Finally Katharine got to go on high school choir tour! This year's tour headed to Chicago via St. Louis. The choir was hosted by several churches along the way, some of which served them breakfast, lunch or dinner. They slept on air mattresses, got very little sleep, took showers at lightning speed, ate lots of restaurant food, shared their love of song and music at assisted living homes, inner city churches, kids programs, met new people, and got to do a little sight seeing along the way. They came back tired, but filled with new experiences, friendships and lasting memories!
St. Louis, Gateway Arch
Katharine, Abbey, Jim, the fabulous accompanist of our youth choirs and Macie
Chicago!
The choir visited and the Chicago Temple. The church is located in a "high rise" with a gothic steeple. It is the oldest congregation in Chicago, dating back to 1831, before Chicago was even a city! It is a Methodist church that has a sanctuary on the first floor and a chapel up in the lofty heights of 400ft, the Chapel in the Sky. The choir sang in two of the church's services.
http://www.chicagotemple.org/about/#history
The choir tour is not just a fun trip, it is also a mission trip for the kids. One of the places they went to was By the Hand Club for Kids, an after school program for inner city kids. Katharine loved spending time with the kids there: http://bythehand.org/
Katharine told us about a 1st grader who goes home after school to take care of her siblings. These are things our suburban kids don't hear about every day.
They also spend time at the Breakthrough Ministries Men's Center, a center for men that are in recovery. Katharine said all the men were so grateful for the songs they sang for them and to get to visit with the choir kids. The life stories of some of the men left quite an impression on her: https://www.shelterlistings.org/details/20530/
Another place she loved spending time at was the New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a church no bigger than our donut room at church, but filled with wonderful people.
Eating, again.
Waiting to get up to the sky deck in the Willis Tower, Chicago. Katharine said they waited for 1.5 hours to get up. Here she is with Abbey, Lindsey and Rachel. Katharine has known Rachel for probably 9, if not 10 years.
Katharine and Abbey
Katharine, Kylee, Lindsey, Abbey,Rachel and Samantha (Katharine and Samantha have known each other since they started Sunday School at 3 years old)
Living Proof Youth Choir group picture in front of the Bean
Hamilton!
They went to Six Flags St. Louis on the way home.
left to right: Abbey, Katharine, Carson, Daniel, Hannah, Lindsey and Rachel.
Katharine for the most part hung out with the seniors.
Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis
Choir tour wrap up dinner at Babe's Chicken in Frisco. Yep, that is a very meaty place, so biscuits it was for Katharine. Their salad, mashed potatoes and green beans were not that great, so I stuck to biscuits, too.
The picture above is the girls small group singing Magnify the Lord at the Breakthrough Ministries Men's Center, the picture below is the choir performing at New Mt. Zion Baptist Church (I could not figure out how to insert them where they should go).
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