PILGRIM Update

Well, surprisingly enough, I now know 4 people who read my blog ... thank you Lew, Cara, and Kelly for reading my previous entry. Lew, you da man! Cara, it's been great seeing Dave every night this week. Kelly, I have no idea how to pronounce bodhran ... so far 3 different people have given me 3 different pronunciations.
Well, the last few nights have been sad because I haven't been w/ Mari, but they've been rewarding to work on the final touches for the musical. It's been fun. There's a part of me that enjoys performing. After nine months at the hotel followed by a two month break, it's nice to be back in a performance situation. Below are a few pics I took at the rehearsal tonight.

Sunday @ Ashburn + The Bodhran + Brief Mari Update

This past Sunday I had the privilege to play drum set at the Sovereign Grace Church in Ashburn (called Grace  Community).  My friend Zach Jones is the worship leader there.   Zach and I went to college at the University of Maryland and took a few classes together (conducting and music history).  The thing I love about Zach is his passion for Jesus and life in general.  I remember many times when Zach would encourage me to remember the gospel and how we should be grateful for all that God has given us through Jesus.  Sunday was another one of those times.  

There was something unique about our time of worship.  Normally when I play drum set in a worship setting it can 'feel' awkward because I do not play that often.  But God blessed our time.  All the musicians seemed to gel.  

Speaking of the musicians, yesterday was also unique because there were two other worship leaders in the band who lead two songs each.  The first was Stephen Altrogge who wrote one of the songs we played, called "He is Jesus."  The other worship leader's name is Walt.  He doesn't have his own recording (at least that I'm aware of), but he is a great worship leader and almost as joyful as Zach.

When I first heard we were going to have 3 worship leaders, my first thought was, how come I can't lead a song.  I can do "Amazing Grace" w/ me singing and playing toms along with my electronic hand drum. But after that I began to think how are we going to have smooth transitions with 3 worship leaders.  The answer: humility.  None of these guys (Zach, Stephen, or Walt) wanted to be the center of attention, their priority was to help us see Jesus as great.  I believe they succeeded. 

On another note, I am learning how to play the Bodhran.  I do not particularly like the Bodhran, but the music people in PILGRIM may want to use one.  Since I am the drummer/ percussionist, it seems like I would be the most logical person to play it.  The reason I don't like it is because the technique involves a sweeping motion.  I like to smack drums not sweep them.  But after a lesson on Friday and practicing on Sunday evening (I have a very patient wife), I'm starting to get into it.  There's no guarantee we will use it in the show, but it's been fun learning an instrument from scratch.

Transition time:

My incredible wife is rocking out in school.  She is learning a lot and teaching a lot.  It's very busy for her, but as Proverbs says, in all toil there is profit.

If you read this entire entry, you are probably my Mom.  Thanks!

Happenings

Well ... I have the opportunity to play drums for the covlife production of PILGRIM. This is the first musical I've been involved with in over 5 years. It's great to be back (even though I wasn't the first choice for the drummer). Mari is rocking out in school. Below will be a random selection of pictures with no captions. I hope you enjoy.

Ellicot City w/ Mari + A few Randon Pics

This post will contain pictures from a date afternoon Mari + I took to Ellicot City on Tuesday afternoon. We changed our normal Wednesday date night to Tuesday afternoon so I could spend all day in Richmond on Wednesday. Captions will be below the pictures:

The first thing we realized is that most things are closed on Tuesday's. Hmm ...

This market was open though. They had a big dog outside that laid down on my foot. I almost bought something because the dog was huge and friendly.

Mari ... que sweety!

Even though most of the stores were closed, we could still window shop.

My friend Dave M. told me that the oldest train station in America is in Ellicot City ... I think this is it.

Contemporary cars in an historical city ... eewww, that could be the beginning of a song.

Muy Linda!

Yeah, this caribean chicken was great!

I saw this sign and immediately thought about my brother.

Mari and the coffee grinder.

I forgot the name of this cake ... I think cannoli cake ... it was good.

Mari enjoyed it ...

I bought a peanut butter tart ... Mom, you would love this. It was really good.

Yeah!

Let's shift gears now ... below you will see a visual tool that Mari's students created to show their understanding of water flow:

These are two dishes Mari made this past week ... very nice!

Well, that's it ... I hope everyone has a great day and is looking forward to celebrating Jesus' resurrection on Sunday. Easter Sunday 1998 was the first time I went to Covenant Life Church. Wow, that was 11 years ago. God, You have been so faithful to me. If you read my blog (of course God knows all things ... He's omniscient) I want to thank You for iniating Yourself into my life. Thank You for Your faithfulness to reveal Jesus Christ to me!

Swingin Swamis + Camp Schmidt

This blog will consist of pictures from Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday (Captions will be above the pictures this time).  On Saturday night I saw my friend Zak (percussionist from the Gaylord show) perform w/ his band:

Here is Zak and I posing right before Mari and I leave:

Zak played a wide variety of styles extremely well

I think Mari had a good time ... she looks pretty ...

Zak let me sit in on a few songs ... it was fun!

Next up ... we have:

I spent Monday and Tuesday with Hyattsville Elementary school at the PGCPS outdoor education facility.  I like this sign:

I slept on the top bunk:

I taught a total of 5 classes with 10 students in each class:  I split the time between hand drumming (Babatunde Olatunji style), Junk Percussion (aka STOMP for young people), and electronic percussion (I let the kids play w/ my Roland HPD-10).

This is my artsy shot capturing the junk, drums, and electronics.

Here are two of the teachers that also taught classes to the students:

The kids went on a hay ride minus the hay with this tractor:

Artsy outdoor shot:

This is my 'Where's Waldo' section ... where's Dave?  (Look for the ears):

The Schmidt center has a place where you can look at a variety of animals:

Blurry Turtles:

After the students went to sleep, Mr. H started grilling the staff some burgers and dogs:

The next day, we walked to get breakfast at the dining hall:

Artsy outdoor shot #2, and the end of this entry.

Have a great day!