Yep, I got the flu. Sure enough, after all of my cocky comments about how I was a survivor, it hit me. Except for the flu, it was a great weekend.
Liberty sang in California and Nevada this past weekend at some outstanding churches. Those people enjoy serving God! Friday night we sang in a church in Gerber, CA that was as packed as it could get. The church family had recently suffered a tragedy. A young man who was part of their youth group lost his sister in a tragic accident a few days before we were there. He was at the concert, obviously grieving the loss. That church just wrapped their arms around that boy and exhibited the love of Christ. It was awesome to see.
The next morning after a huge breakfast (at which I consumed way too much) we headed for Lake Almanor, CA. Let me back up a little. We have a little thermostat battle that goes on when we stay on the bus at night. Doran and I usually stay together on the road (let me be very clear about this; 2 queen beds), which leaves the leathery old men together as roomies. Dan and Royce like the temperature to stay around 55 degrees, while Doran and I shoot for about 70 or so. Dan sleeps with his head in the vents of the AC system. If I had that much hair I might do the same, but I don't and won't, so I like the temp up a little. Well, on Friday night we were all staying on the bus for the night. Royce and I have bunks on one side of the aisle with Dan and Doran on the other side. I woke up at about 1:30 in the morning curled up in the fetal position, shivering violently. My head was freezing and so were my feet, and that spells disaster for my voice. Those who know me well will vouch for the fact that I am virtually blind without my glasses. My eyes are in awful shape. So, I wake up freezing, looking (without my glasses) for the thermostat. Now, I can't see what in the world I'm doing, so I'm staring at red, fuzzy shapes (which it actually turns out are numbers) trying to figure out where the buttons are to take up the thermostat. I punched several buttons before I could see a change in the shape of the red, blurry objects. I finally put my eye directly up to the readout and changed the temperature to 71 degrees. I went back to sleep, mission accomplished. Unbeknownst to me I had also turned on the heat. At 4:00 AM I'm awakened to a bright light in the back of the bus and the sound of Dan muttering to himself and pushing buttons. I still had no clue what I had done, but I did notice that it was rather warm. I also forgot that my thermostat controlled the temperature for Royce's bunk. I woke up in the morning, sweaty, and as I walk out to take my shower, I notice Dan laying the living room area of the bus. I thought that was rather odd, but didn't think too much of it until I walked in the bathroom and faced the glaring eyes of Royce. His exact words were "Don't ever touch the thermostat again". Dan said that when he walked back at 4 to see what was going on with the heat, Royce was hanging halfway out of his bunk trying to catch some fresh air. I will say this, warm temperatures do cause you to have odd dreams.
Anyway, Dan had set up some tee times for us at Lake Almanor and Dan, Doran, and I hit the links. I really did hit the course. More than the ball. You could track my progress (or lack thereof) by the divots, grooves, and holes I left behind. I tried to fix most of them, but you can only do so much without heavy machinery. I played awful. I really did. My blood pressure was pretty high. Doran edged Dan by 1 stroke and I finished quite a ways behind them. 21 strokes to be exact. It was sad.
I had started feeling weird toward the beginning of the game and it got worse as time went on. Now, the nausea very well could have had something to do with my pathetic game, but I think my pathetic game had something to do with the nausea. At least that's what I'm telling myself.
We got back on the bus and the guys headed for a restaurant. I told them I was just going to stay on the bus and try to sleep the weird feeling off. Didn't happen. As I lay there telling myself forcefully that I wasn't going to be sick, certain feelings replied that, yes, I was going to be sick. The feelings were right. It hit with a vengeance. You know how the initial onset of the flu is extremely violent and then there's a calm. You actually think that everything's going to be alright. Then an hour or so later it hits again. Not good.
Saturday night we were singing at Lake Almanor Community Church (which incidentally is the church Chuck Norris* attends while in CA) and I had the worst time. I left the platform about 3 times, fortunately never in the middle of a song, and basically survived the evening. In spite of my problems, several individuals gave their hearts to Christ. Pretty awesome! His strength was perfect.
I tore off to the bus following the concert and slept off the worst of the sickness. My fever broke about midnight and I was able to get a decent night's sleep. As I lay there, whining to God about my problems, it hit me. What would it be like to live that kind of life all the time? There are people who deal with this kind of stuff everyday, due to cancer or some other disease that takes away life's "normalcy". Immediately, I asked God for forgiveness and took some time remembering those who are going through some of those valleys. I meet people on a regular basis who go through these times with a smile, no complaining, and a heart of gratefulness to God for His blessings. They're heroes.
Sunday was a great day. God gave me a special touch phyically in both concerts and we were privileged to see another person give their heart to Christ. It's great being able to do what I do.
I've kind of had a "relapse" the last couple of days, probably due to the fact that I was running on a lot of adrenaline and not enough food, but everything's starting to return to normal. I even ate a couple of hot wings. I think I'll make it.
Royce and Gary. Royce looks a bit uncomfortable. Perhaps it has something to do with all of the stories Gary shared concerning his conduct in college.
The Kings Heirs. Too many jokes about the King's Hairs. They're lookin' mean in green.
I enjoyed hangin' out with the boys from Accounted For. Here's Alex, the tenor.
Royce and Pete Milne, Jr. of Accounted For (2 great, young...well great basses)
This young lady was very impressed with my green shirt. I reminded her of Kermit.
Doran fills in with Accounted For. He tried to bust a few moves, but he should stick to singing. Dan looks on in wonder.
