Liberty's last trip out was special, no doubt about it. We kicked off the tour at Post Falls Nazarene on Thursday. Lonnie and Melanie Capps (along with the rest of their hard workin' crew) did a fantastic job on the concert promotion. We had a phenomenal evening of worship. And, each of us ended up with a copy of Lonnie's cookbook, chock-full of delicious recipes culled from his years in the Marines. Visit out his website to get your own copy.
After a stay in the beautiful Coeur d' Alene Resort we left for Kimberly, British Columbia Friday morning. It's been a while since we've taken a trip featuring so much gorgeous scenery. Since moving to Idaho I have missed the changing of the leaves that I so often took for granted while living back east. There was plenty of leaf-changing to be seen on this trip. I spent good portions of the trip with my nose pressed up the window looking out over God's incredible handiwork. Awesome! And that was just a precursor to the Nazarene Laymen's Retreat up in Kimberly. This had to be one of the most relaxing weekends I've had since joining Liberty. The location coupled with the wonderful people we were with made for a fun three days. Kudos go out to retreat director Carrie Hoogstad and her wonderful committee. They ensured that the retreat came off without a hitch. It was a privilege to be with Pastor Kent Conrad, pastor of Nampa, ID First Nazarene. His challenges were insightful, direct, and inspiring. He had us memorize Psalm 139:23-24: "Search me, O God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and leave me in the way everlasting." This should the prayer of every person who is continually pursuing holiness. Kent and his wife Kay are some of God's finest and we enjoyed our time together. I am just a little jealous of that big ol' Harley-Davidson that he rides. Kent's one wild hog! I'm more like Dudley.
We left the retreat Sunday morning after the closing service with 300 miles to drive. The destination was Clarkston, WA and the Living Heritage Methodist Church. This long trip was an aberration from our normal Sunday afternoon traveling schedule, but we made it with time to spare. We had a phenomenal concert! And, of course, our friends from Kings Heirs showed up. They even sang a couple of songs with us, much to the crowd's delight. After the concert we went over to Ernie Haverman's house for a mouthwatering meal of shepherd's pie, salad, bread, and rum cake. Of course, Ernie, Bob, Bill, and Pinky had to tell their stories from the road. And they have plenty after 30 years of traveling: the same 4 guys all 30 years.
After that, we hopped on the bus for what we assumed was going to be a fairly short trip home. Those of you who have kept up with my blog for a while know that Royce hates our Garmin GPS (the Garminator) with a passion, while Dan believes that it's almost infallible. There's some enjoyable irony to be found in the fact that it was Royce who followed the GPS on a course over some of the worst terrain ever. As we were heading out of town, I was sitting up in the shotgun seat and saw a sign that said next fuel station 77 miles. I looked at the guage, then at Royce and asked if he thought this was a good idea. "Oh yeah, we can get to LaGrande if we have too", he replied with all the confidence he could muster. I don't know what was going on in that little GPS brain, but we went over one of the craziest mountain passes it could have chosen. I'm not sure what kind of fuel mileage we got, but it couldn't have been that great. By the time we got over the mountain our fuel was almost gone. Royce finally saw a gas station that sold diesel, but when we pulled up it was closed. So, we shut 'er down and spent the night waiting for the station to open. When Dan walked in after fueling up the next morning the clerk said, "You came over that?", pointing in the direction of the mountain pass. When Dan nodded in affirmation she said, "I know a lot of people who won't go over that pass in cars!" Oh well, all's well that ends well. Royce has threatened various acts of violence against the Garminator. I'm pretty sure we're going to get on the bus one weekend and stumble over a crime of passion.
Anyway, here are some pictures:
Royce tried to remember all of the songs that the current version of Liberty Quartet (6.1, I believe) knows. It's somewhere around a hundred or so. The rest of the weekend we kept adding songs to the list. He wrote out the list with a Sharpie and lays it on the floor in front of the monitor. He pulls out a fresh lineup every night. We have no clue what's coming next. Who does he think he is? Hamill?
Doran was trying to practice during soundcheck. He has this weird idea that if he has headphones on and can't hear us, then we can't hear him. We had to get him to shut up so we could set vocals. He's over there humming away...loudly!
Diane went with us on this trip. Unfortunately, her presence did little to alter Doran's hyperactive state of being. She helped Doran lead the worship at the retreat and then sang a song at each of the other concerts.
Dan calling the front desk at the Coeur d'Alene Resort...just because he could. This was the nicest place that we've stayed. At least, since I've been with Liberty. On Friday morning, I had already showered and was doing a little reading with Dan came bursting into the room with his morning cup of coffee (the man has a terrible addiction). He said that they had an awesome pool/sauna/hot tub area downstairs. Well, it sounded good to me so I changed into a Tshirt and swimming trunks and headed off. Dan told me that he had found a shortcut we could take. Well, following Dan is somewhat like trusting the GPS. He headed out a door and I walked right out behind him...into the freezing cold of the outside. It was below 32 degrees outside and by the time it hit me and I reached for the door it had shut and automatically locked. It was one of those doors that doesn't allow you to go back in. So, Dan puts on a confident face and says, "I think it's just around the corner." We end up walking down by the docks, all around the hotel in the frigid weather. People were bundled up in heavy coats, hats, and gloves and they looked at us like we were insane walking around in shorts and T-shirts. We walked for about 8-10 minutes before we got around to the resort's main entrance. Dan's laughing like a hyena and I'm in the introductory stages of hypothermia by the time we get inside. It was one of those moments. I will say that hot tub never felt so good.
Why do people keep requesting this song? The only standing ovation we got all weekend was for our bluegrass number, "The Gospel Plow".
Carrie Hoogstad was the director of the retreat and did a wonderful job of keeping it moving. She even joined Dan and I in a few dance moves on "Bus Driver".
It was a privilege to hang out with Kent and Kay Conrad. Kay is about as spunky a woman as you're going to find anywhere. She cracked me up. I enjoyed the time we spent bouncing ministry ideas/stories off of each other. She has a heart for outreach. It's pretty cool to see and hear what God is doing at Nampa First and to share what He's doing at Grace. All in all, a great weekend.
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