Nebraska - The Good Life

City Auditorium - Utica, NE 

We rolled up to a town of a whopping 860 people and went to their downtown which consists of a
strip of 5 buildings altogether. This is where we were told to have our show.  We were looking for a church or something.  Turns out we passed it and as Sarah would say "got lost" in Utica, NE. However, we weren't lost. I KNEW where we were I just didn't know EXACTLY what we were looking for. :-)  It turns out that it was the city auditorium which is a cute little room with a big red curtain.  It was a really cool atmosphere to play on a stage with a bright red curtain behind us.  The town church showed up.  The pastor's wife, Hope Dunbar, opened for us and pretty much put Sarah and I to sleep listening to her soul soothing country music. It definitely calmed my nerves. :) The people who came, young and old, were very encouraging in what we are doing and it was a blessing.  Also, our hosts were awesome. We stayed in a farmhouse surrounded by beautiful Nebraska cornfields. The family was so hospitable. 

JDs Coffee shop - Seward, NE

Seward holds a special place in mine and Sarah's hearts for it is the town of our very own alma mater, Concordia University.  Sarah played at this coffee shop numerous times while in college and I actually played the saxophone there between her sets one Christmas. We played for 3 hours and it felt like forever but it was a lot of fun.  Unfortunately it was a University of Nebraska, Lincoln husker football game day. We played the 3 hours BEFORE the game but when the game is home at Memorial Stadium, the whole states shuts down.

Fun Fact: For those people who aren't from Nebraska...If memorial stadium was a "city" it would be the 3rd biggest city (population wise) on game days when it's full. (And that's how small Nebraska is....or how big the fan base is? However you want to look at it..) 

Therefore, not many people showed up.   However that night we played at.....

Neutral Groundz - Seward, NE

We had a better showing here but not only because it was AFTER the game but it's the college hangout on the weekends for Concordia Students.  This place is completely donator supported and hasn't let us down yet! Sarah used to play here as well in college and I would go there a lot to just hang out with friends and watch Classic Movies (like Alfred Hitchcock films) downstairs on their big screen once a month.  It was so great to see old faces again and have another support system backing us up on what we're doing.  Needless to say, it was a very nostalgic night.

Lutheran Chapel (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) - Lincoln, NE

Last Sunday we led worship for the University Students at UNL who attend the Lutheran Chapel. It was a different setting than what we had been playing in.  We played the song 10,000 reasons and as I started singing I got chills from hearing the chorus of people join along.  There is just something powerful about corporate worship and singing as one body to the One who deserves our praise! There also was a baptism that day of a family from China. Pastor Bill had told us that night that he had been meeting with the husband once a week for 2 years now and has seen the process of how Christ has changed his heart and saw him and his family become Christian.  It's so encouraging to heart stories like that and reminds me that a lot of evangelism is relational and takes patience. Praise God!!

Calvary Lutheran Fall Festival - Lincoln, NE

Sarah meeting Simon! 

Later that night we played at Calvary Lutheran and Sarah was able to see old faces.  We also had some new friends come out. We met them up at a lake near Aurora while we were preparing for this trip and our connection were some friends from Concordia who  are in a Bible study with them here in Lincoln.  At the fall festival it was another whole different venue. We were set up outside and just background music going on which was very laid back and fun.  Not only was there a bouncy castle there, but Sarah's friends Anna, who brought her new adopted son Simon, and Grace, who brought her adopted daughter Samantha were there and I was able to meet them too!! Simon & Samantha are both children from an orphanage in Bulgaria. It's very sad what happens to children there.  They treat them like animals and put them in cages. Thankfully these two children were saved form there and I pray God would raise up other parents who would be willing to adopt children like these precious jewels.  Sarah started a project called Saving Simon (check it out by clicking here) where music bands and people have jumped on board to help raise funds to bring Simon here for adoption and the funds came in and now he's here! Praise the Lord!!

