Day 1
Our group began gathering around 6:15 this morning. When the bus arrived at 6:30, the first order of business was to load the supplies that the church had so generously given for the Salvation Army in Roxborough, Pennsylvania. One entire bin of the luggage compartment was filled with personal hygiene products that we are taking to our friends the Urbaezes, the leaders of the Roxborough Corps.
People began to board the bus and make their seat selection. With several open seats, some people chose to have a seat all to themselves. This way, they had a little extra room to spread out with their personal belongings. Once our luggage was loaded underneath the bus, we circled up just outside the Prayer Room and counted off. As we expected, it took two or three times before we could make it around the circle and count off to the number 32; the number of travelers on the bus today.
Rick announced that today was a travel day and most of the day would be spent driving to Hagerstown, Maryland. There would be a number of comfort stops along the way. Rick introduced a prayer that our group will use each morning before we load the bus. It’s a prayer from the “Book of Common Prayer:”
“This is another day, O Lord . . .
I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently.
And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
Make these words more than words, and give me the spirit of Jesus. Amen.”
After this corporate prayer as a group, John Adams led our group in a beautiful prayer asking for God‘s blessing this week. We boarded the bus about 7:00 and our bus driver, Andrew Lott, introduced himself and gave some instructions about the bus before we departed at 7:10 AM.
Our lunch stop was at a mall in Roanoke, Virginia, where the group had several options for lunch. Most of us ate at Chick-fil-A. We ran into a group from Shelby, North Carolina, who is on their way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania for a mission trip.
Since we’re headed to the Amish country, Rick put in the movie, “The Witness,“ with Harrison Ford for us to watch after lunch.
After a few more comfort stops, we arrived at our hotel, Hampton Inn, in Hagerstown, Maryland at 5:30 PM. Room assignments and luggage unloading went superbly! Everyone was very pleased with our hotel. The rooms are very nice and the staff extremely helpful. We departed for supper at Hub City Diner at 5:50.
Supper tonight was at a restaurant called Hub City Diner and was delicious! Our group sang the blessing after our orders were taken. Afterwards, a couple came over to the table and inquired about who we were and what we were doing. We had an opportunity to tell them about our choir ministry tour. They were a Mennonite couple and said how much they loved a cappella singing. They said they especially appreciated the witness it bore by singing in public. We had two wonderful servers, but one stuck out to our group. Her name was Sarah and she loved her job! She was so friendly and in the course of conversation tonight, she mentioned that she has a one and a half year-old son, Carter. She said, “he saved my life.“ We all looked at one another and thought, there’s a story there. As we left the diner, Dennis Gensler engaged her in deeper conversation and asked about her church attendance. She is not currently involved in a church because of her work on Sunday mornings. Dennis talked with her about the possibility of finding a church on Sunday night. He prayed with her before we left.
Our devotion was in the conference room at the hotel when we got back at 8:25 PM. Betty Roe led our devotion and did a superb job and talked about the simplicity of the gospel and a growing faith in Christ that need not be shaken by the uncertainties of our world. She mentioned the bombing of Iran and encouraged our group by saying, “the sky is not going to fall, unless God calls for it to. No matter what happens in the world, we are children of God and he is still on the throne.” Rick asked Dennis to share some of his conversation with our server, Sarah. Rick encouraged our group to consider stretching this week and being open to God‘s leadership. He asked us to consider slowing down and being watchful to see where God may need us. Each of us can stretch in the area of engaging others in simple conversations about faith. Finally we covered details for tomorrow’s departure.
Today went flawlessly, and God blessed us with a wonderful start to hopefully a meaningful week of ministry.