UCO TOUR- ENTRY 1

I'm going to post these as much as I can, so you all know what's going on with me while I'm traveling with the choir!

Day One

I took a personality quiz on facebook recently that read my personality based on what my eyes look like. Facebook told me that I’m a deep thinker. Funny, but those personality quizzes are oftentimes quite accurate, and while I have nothing better to do sitting on a bus for 8 hours a day, I figured I should document my boredom. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post these updates on a blog, should I gain internet access at some point in my travels.

It’s 10:19 AM currently. The bus, though packed with roughly 53 people, is silent. A few voices can be heard among the hum-drum rumbling that the bus engine produces, and the faint sound of music drifts to my ears from Jared’s iPod, sitting on my left. I’m in the back of the bus, right next to the (thankfully) empty restroom. It’s a good spot for now, with a pleasant view of all the passengers on the bus. I’m told that later my seat will reek of sewage. Speaking of which, we’re an hour on the road and I already have to pee. Shouldn’t have had that complete shake for breakfast…

I hope the clouds, a solid fog transforming the sky into a solemn grey, aren’t a foreboding warning of the adventures that lay ahead. I’m not sure how I feel about this two week tour yet. A mixture of emotions that I have only somewhat sorted out and placed into realization: excited to travel, to see new things, meet new people, and bond with the individuals I have been singing with all year and yet do not know. On the other hand, grieving the mere thought of spending the next two weeks of my life singing, travelling on a bus for 8 or more hours a day, and carrying a smile through it all.

My bus buddies, for now, are Jared Gibbs and Jordyn Gonzales. I enjoy them both so much: Jared, with his laid-back, fun-loving spirit, balanced nicely with a level head and an innate ability to read any social situation and proceed with causing the least amount of drama, and Jordyn, a woman I don’t know too well yet. From what I have gathered about her, however, she has a knack for seeking adventure, a depth of character, a heart for God, and beauty to top it off. I’m looking forward to knowing her better.

Jared is on set-up and tear-down crew, which, in a nutshell, means he’ll possibly be riding on the van for the bulk of the trip. That’ll leave Jordyn and I, however, another thing I’ve gathered from her is that she has many friends in UCO that she will probably want to sit with. I do not. This should be fun.

I’d like to dwell on Jared for a bit. I’ve had many thoughts towards the trials he’s been through, and the man he’s become because of them all. This may sound extremely strange and rather disturbing, but I love to watch him. He projects a simple personality, yet he’s wrapped in a complex past, tainted by complex struggles, and held together by a complex God. He can laugh, he can socialize, he can be lighthearted and playful, but past the fun and games is an enormous depth that can’t be hidden, at least not from me. Depth of perception, depth in knowledge, and depth in character. Just 2 years ago he was a wreck, living with a woman (who is currently a passenger of bus 1), working 2-3 jobs, and a jerk living to gratify himself. One of the most amazing aspects of Jared Gibbs is that he has so obviously allowed Christ to infiltrate and change him. To those who knew him before, “depth of character” would not be a likely attribute to be said of him, but he has changed. Even in the short amount of time that I have known him he has changed. He is humble, yet strong; careful, yet bold; sweet-natured, yet a fighter I would never want to tangle with. He lives life simply, but enjoys the positive complexities he observes and abstaining from the negative. The more I get to know him, the more respect and admiration I accumulate for him. In summary, despite a horrendous past that has scarred him for the rest of his life on earth, he has given his life to the Lord and is quickly and vastly becoming a man of God.

To the reader, it may sound like I posses some amount of romantic feeling towards him. Let me assure you that that is absolutely not the case. Respect and admiration are indeed a necessary attribute to a romantic relationship, however, respect and admiration aren’t only an attribute to romantic relationships. They are required in any functioning friendship, and even acquaintance-ship. In this case, it is simply a friendship that I am honored to have.

It’s now 10:58 and I still have to pee. The catch: I do NOT want to be the first person to use the restroom, especially since my goal is to make friends (through respect and admiration), not repel them via projecting an image of weakness and lack of self-control. Or something like that. On the other hand, I’m confident that at least ONE other person on this bus has to pee. Sigh…. Story of my life.

I’ll fill you in on the result of my dilemma if I decide to write later on.

P.S. I’m looking at Magic Mountain! Wish I were there instead of cramped on a bus- they have public restrooms!!!

Just stopped for lunch in Bakersfield (thank the Lord- I definitely took advantage of McDonald's restroom facilities!). I was sitting on the curb outside of McDonalds with the Babb girls and Michael Bragonier, eating our Provider lunches, when a leather-clad Harley rider struck up a conversation with us. She asked us who we were, what our business was. Hers was more interesting. She has wanted to ride for years, she told us. Wanted to ride and minister to people she met along the way. “The Lord has divine appointments for everyone. You just have to look to fulfill them,” she said. She rides to different prisons, speaking and singing for the Lord into their lives, looking for the divine appointments that Jesus has had set for her since before time. “Pray for Michael,” she said. “He’s a member of the Mexican mafia, really high up in the ranks. A Mexican mafia soldier who wants to be a soldier for Christ.”

Before she left, she encouraged us with a word.

“Ya know, the Lord will give you the desires of your heart, as it says in Psalms 37:4-59. Just ask Him and He’ll give you the desires of your heart. I’m a 62-year-old woman who’s wanted to ride for 40 years, and here I am. A month on the road and instead of going home, I’m going to visit Michael. Ask Him, and don’t stop dreaming.”

That was a divine appointment. I needed to hear that.

Doc mentioned something in the concert tonight that struck me deep, and nearly made me shed a tear or two. Maybe.

It has been a hard trial, not knowing what the Lord's will for my life is when it comes to school. What does He want me to do in the fall? Am I staying at CBU? Am I moving on? Where does He want me to serve Him?!?!

Doc was discussing how he has never applied for a job as a choir director or teacher, but how the Lord provided him with jobs, one by one, until he became a well-known and prolific choir director. He looked right at the choir and said, "Kids, struggle for the Lord's will, and you'll find it." That hit me hard. He's absolutely right: finding the Lord's will IS a struggle sometimes, but God promises that for those of us who seek, we will find. Thank you, Doc, and thank You, Jesus, for the reassurance, the comfort, and the trust that those words spoke into my heart tonight. I am taken care of by the Lord, which is ultimately all I need.

Goodnight, everyone. :-)