Down Time

We played 5 times in our first three days!! It was great but very exhausting.  We've been fortunate to have down time in Lincoln and have used it to rest, catch up with friends, and rehearse a little bit. SHOUT OUT TO OUR HOST FAMILY! They are a family of 5 with 3 boys and they have been such a blessing to us.  They've let us stay with them the whole time being here and have cooked for us. Someday I hope to be a family just like them and be willing to open our house to strangers and show the love of Christ to people the way they have to us. 

Coolest Treehouse Ever!

With being an awesome family, they entrusted us with a house key.  One day Sarah decided to go work at a coffee shop while I wanted to just chill and stay at home and do laundry and such.  It was a nice day out so I went outside barefoot with my mandolin in one hand and phone in the other.  Before I left I remember thinking "Check if the door is unlocked" and I thought I did but mmm turns out I didn't... I went to go back inside and realized it was locked.  I thought well maybe a back door is unlocked? I went to their backyard and tried getting in and still no such luck....which is a good thing. They're a secure family.  So I just chilled in their awesome treehouse trying to learn the chords to "Ho Hey"  on my mandolin and it was great but then I wanted to go in somewhere.  I then remembered Pastor Bill from the Lutheran Chapel just lived a couple doors down and gave us his garage code if we ever needed anything. I went over there and got into the house...to an african man sitting at the table.  Ha.  His family is hosting a Nigerian grad student for a little bit and I forgot about that.  I introduced myself, told him my situation, and sat down at the table and tried helping him find housing online and then he told me all about Nigeria and the three tribes it is made up of and the war and all the blood that is being shed over there and the persecution happening to the Christians.  I love learning about other cultures and knowing how to pray for fellow believers all over the world. Join me in praying for Nigeria. It ended up being a big blessing and great learning experience that I locked myself out. :-)  Thankfully we were able to get back in once the boys got home from school.  

Crescent Moon - Lincoln, NE

Our last show in Lincoln was at the Crescent Moon which is located in the basement of an old

building in downtown Lincoln.  I had never been there and it was such a cool set-up.  When we got there we even had a legit sign all decked out for our show that night. It was sweet! They even had a piano there where we didn't have to bring in my portable keyboard. We performed the song "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton for the first time in front of an audience with me on the piano and Sarah on vocals. It was fun bringing that song back from 10 years ago! It wasn't a Christian venue but I was still able to talk about Colombia and my mission trip on the WR.  When we were done going through our set list of mostly secular songs and a few "not in your face" Christian songs.  The guy running the deal wanted us to keep playing.  We told him that the only songs we have left are Christian ones and he said "Well..as long as you're not chanting or doing anything too uncomfortable for people go for it." So we played "How He Loves" and "Restless" and it was cool to be able to worship in the venue.  A bunch of our friends, new and old, showed up and there was a handful of unfamiliar faces there just getting coffee.  Afterwards a girl even came up to me to tell me a friend of hers is on the World Race and she's been following and praying for her and that she will surely do the same for me.  That was so cool to hear! A stranger encouraging me of what I'm doing and backing me up on prayer.  It's always encouraging to meet fellow believes who are in full support of what you're doing and if they don't know you. It's Christ that holds us together.

Side view from stage

Moving Forward

It has been great having a few days of down time but now it's time to keep on movin'! We plan on going through Omaha to pick up our t-shirts!

You can get one through our indiegogo site by clicking here and supporting us (WE'RE ALREADY NEARLY HALFWAY SUPPORTED! PRAISE GOD!) and getting a free one when you give.  They're black with white writing, orange with yellow writing, gray with yellow writing, blue with white writing, and tan with green writing. Otherwise you'll just have to get it at a show (we're not doing any online orders...sorry!)

Then on Saturday we will be heading towards St. Joseph, Missouri for a very long week filled with shows in neighborhoods, a men's shelter, food pantry, and leading chapels at schools.  Thanks so much for supporting us and following us on this journey!!

p.s. my mom just sent me this picture of us being in the Aurora Newspaper back home! Cool! 

Soli Deo Gloria (Latin for glory to God alone!)