Our Last Concert

We had our last concert tonight in Allmersbach at the Allmersbach Church of God. This morning, we sang at Crossroads International Church currently holding services on the European Theological Seminary's campus. The church congregation was very receptive and responded very well to the music. In all of our eleven concerts there have been several individuals come to know Christ as their Savior. All of our concerts have gone very well, but more importantly, the Lord's presence has settled in our midst and done great and mighty things.

We sang in Freudenstradt at the public market square in the middle of the city last night. It is estimated that there were about 1,000 people reached in this concert, most of whom were not from the hosting church body. The host church, Crossroads International Church, set up a table at the concert with free Bibles and information about the church and by the end of the night, all of the Bibles had been taken. The church was very pleased with the turn out and the choir got the chance to sing in a public market square, doing ministry in a very non-traditional way. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Tomorrow, we will go to Strassburg, France with some of the students from ETS. Everyone is looking forward to the experience. Please continue to pray for the choir as we travel for the remainder of the tour, and finally home to the US. While our concerts are finished for the tour, our ministry is not. We have all learned a lot about what it really means to be a living reflection of God's love on this tour. Our ministry has not only been through our singing, but also through our interaction with our hosts and those interactions may be some of the most important for our witness. Thank you again for your support and prayers. See you soon in the United States!

UPDATE May 14, 2009

The Lee Singers are in Hoenfels! The first performance was on the US Military Base in Baumholder. The base had several troops returning from Iraq during this time and it was a good time for the choir to be there to minister to the families and soldiers who came to the service. The group had a huge success in Kaiserslautern and Rammstein. The public concert in Rammstein was wonderful and there were several people who came to know Christ through the concert. The Lee Singers participated in a feeding ministry with the World Outreach Center in Kaiserslautern with senior pastor Phil Burton, who is a Lee University alum. The ministry went into local areas that had been identified by the Outreach Center as areas of poverty and need. We not only brought food to the residents, but also sang several songs in the street for all to hear. After the morning participation with the ministry, the choir went to visit a historic castle, Burg Lichtenberg. The time at the castle was a lot of fun and very beautiful. On the two nights in Kaiserslautern, the students stayed in host homes provided by the church. This was a great experience for the students, and all will have stories to tell upon return to the US.

Tonight, the choir is singing on the US Military Base in Hoenfels. The service was a wonderful time of worship for both the choir and the congregation of servicemen on the base. The senior pastor, Military Chaplain Herman Mitchell, has a daughter currently at Lee and he was very pleased with the service. He will also be hosting the Lee Singers on a US Military Base in Grafenwoehr tomorrow night.

Things are very different in Germany. Simple things like toilet paper and meal portion sizes are seemingly insignificant… until they drastically change. Many of us have become incredibly aware of the cultural differences between the US and Germany, and have even been inspired to make changes in our personal lives based on some of those differences. We’re all learning bits and pieces of the German language... so “Auf Wiedersehen!” (good-bye) for now! Look for more posts soon...

Arrival!

We have arrived safely in Frankfurt, Germany. We spent some time in downtown Frankfurt this afternoon and now everyone is trying to catch up to "Germany time". Your prayers are still very much appreciated as we continue this tour!

Detailed Itinerary

May 10, 2009
10:00am departure for Atlanta Airport
12:00pm lunch stop in Atlanta
1:00pm departure from lunch
2:00pm arrival at Atlanta, Georgia for Frankfurt, Germany
Delta Flight 14 departs at 4:25pm

May 11, 2009
Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany at 7:45am
Check into the hotel at 11:00am
The remainder of the day will be available for the students to explore the city of Frankfurt
Hotel accommodations have been made for the night in Frankfurt, Germany

May 12, 2009
Depart for Kaiserslautern, Germany

May 13, 2009
Kaiserslautern, Germany
Evening performance in Baumholder, Germany

May 14, 2009
Grafenwoehr, Germany
Public concerts in conjunction with United States Military
German host homes have been arranged for this night in Grafenwoehr

May 15, 2009
Grafenwoehr, Germany
Public concerts in conjunction with United States Military
German host homes have been arranged for this night in Grafenwoehr

May 16, 2009
Freudenstadt, Germany
8:30 am departure for European Theological Seminary
1:00pm lunch at ETS and meeting with host families
Free Time from 1:00pm to 5:30pm
5:30pm departure for market square with bus from ETS
6:30pm Call Time
7:30pm Public concert in Freudenstadt Public Market Square (Germany's largest market)
Evening meal with students and faculty of ETS
German host homes have been arranged for this night in Freudenstadt

May 17, 2009
9:00am Call Time at church
10:00am morning worship service with Crossroads International Church of God Freudenstadt, Germany
2:00pm departure for Allmersbach, Germany from Crossroads International Church of God
7:30pm evening worship service with Allmersbach Church of God Allmersbach, Germany
German host homes have been arranged for this night in Allmersbach

May 18, 2009
9:00am departure with ETS students to Strasburg, France
Day trip to Strasburg with ETS students and faculty
5:00pm return departure for ETS
Dinner and time of fellowship with European Theological Seminary (ETS) students
German host homes with ETS students and faculty in Freudenstadt (same host homes as the night of May 16)

May 19, 2009
9:00 am departure for Dachau Concentration Camp
12:00pm lunch near Dachau
1:00- 4:00pm visit Dachau Concentration Camp
4 :00pm departure for Munich, Germany
5:00pm hotel check in
Free Time in Munich
1:00am curfew
Hotel accommodations have been arranged for the remainder of the tour in Munich

May 20, 2009
Free Day of interaction/ exploration in Munich

May 21, 2009
Free Day of interaction/ exploration in Munich

May 22, 2009
7:00am departure for Munich Airport
8:00am arrival at airport
9:50am departure for United States
Arrive in Atlanta, Georgia, concluding tour