It was a Jeremiah 29:11 Day

Have you ever had a day where you can feel the presence of the Lord so distinctly that it's like He's right there next to you? Today was one of those days for the choir tour.

We left 5 minutes early on Monday evening with a wonderful send-off from Ed and Donna Kenninger, Elwyn and Susan Stafford, numerous spouses who weren't going along for the tour. A picture amid the Gathering Place VBS decorations and we were on the bus. Our driver, Jimmy, is a member of Thompson Rd. Baptist Church in Indy. When he heard that the next job assignment was a tour of Christians (and a church choir on top of that), he said he knew this was somewhere he wanted to be. OK...are you feeling the presence yet?

Arrival in Washington was 2 hours a head of schedule, thanks to Jimmy and his driving skill (not to mention making good time). We decided to try and check in at the hotel even though we were early. The desk clerk was kind, accomodating and took care of every need we had. 6 of our folks who were traveling on their own were waiting in the lobby when we arrived. What a welcoming committee we had...rooms ready and all of our folks waiting to join us. The hair on the back of my arm is starting to raise.

When we arrived at the Old Post Office, we met our tour guide, Barb and Lorin Lee and Gloria Miller. Our group was now complete. We had a quick bite to eat and it was off to the first stop of the tour...something not on the agenda. Ilona (our tour guide) took us to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which was Abraham Lincoln's church. She arranged for us to go there before we'd even arrived, asking the church if we could rehearse there for a bit before we toured the church.

The guys unloaded the music and we made our way to the rehearsal space. After the first few notes of "We are the Men" (chosen because it is a light, fun piece to warm up on), we were so impressed with the acoustics of this dim, dark room we were in. Sally was playing a Steinway piano given to the church in 1958, which we have the distinct feeling is way older than 51 years old...it is a fabulous instrument. The choir then launched into "The Lord's Prayer" and the room took on an ethereal feeling. The choir sounded like they were in heaven, music resounding everywhere around us. When we finished the piece, I had tears in my eyes; I could not imagine the beauty I was hearing, that we were being given such an honor as to sing for the Lord in this place...Lincoln's church! It was amazing...we even had the custodial staff listening to us, hanging on every note we sang. We rehearsed for about 40 minutes, just reveling in the music, the space and God's graciousness to us. Mid rehearsal, we stopped to pray and give thanks for this special way to start our time in this place.

I can't begin to describe the wonders we encountered in the church - Lincoln's pictures, documents, his "personal" pew, the stained glass...it's an awesome place! We spent about 1 1/2 hours here, took many pictures and picked our jaws up off the floor many times.

Onward to the National Cathedral. Aside from the grand architecture, stunning stained glass, history, enviable acoustics, we were floored again with the opportunity to SING. After touring the main level of the cathedral, we were taken to the lower level of the cathedral. After learning about the chapel called the "Bethlehem Chapel", our tour guide asked if we could sing. The docent said, "yes" and we sang "The Lord's Prayer" a cappella. Tears were seen on many a cheek, I will say. How will we get through our concerts? By the grace of God! We worshiped together in an Evensong service, with the music led by the Cambridge Choir, which was glorious, but I don't think anything was as beautiful as hearing our choir sing together. It's really hard to describe, other than to say the presence of the Lord was surely with us in these places.

I'm hoping I get some of the pictures from the day loaded onto the blog for everyone to see. Just amazing..

Dinner this evening was at the Kennedy Center, which was pretty impressive. The meal was nice, but the setting was just beautiful. We went up to the roof after our meal and saw the Lincoln Memorial, where we'll be giving a concert tomorrow morning, as well as the Washington Monument, which seemed like it was right next door with the Jefferson Memorial a hop, skip and a jump between the two. We also took a bus ride to see the Iwo Jima monument, the White House and several other important landmarks in the city.

I have 37 tired, very jazzed singers and spouses trying to go to sleep tonight. Our tour manager said, "They've been up since 10pm last night and listen to them. They're still ready to go." Which they were...I know 3 went down to the movie theatre down the street to see the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter flick. Amazing!

I don't know how tomorrow can get any better? I'm sure the Lord has many things planned for us. I'm going to rest in that this evening and I get ready for bed. It's been an amazing day, one that the Lord must have spent a lot of time planning and preparing for us...today didn't just happen by accident. Confirmation of the Lord's hand was evident all through the day. It was a Jeremiah 29:11 day.

Prayer requests for tonight: Please pray for Sally's back - it's not easing up and she's very uncomfortable. The medicine she's taking doesn't seem to be working.

Pray for us tomorrow as we sing at the Lincoln Memorial (10:45am) and the Fairfax (7pm) - pray that the concerts go well and that what the Lord has for those who are listening is received. Pray for us to have energy and enthusiasm as it's been a very long day for us today.