Lukas went on his first choir tour with youth choir. I went along as chaperone. We both had a blast, but were very tired (like everybody else) by the time we got back home Saturday evening. We left Thursday, 6/14 and returned Saturday, 6/16. The mission trip took us to Branson, Missouri and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The kids sang at an assisted living home, a daycare for adults with disabilities, the Boys and Girls Club in Branson as well as at Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs.
Just before the boarding the bus in Plano.
Driving through Arkansas
We gave two short impromptu concerts at Grand's Buffet in Branson after dinner. One for the waitress and one for a senior group that asked the kids to sing for them, too as they didn't hear all the songs when we sang for our waitress.
At Morning Side Assisted Living
After singing at the assisted living home, we piled back in the bus and went to see "Samson" the musical. Not something I would buy tickets to, but it was quite the performance I will not list all the things that bugged me about it. Branson is a red state, and quite evangelical.
The next morning we made our way across the river to an adult day care facility to sing for adults with mental or physical disabilities.
The adult day care center was Lukas favorite place to sing. Mine, too. It was touching to see how the adults reacted to each song. The kids stayed and talked with them for quite a while.
Next stop: Boys and Girls Club in Branson. Another fun stop.
After lunch we headed to Silver Dollar Amusement Park to ride, or not ride, roller coasters and all other kinds of rides. Below is Lukas with his choir buddy Andrei. The two were almost inseparable.
Bigger than your face chocolate chip cookies.
I found a Christmas store. Had to cool off. I also had the two girls of the entire choir that did not want to ride any rides, so we looked at all the stores, well, almost all of them.
Branson has all kinds of eye candy, including a giant Transformer and King Kong climbing a not so tall Empire State Building.
Saturday morning started off with group pictures at The College of the Ozarks. At this college, which has a beautiful campus, students work in exchange for tuition.
Eureka Springs, AR, Christ of the Ozarks. Yes, it is a giant Jesus.
Our last stop was the Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs. It is built right into the forest. There are 425 windows in the chapel, and it is ranked 4th best design in the U.S. The kids gave a 20 minute concert to the delight of the visitors there. Erik needs to post the videos of them singing.
After many winding roads, lots of nausea, singing and picture taking, we had lunch at Sparky's, a very neat little restaurant in Eureka Springs, with eclectic decor and really good food! Our Harley Davidson riding minister Denise told us this would be a great place to eat. She was right!
The kids enjoyed some shuffle board before we had to get back on the bus for our ride home.
