into the morning. Actually, all
of us except for Konrad. He disappeared soon after the food was put away and was
not seen or heard from for probably the better part of two hours. Not sure who
he'd have been talking to on the phone (really, I have no idea), but when he
finally came back he couldn't wipe the silly grin off his face.
Early the next day, Tom was transformed from his usual "reserved," "stoic," and
"solemn" morning self into a suddenly happy chap, because his girlfriend Jewel
had driven most of the night to be there and surprise him. A joyous reunion to
be sure.
Faithful subscribers have been begging for pictures.
Some of our Bible School friends went with us to our next stop, Snow Hill, MD.
We arrived, played volleyball, marveled that there was no snow on the ground,
and had another good service that evening.
Sunday morning we sang at Central Mennonite in Dover, Delaware. Again, there
were quite a few familiar faces in the audience. That weekend was amazing
because of all the people we were able to connect with.
God has blessed us so much on this trip. It is awesome to see the results of His
Spirit moving, and to think that we could have a part in it is humbling to say
the least. I'm so thankful that He works, though. In so many ways through so
many people.
Sunday evening found us in Catlett, VA with our friends Merry Yoder and Crystal
Good. We had a great service that evening, and toured D.C. the next day.
Remember, everything is not as it seems, and there are more spies in Washington
D.C. than any other city in the world. We went to the Spy Museum! It was so
cool.
AHQ in the inner city.
And now from Merry Yoder --
AHQ Comes to Catlett
I had been waiting for it, anticipating it, wishing it would it would be here
already. Then, that morning in my diary I wrote March 2, 2003 and the
realization struck me -- IT'S HERE! The day I had planned for and waited for and
wished would hurry up and come was "TODAY!" All those poster-flyers I had
inscribed with "Sunday, March 2, 2003" for my pastor, Simon Schrock, to
distribute around our general area of Northern VA and send to friends and
acquaintances were nearly obsolete. Today was the day -- the day AHQ was coming
to Catlett.
Who knows what AHQ was expecting. One of the first things I learned when I met
them for the first time in November 2001 was that they were "tired of hearing
about Catlett." For much of their lives they had to live with the reality of
Byran's aunt Rosie saying, "Well, in Catlett they...." Rosie had lived here in
the east for five years with the first two of those spent in Catlett and the
other three years spent with close connections to our community. The people
Rosie related to in Oregon became accustomed to having life in Brownsville and
thereabouts compared with life in Catlett. And they were tired of it.
Hanging out at Union Station.
I never got to ask AHQ what they were expecting, but I do know Catlett did not
know what to expect from AHQ. We have a lot of groups pass through the area, and
it's easy to become rather ho-hum about the next group. I enjoy AHQ immensely,
not only because I appreciate their love for and commitment to quality music,
but because I know them individually as guys who love God and love His church. I
really wanted Catlett to like them, and having AHQ come felt like I was having
part of my family pass under close community scrutiny. Confession being good for
the soul I'll have to admit I had some anxious moments.
I needn't have worried. From the first song Catlett was hooked. It was great to
see the response of the community and the visitors. The entire program was a
delight. Catlett has a tradition of having the performing group repeat numbers
that really touched listeners, and that evening there were plenty of requests
which AHQ was willing to oblige. To wrap it up Simon Schrock asked those in the
audience who wished to join him come forward and surround AHQ for a prayer of
blessing on their ministry and future travels. Many people joined in this
prayer, and AHQ could have no doubt that they had once again been used by God to
touch lives in a meaningful way.
Thank you, AHQ, for coming to Catlett.
Editor's note: We love Catlett!
Back to By --
Tuesday evening we were in Farmville, VA, the home of our Bible School principal
and four more Bible School classmates. This was a memorable time. There was a
run-in with huge dogs, and Kon and David got to help the beavers out in chewing
down a couple of trees. We also showed our discipline by getting up Wednesday
morning in time to make our barbeque lunch at noon (we were a little late).
After that great barbecue at Brady and Michael's, they took us on a little hike.
Wednesday we drove to Harrisonburg, VA. There was only a little snow there. No
big events happened, although Konrad got to test drive his dream quartet car, a
Chevy Caprice Wagon.
Thursday we drove, Friday we piddled around in the morning and then drove some
more to Russelville, KY.
Special note: We will be doing a radio interview on WJOC at 2:30 Monday afternoon. Visit their website at http://www.wjoc1490.com/ to listen live on the internet!