Man, what a crazy summer. So many lessons, so many blessings; a whole weekend seminar maybe could scratch the surface of what we learned this summer.
But since we last checked in, we finished VBS in Black Creek and did worship with them on Sunday. That same day, we drove to Shawano, WI, which is not too far from Black Creek and played for Divine Savior's Community Corn Roast. Think church picnic where the whole city is invited. They expected a little more than 300 people, 500+ showed up. We had the chance to play for three hours (with some breaks), but it was the most we had ever played at one event. We enjoyed the chance to be a little more loose than we are in worship, and lot of people said wonderful things about us there. Hopefully, the community became more aware of the church and possibly heard a good thing or two from the messages of the hymns we played. After playing more than 30 songs (if you combine morning worship and afternoon concert, we started the long trek to Arlington.
We got in at 2am, and had to be ready for soccer camp the next day. It was a challenge, but we did it. Thanks in large part to Caleb Schmiege, we were prepared for the day, and we worked hard the next morning to get the camp off the ground. We enlisted the help of the Petzel's, Zach, Jordan, and their mom, Judy, who helped with registration and coaching, but the biggest part of our team for the week was Bill Sergenian. Bill came all the way from Madison on his own tab to help us with camp. His experience with the soccer camps in Madison and Mississauga helped a great deal. He also helped by paying for the backpacks and water bottles for all the kids and by taking and printing all the pictures from the camp. We served 21 children with some soccer skills and God's Word. It was a great success and we hope that St. Paul's continues this camp in future years because we can really see the potential for growth in this camp.
We had a chance to help with a youth group gathering in Arlington. We all got to hang out with the kids from St. Paul's youth group, and Caleb Schmiege gave a nice devotion for them before we sang some guitar accompanied hymns. We also had the chance to go to Glencoe, MN to help them with their VBS music and closing program. We got the chance to teach and sing with the kids at their VBS. Doing kid's music has never been our forte, but we definitely enjoy the teaching and hearing those kids sing their hearts out. Maybe their parents could learn a thing or two. ;)
After worship on Sunday in Arlington, we packed up and headed to St. James, MN for a concert that was supposed to be outside. Unfortunately, weather took another outdoor event from us and we did our concert in the sanctuary of St. Paul's there in St. James. We enjoyed the concert and we were well received in St. James.
We finally went to our last stop, Mankato, where it all began. We were confronted with helping Pastor Siverly plan the hymns for the services in the upcoming year, and we all enjoyed the opportunity to give our suggestions to him. We also got the chance to lead a Bible study, help a family move out of a house and got a bunch of time to finish recording. We did a concert on Thursday night which was well attended and was a great way to thank St. Mark's for all they had done for us. We finally prepared for worship on Sunday, which was great, and packed up for the final time. Peter and Sam went to MLC, Caleb and Caleb back to Wisconsin.
As far as CD's go, they will be ready to given out within the week. They will be available on soundcloud.com and also via a .zip file by e-mail to Caleb Schultz (schultck@mlc-wels.edu). It will be almost 20 tracks that we haven't recorded previously. We did the recordings on our equipment, so it's not professional quality, but the purpose was not ever to make money, but to show how our hymns can very easily be adapted into a musical style that more people in our culture today can relate to. If you love listening to it, that makes us really proud, but we hope that you will use it to show your congregation that they are a hop, skip and a jump away from doing what we do. Caleb Schultz should also be contacted if you want the resources of Fide's hymn chord charts. They can be a great place to start if you're looking to start something similar to Fide at your church.
Finally, what is next for Fide? Not much during the school year. Peter and Sam will, at least, begin the year working with St. Mark in Mankato every third Sunday of the month. Caleb and Caleb will use their talents around Sem and hopefully in their Early Field Training assignments. Next summer is up in the air. We will let this summer sit for a month or two and then start talking about next summer. If you are interested in having us next summer for worship music, a concert, help with your VBS either in teaching, music or both, or any combination of those, let Caleb Schultz know, and he will keep you informed on the progress of Fide tour next summer. Until there is any news, we will not be posting many new things on our blog, but stay connected to our Facebook page for any news. Thank you for reading our blog this summer and for the support you gave to us. We are truly blessed by God and thank him often for the blessings he gave us through this summer.
"And then when all my days shall cease, let me depart in joy and peace, in answer to my pleading."
