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Jane is the same woman who led our Amish tour in 2016 when the youth choir visited Pennsylvania. She remembered us and it was good to reacquaint ourselves and catch up. She’s such a great tour leader, offering not only good information, but real-life stories that make it such a pleasure. Our first stop was a quilt shop where a woman gave a demonstration about how the quilts were made and also talked about some of the unique gifts that they had for sale there: potholders, jar openers, etc. Across the street there was a fish hatchery, where rainbow trout are raised and then sold back to a co-op which releases them into the wild. Our next stop was at a store that sold hot pretzels. They were delicious when dipped in cinnamon and sugar!! Our last stop was at a furniture shop that sold beautiful dining room tables, beds, chests, etc. The craftsmanship was incredible. We all wanted to buy new pieces for our homes!

The drive through the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside made some of us wish we could go back in time and live a simpler life. That is until you stepped off the bus and it was 97°!

The Fisher family prepared lunch for us today in their Amish home. They had built a new home since we were with them back in 2016. We ate in the basement, which was quite cool and comfortable. Mrs. Fisher‘s two daughters as well as her mother helped serve a delicious meal. We had some wonderful fellowship and conversation with them. The meal consisted of baked chicken, ham balls, creamed corn and lima bean succotash, buttered noodles, cheesy potatoes, homemade bread with peanut butter spread and homemade jelly, pickled beets, and vegetable relish. For dessert we had apple pie, ice cream, and chocolate cake with a cream topping. It was scrumptious!

We sang “How Great Thou Art” for the family just before dessert was served. Rick asked the family to sing for us, and Mrs. Fisher and her nine-year-old daughter Kaitlyn sang one of their German songs. The little girl sang beautiful alto harmony, while her mother sang the melody.

After lunch, we spent some time exploring the Fisher farm. They had a large barn right behind the house where they raise miniature horses. They also had normal sized horses as well. A couple of the miniature horses had foals.

When we left the Fisher family, we went to the Kitchen Kettle Village. This is a small shopping area with all kinds of specialty shops. We had hoped to take a buggy ride, but it was so hot. The horses were resting when we arrived, so the timing did not work out for us to take a buggy ride. We cut our visit to the Kitchen Kettle short by 40 minutes since it was so hot. The group returned to the hotel for a surprise siesta for about an hour and a half.

After a short rest, we re-boarded the bus and departed for Landis Retirement Community. This is where our tour guide from this morning,Jane Barge, has lived there for about five years. She wanted us to see the community before we sang tonight. When we arrived in their fellowship area, the room was almost full of residents who had come to hear our program.

After Jane‘s introduction, the choir alternated choral pieces with group singing from our HeartSong book. Those who gathered were so receptive to the music tonight. We had a wonderful time of fellowship and worship together. There were many tears and conversations after our program that reaffirmed we were exactly where we needed to be. This music really touched so many hearts tonight. One woman who had 11 siblings said that our closing piece meant so much to her. We closed the program with “God be with you till we meet again.“ She said her oldest brother died in his 20s. After that sibling’s death, her father sang that same song with their family every night to remind them that they would be reunited with their brother again one day. It was a moving story of hope.

Our program was intended to be about 30 or 35 minutes and lasted over an hour. They did not want us to stop singing so we continued to sing and enjoy our time together.

When we finally left, we returned to the hotel and enjoyed sandwiches from Subway for supper in the hotel breakfast area. Barry Sudduth led our devotion tonight and helped us to understand what it means to bear one another’s burdens. He mentioned several reasons we may not be bearing one other’s loads like we should as the body of Christ.

Rick wrapped up the day and reminded us of our departure time and what we will be doing tomorrow. We have a later departure than normal so we get a little more sleep tonight than normal. God has been so good to our group today. We’ve seen Him at work and active in the lives of so many people we’ve encountered. We’ve shared wonderful stories and been given the gift of new friends.