Sesser FCC- more than a month late (oops!)

First and foremost, I must apologize for this blog being so behind on the times. Things have been kind of hectic around here. First the storm of the century-the southern illinois hurricane- screwed everything up for several days, That was the main problem. Then, I had my birthday, my graduation, my deadline for my Eagle Scout application, and two trips to Holiday World. Throw in having two of the five band members put in hospitals this past week, and my brain which forgets and/or gets distracted from the current task at hand WAY to easily, and you can see why this blog is a few weeks late. Again, I apologize. =/

To anyone reading this that is from Sesser FCC, you guys ROCK! We loved playing for you guys and were very excited that we were given the opportunity to do so. To anyone reading this that is not from Sesser FCC, you are missing out. Those people really know how to worship.

For weeks leading up to our arrival, we were bombarded with texts and e-mails anticipating our arrival. They were figuring out our preferences on everthing, down to the smallest detail, so that they might make things as perfect as possible for us. Those people certainly know how to welcome guests. We drove up Saturday and set up everything the night before, so that we wouldn't have to get up that much earlier on Sunday morning, and it all worked out quite well. They were so excited to have us there. They went above and beyond the call of hospitality.

Sunday morning finally arrived, and we all got up early and took off north towards Sesser. After passing what seemed like a never-ending amount of motorcycles (there was a huge poker run that day to raise money for something), we got there. Being that we had everything set up already from the night before, we were able to attend one of the many Sunday School classes in the church. Now, to be very honest, I was expecting this to be very awkward. All of us out of town folk, in a room full of regulars that don't know us sounds like a very awkward occurence. But, once we got in there, it was not awkard at all. Now, I'm sure that us being in a large group (and not just me by myself) had something to do with it, as well as Jenny's amazing ability to break the ice and talk to anyone and everyone. But even without this, the people of Sesser FCC from the start treated us like we were one of their own. It was fantastic. They took every opportunity to treat us all like royalty, and welcome us into their family.

After Sunday School was the big event- the main church service in which we were leading worship, and, I can honestly say, that in my opinion, it was one of the best, if not THE best show we have ever performed. I say this not to toot our own horn, but to simply say that our God works in wonderful ways, and we could all definately feel his wonderful presense that morning in their sanctuary.

I get a different perspective of our performances than everyone else in the band. I run sound and slides- I'm usually in the back. Unlike the rest, I, for the most part, see and feel what the audience does. The music coming off of that stage had such a strong meaning that I, as well as many, many other people in the room, were so overwhelmed by our emotions that we simply could not hold the tears back anymore. There were very few dry eyes in that house. The Holy Spirit had a hold of all of us that day. It is very hard to explain what this feeling is like. You really just have to have experience this first hand in order to fully understand what having the presence of the Holy Spirit truly means. It's awesome. I definately did not want it to end. Praise be to God!

As if they had not treated us well enough already, the people of Sesser FCC arranged a potluck for everyone to enjoy after the service. It was your classic country church potluck with tables full of more food than you can possible eat. It was awesome. It was also here that I was first introduced to Diana Rogers signature chocolate pizza. For this, my life will forever be changed. (thanks again for the birthday gift Ms. Diana. You're wonderful. =D).

We ate until we couldn't move, which was dumb, because we still had to tear down set and pack it away for our journey back home. With very full stomachs we packed everything away and still managed to get it all loaded back up into the trailer in close to record time. I think we were all very pleased with this. After exchanging many smiles and farewells we left, feeling very accomplished. It had been a wonderful morning. God really used us to shine a light that day.

Of course, on the way out of Sesser we HAD to stop by the Sesser Custard Stand because, as everyone knows, no expedition to Sesser is complete without a stop at the custard stand. This, of course, was very good, and very refreshing since we were all very tired from packing up the trailer on that very unseasonably warm April day. (Thank you Mike Perimen for furnishing the ice cream.) Mmmmm... ice cream.

Obviously, we made it back home alive, but barely. We were very tired. This being on road stuff really takes it out of you. I'm glad that we ended April on such a good note because the month of May was horrible. I'm glad it's over. The storm has passed. The electricity is back on. We're alive. I'm graduated. Everyone is out of the hospital. Now I can finally rest. But not for long though, because we have to start preparing for our future shows. I'm excited. I can only wish that our upcoming shows could be half as good as our show in Sesser. It was a morning that will definately be remembered by all that was there. Thanks again to Sesser FCC for the extreme hospitality. Hopefully one day we will be able to go back. Praise be to God.

A good time was had by all. :)

-Grant