Day 1. Departure from AACS & Trip to Roanoke!

After weeks of preparation—musical, practical, and spiritual—the 2013 AACS Choir Southern Tour began today!  Teachers, parents, and students arrived early at the school to drop off luggage.  We were grateful for the bright, warm morning as parents mingled in the parking lot, helped in the choir room, and said goodbye to their students for the next five days.

A crew of parents dealt with the luggage as students went off to one final day of class.  Today’s chapel featured Class of 2008 alum James Baden, who has been fighting brain cancer and is currently gearing up for a 4,000 mile cross-country bike ride to support and encourage other young adults with cancer.  He spoke about how we may think we know the direction our life is going, but God may have other plans.  His sincerity and firm trust in God’s goodness was evident, and reminded all of us that God’s promises are true and can hold any amount of weight we (or our circumstances) put on them.  His testimony was also a good reminder of the ways we want to point to God’s goodness both as we experience tour together and as we minister to those we come in contact with on our travels. 

The rest of the school day was filled with a Mexican-themed lunch for the seniors, lots of last-minute rehearsals and fine-tuning of performance pieces, and a growing sense of anticipation as 3 pm drew nearer!  During the last period of the day, Men’s Ensemble helped load luggage onto the buses while a team of parents assembled goody bags to be placed on every bus seat.  We are so grateful for this send-off—the personal notes of encouragement, and the reminder of the many prayers supporting us as we travel! 

At the 3:00 bell, students hurried to the Choir Room to change into bus clothes, pick up their Chick-Fil-A snacks, and board the buses.  We pulled out of the AACS parking lot at 3:35, and began the first leg of our journey.  Though our destination is south, we headed north to avoid DC traffic, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery as we drove past Harper’s Ferry, and into the rolling hills of Virginia.  The blue sky, peaceful farm fields, and mountains on the horizon marked our departure from the crowded highways of eastern Maryland. 

A quick rest stop gave us a chance to stretch our legs, compare notes with people from other buses (two buses watched movies, while one bus initiated John Joseph to his first AACS choir tour) and enjoy the beauty of the evening before continuing our journey to Roanoke.  As we pulled onto the highway, a Hollywood-style sign reading “Endless Caverns” was visible in the mountains to the east.  We passed a sign for the Museum for Frontier Culture.  Farm animals grazed on the hills, which were bright with new grass. 

We pulled into downtown Roanoke around 9 pm, and found our way to the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center, a beautiful complex of buildings.   After Mr. Kempton prayed for our late ‘dinner’, we headed into the beautiful lobby, up a curving stairway, and seated ourselves in two formal dining rooms—a welcome change of scene after hours on the bus! 

We had the chance to unwind and catch up with friends and classmates over an elegant meal of pasta, soup, salad, and sandwiches.  The wait staff were attentive and asked us to sing, so everyone gathered and sang “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal” before heading back out to the buses.  We look forward to returning to this venue tomorrow night for our banquet dinner! 

After the final leg of our trip, we arrived at Cambria Suites, and got settled in our rooms.  We are all glad to be resting, and are looking forward to the day tomorrow!

Highlights from Twitter (#aacschoirtour2013):

-AACS US Choirs -- Delicious late night dinner at Hotel Roanoke & now to bed in our beautiful hotel suites.  Tour living! ‪

-Jodi Hoffman -- Oh my word, the roanoke hotel is beautiful!

-Katie Kinsey -- Beyond excited to see how God is going to work through this amazing bunch!!

PTL (Praise the Lord!) for:

-a beautiful day

-the work of all those who have been involved in the planning of tour, and the logistics of our send-off today

-the beauty of God’s creation, and the opportunity to see aspects of it (mountains!) that we aren’t typically surrounded with

-good conversations on the buses, as students pushed past surface topics to share on a deeper level

-the unexpected elegance of our “soup & salad” dinner at 9:15 pm!

-the chance to rest after a long and busy day!

Please pray for:

-continued health & safety

-energy and good rest

-for a productive and enriching day at the Roanoke College workshops tomorrow

-that God will prepare the hearts of those who will hear us and interact with us tomorrow

-continued conversations that build community among the students

-God’s work in each of our hearts through this trip, as we have the opportunity to step out of our normal routines and surroundings

We are grateful for all of your prayers and support, and are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you over the next few days!  

A Few Pictures and a Video:

Singing for the Staff at the Hotel Roanoke:

Ms. Hartman writing for the blog in our lovely hotel suites: