Ok. Take a deep breath. Trying to sort out my thoughts enough to adequately describe the sheer amazingness of this weekend is truly a far feet. If you thought mixing the tastiness of a sweet homemade summer drink (Holy Water…AO boys! ;)), a church in Atlanta over 100 years old, and some tremendously talented Athens-area musicians would equal an amazing weekend, you were right. Let’s start on Friday.
Friday afternoon I took the long trek up 575 overlooking the beautiful Georgia mountains to my tiny Alma Mater buried in the Young Harris Valley, Young Harris College. I met some of my friends up there, some old beloved professors, and a fraternity of some of the sweetest guys I’ve ever known. They are known as Alpha Omega, a Christian fraternity that I was honored to be a part of when I attended YHC. Every year, they host a campus wide luau called ‘Holy Water Luau,’ where they roast a giant pig in the middle of campus on the lawn (I’m not joking; this is what you do when you go to a college of 700 people!) and invite the whole campus out to enjoy some well-seasoned pork. They normally get a band, serve traditional southern style sides of cole slaw and baked beans, and make their specialty summer drink in big plastic trashcans called Holy Water. (I would tell you what’s in it but its a secret ;)). This year, the guys graciously decided to donate HALF of the proceeds from the luau to me and my World Race trip!! Talk about humbling. I couldn’t even believe it when I got the message from the president, Austin Freeman, that they had decided on donating half. Talk about tremendous giving!! They gave the first of their fruits to the World Race so that I could help people in need and bring the name of Jesus to the nations. SO HUMBLING!!!! I just met some of those guys, and I can honestly say that I am honored to know them and call them my brothers. Honored. They are the sweetest, most loving guys I have ever met and have such a huge hearts for the Lord and all that he is doing. Thank you guys of YHC AO, for supporting me and the World Race financially and prayerfully!! I love you guys!! 🙂
Sunday morning my friend Elizabeth and I traveled to downtown Atlanta to speak at her dad’s church. Not only was it an honor to stand at the pulpit and speak at his church, it was an absolute honor to speak at a church so rich in history. This church is over 100 years old, not two blocks from Turner Stadium, and still full of people with giving hearts. I was so blessed to share with the members of the church my passion for international missions and what we will be doing on the race. The building itself was beautiful, but most importantly, the people inside the walls of the church had such beautiful and sweet spirits. I know for a fact that I personally have an army of prayer warriors back at Stuart Avenue UMC praying for me, my safety, and the people I will be reaching on the Race, and I am so thankful for that!
Now, this next event, one of my best friend’s Neely Shell and I have been planning since January. We decided last November that we were going to have a benefit concert in Athens to raise support, and we officially started planning it in January. After calling around to SEVERAL Athens venues, I decided on renting the space at a local independent movie theater called Cine (meaning movie in Spanish). This venue since then has become one of my favorite venues in Athens, and I’ve visited a lot. I worked with the sweetest lady named Vicki, who was nothing short of a wonderful person to work. From the minute we started chatting about the event, I knew we had a connection. She was so excited about the World Race and did everything she could to help me raise as much money as possible. When we first met, she said the price would be $75 an hour to rent the venue on a Sunday night, but that she would do everything she could to get the price down. By this past Sunday, she had decided only to charge me $150 for 5 and a half hours!! She was so thrilled with the success of the event and what the proceeds were going towards, that she scaled the price way day. SO, thank you Vicki!! Luckily, since I sang in the Jazz group when I went to UGA, I know a lot of Athens area musicians. I could not have asked for a more talented set list. Really. Every single performer who donated their time and talent were absolutely AMAZING. And I’m not just saying that. I’m kind of a music snob, and every single musician completely ROCKED it! Special thanks to the musicians for the evening: Kristen Stephens, Dustin Sosbee, Paul Smith, Jacob Hawk, Ben Morrison, Justin MIskin, Neely Shell, and Band TEAL VOX. Of the band members that played, I only knew the bass player and had never heard them live. They ended up bring ALL of their equipment and their own sound guy. Not only did they bring it all, they let all of the other musicians use the thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Phil Scheidt, Teal Vox’s bass player, told me about the band and got them to play. I have to say, they blew me away! The diversity of sound I heard that night showcased the band’s true talent. Their lead singer, 17-yr-old Cody Stalvey, shook the room with subtle elegance of his rustic rocker voice. Did I mention that he also writes all of the band’s originals? Because he does. What a talented group of guys!
I can’t say anything about this event without thank some specific people. Besides all of the musicians, Neely Shell poured her heart and soul into this event. From helping me plan it, to designing/decorating these elaborate Narnia inspired centerpieces, singing it it, stage managing, and eventually PAYING FOR THE RENTAL OF THE VENUE, I could not have done it without her. Thank you Neely for your hard work and support! I owe so much to yoU! To my friend Elizabeth Davidson, who organized a band of bakers to bake some tasty treats for donations at the event. We raised $123 just from the baked goods!!! Thank you so much for your dedication and help in this endeavour!! Thanks to my sweet mom for making sandwiches and cookies to sell as well. They were the hit of the night! As usual! 🙂 I know it was a lot of work, but it truly paid off and I appreciate it so greatly! Miss Amanda Henke donated 3 gorgeous paintings to auction off. We made almost $400 on them!!!!! THANKS TO YOUR TALENT AND GENEROSITY! Thank you Ashley Kozee for driving all the way down from SC to help/bake/support the event!! It meant so much to have you there 🙂 And thank you Ashley Gray for making all of the food for the band and buying me a sub so I wouldn’t starve!! You have NO idea what a tremendous help that was. Really. And Jen!! Thank you for spreading the word and helping with EVERYTHING I asked!!! Thank you Lisa and Amanda for helping sell tickets!!! You guys rocked it!!!! YOU ALL ARE AMAZING!!!!
Basically thank you Lord for the blessings of friendship. None of this was possible without your love and grace.
