The morning proceeding our first concert, all members of the ensemble—including but not limited to family members, babysitters, and bus drivers—convened at the Simple Coffee Co. This was to quench our thirst for caffeinated beverages, which are required for our tour to function in a smooth and timely manner. Some members of the ensemble may be heavy drinkers, but our partial sense of responsibility keeps us from letting ourselves spiral downward entirely. I pity the unsuspecting morning commuters who entered Conrad’s quaint coffee shop on the square seeking a rejuvenating experience to begin their day, but instead were met with a pestilence of rambunctious, “submissive” “Amish” people, as some may have speculated. We made up for our intrusion by serenading the coffee shop with one of our songs upon Conrad’s request. One young boy held his ears closed, however. I suppose he didn’t like his coffee either.
As we began our short commute from the western desert plains of Ohio to the lush, green, overcrowded paradise of Northeast Ohio, Albert blessed us with a morning devotional on the bus. He exhorted us to focus on the reason we’re here: to worship and praise God, and to share the Gospel with our listeners. Our desire is that through our music, all who hear would fear and worship the Lord, and that they could catch a glimpse—however small—of the beauty of our Savior, Jesus, who is the Christ.
The commute to the church house was rather uneventful. Some played card games, used their wit and skill to complete crossword puzzles, and some potentially snuck in naps and listened to audiobooks. We then rested for several hours at the Wenger home farm—ground zero of our own ensemble members, Natasha and Brooke—and were treated with a scrumptious and highly nourishing meal. Our most heartfelt of gratitudes proceed from the depths of our spirits and bodies to Lynn and Debbie.
To be quite honest, my attention during the commute and at the Wengers was strongly focused on completing the preliminary audio editing for our music video shoot later this week. There may have been something entirely of interest and worth noting, but that unfortunately sailed around my ears as a current around a rock, as I was donning headphones for much of the time. Perhaps my head now has an indentation, but yea, my spirit doth not.
Our program at Hartville Conservative Mennonite Church was filled with beautiful music, some honest mistakes, a false start, missing belt loops and socks, and a general sense of community and thankfulness for the connection that music and the Gospel bring. Rest assured that although some socks were missing, nobody sang with bare feet—socks were lent. We are not completely barbaric.
If you have read this far, you are truly a saint and a patron of the highest order. Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer thee but the deepest gratitude. Approximately 25 percent of us are poor or nearly broke, but we are not destitute of appreciation of your support and prayers.
Gramercy, blessings, and God speed to thee.
– Written by Seth Yoder