VIP departed our hotel around 9:15am for two concerts today at summer camps, operated by Seattle's Union Gospel Mission. The campers ranged in age from 5-11 and we found them to be a very diverse audience. We did "Sasha" with them (a Russian tune) and Holly asked the kids if they knew how to count to 3 in any languages. The responses were incredible: Italian, Armenian, Cantonese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Ethiopian, and many languages we had never heard of (dialects of other mainstream languages). We estimate that the group of 50 kids had at least 10-12 languages. It was wild!
We made our concert line-up as kid-friendly as possible. We did a freeze dance to one of our songs -- always fun for the singers who never know when Holly will "pause" them. And we passed out Glow Sticks to everyone to represent the light of Christ. We talked about how it's really no fun at all to put that glow stick in your pocket or hide it under your seat. The kids (and VIP) waved them proudly in a completely blackened Theater while Holly conducted w/ a glow stick and Brie played by the light of a cell phone. It was SO cool! (I wish we had a picture but we don't.)
We showed the kids how to make a craft (using the glow stick) and as they exited the Theater, VIP spontaneously broke into Joyful, Joyful and literally danced across the stage in an impromptu party. (This must be the power of glow sticks...) We stayed to help the children make individual drums that the kids could take home.
We returned to the hotel and got ready to spend the rest of the day sightseeing. We left the hotel for Chihuly Gadens -- an exhibit of amazing hand-blown glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly.
After some time in the Gardens, VIP got ready to head to dinner, but not before another impromptu dance party to the music of a Peruvia band. Josh, Olivia, Amanda, and Gabriel demonstrated their smooth dance moves and most of VIP joined in.
Our walk to dinner was extended thanks to some misinformation from Google maps. We arrived at Buca di Beppo hot and worn out -- and ready to inhale our family-style Italian dinner. YUM!
After dinner, we visited the Space Needle - the official landmark of Seattle. We had a lot of fun going up in the elevator and taking lots of pictures. We een had our names entered in the guestbook on the new, interactive feature that had been added just that morning.
We returned to hotel around 9:40pm and headed to Devo (a daily time of devotional), led by Michael Saunders. It was incredibly moving and before our circle closed, tears were flowing. The Juniors and Seniors turned those tears into gales of laughter as they shared the tour song: "There Goes My Phone" set to "Livin' on a Prayer." It was very funny and packed with some of our favorite memories from this trip!
We made our concert line-up as kid-friendly as possible. We did a freeze dance to one of our songs -- always fun for the singers who never know when Holly will "pause" them. And we passed out Glow Sticks to everyone to represent the light of Christ. We talked about how it's really no fun at all to put that glow stick in your pocket or hide it under your seat. The kids (and VIP) waved them proudly in a completely blackened Theater while Holly conducted w/ a glow stick and Brie played by the light of a cell phone. It was SO cool! (I wish we had a picture but we don't.)
We showed the kids how to make a craft (using the glow stick) and as they exited the Theater, VIP spontaneously broke into Joyful, Joyful and literally danced across the stage in an impromptu party. (This must be the power of glow sticks...) We stayed to help the children make individual drums that the kids could take home.
We returned to the hotel and got ready to spend the rest of the day sightseeing. We left the hotel for Chihuly Gadens -- an exhibit of amazing hand-blown glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly.
After some time in the Gardens, VIP got ready to head to dinner, but not before another impromptu dance party to the music of a Peruvia band. Josh, Olivia, Amanda, and Gabriel demonstrated their smooth dance moves and most of VIP joined in.
Our walk to dinner was extended thanks to some misinformation from Google maps. We arrived at Buca di Beppo hot and worn out -- and ready to inhale our family-style Italian dinner. YUM!
After dinner, we visited the Space Needle - the official landmark of Seattle. We had a lot of fun going up in the elevator and taking lots of pictures. We een had our names entered in the guestbook on the new, interactive feature that had been added just that morning.
We returned to hotel around 9:40pm and headed to Devo (a daily time of devotional), led by Michael Saunders. It was incredibly moving and before our circle closed, tears were flowing. The Juniors and Seniors turned those tears into gales of laughter as they shared the tour song: "There Goes My Phone" set to "Livin' on a Prayer." It was very funny and packed with some of our favorite memories from this trip!
(Special thanks to Zoe Howland for helping to write this post!)