It rained. It's rained water, drama and grace here since my last post, in pretty much that order. I think the water and the drama overlapped a bit, but the grace poured after it started.
Hershey Park was great. It really promised to rain but apart from a from a few showers it was a nicely overcast day so short lines and a lack of sunburn. I rather think everyone enjoyed themselves, including the time spent in the Hershey World of Chocolate before we headed out to the church.
Tonight, we sang at First United Methodist Church in Palmyra, Pennsylvania. The people were wonderful, very welcoming and had great taste in pizza. We ate dinner and the Praise Band got their stuff ready. Some people took naps because a lot of us were exhausted from a morning of way too much screaming and a bit too much walking. Ron called us into the sanctuary across the way and we had the single best devotion before a concert that I have ever been in. Ron sang, Amber-Drew sang, Jeremiah was read and Ron spoke. Before dinner, Amber-Drew taught us a song:
Yonder come day, Day is breakin'.
Yonder come day, oh my soul.
Yonder come day, Day is breakin'.
Sun is a-risin' in my soul.
She had us visualize standing on a stage looking at the most beautiful thing we could imagine- a beatific vision for high schoolers. Then she had us imagine just another crowd of people and she described the difference between the expressions on our faces for each one. We smiled for Jesus but we looked bored to death with the crowd of people. It was a bit of a wake-up call and I have a story about this, but that's not the point. After that, Ron had us split off and give fifteen minutes to God. It was beautiful. I'm sure some people just slept and I'm sure one or two thought it was useless, but I thought it was gorgeous. Most everyone laid down and after I said my two cents' worth (because I knew a longer conversation would take place later and I wasn't sure how to say what I wanted to say with this group), I looked around.
This is the best part. Ron started singing 'Come and fill our hearts with Your peace' and it was like watching the sleepers rise. Slowly, everyone sat up and looked around and it was beautiful. When I'm more awake, I'll describe it later.
We had a wonderful, wonderful concert and I'm so glad that everyone, especially the people who haven't been on a tour before, got to experience that. That concert, my friends, is what Crossflame is about. It was glorious in every sense of the word. We sang well, the Praise Band was great, Marshall and a small group pulled out a superb skit. It was just... everything I wanted this tour to be. We socialized afterwards and we had a massive sing-a-long back on the bus and exhausted ourselves with fellowship when we got back to the college. I always was confused- after a concert, I'm exhausted. There was a point after this one where I just sat down and stared because I was ready to shut down but being around people you just realized were amazing kinda revitalizes you.
So I'm definitely ready for a chin-tap free bus ride back tomorrow, all nine hours of it. Expect Crossflame to descend upon the city of Hickory, North Carolina around 6 tomorrow evening.
As a PS to a week of tour, I want you to know that I am too tired to really describe the awesomeness that was tonight. Maybe you can't know what it was if you weren't here. But it was an evening, a concert that I think any member of Crossflame ever would have been proud of. God counts in that too.
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