Tour Day 12 – Centenary UMC to Noonday Church

Some of you may know that in another life I spent 22 years in the Army. I know, I don’t look that old. For most of that time I was in Army Recruiting, and in recruiting, we have something called the magic GOV. A GOV is a “Government Owned Vehicle”. The reason it was sometimes magical is because of the conversations you would often have when you needed to drive recruits to and from eligibility testing. If that potential recruit was on the fence as to whether they were going to join, there was something about being in the GOV that often got them to open up and tell you what was really going on in their lives, and gave you the opportunity to show how you can help them accomplish the things they were looking to accomplish. It gave you the chance to be seen as a human, and not just a scary guy in a uniform.

Some of you also may know that all of the sponsors have been taking turns driving the equipment truck. Today was my day with Chad Carlson. Now, I’ve known Chad for a long time now. I would say that Chad and Cailey are good friends. But there is just something magic about windshield time that humanizes a person just a little more.  I’m so glad that I got the time today with Chad. He’s such a warm guy with an awesome heart, and I’m glad to get to be a sponsor with him, and to know him a little better today. Even though today’s drive was short.

Two hours and 45 minutes is all it took to get from Macon, GA to Wedowee, AL. so we actually had to get creative and kill some time. Add on to that the fact that we gained an hour as crossed back over into Central time. Pastor Sarah at Centenary UMC in Macon recommended that we go see the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Site because of it’s combination of being both an amazing display of ancient Native American culture and completely free. It was beautiful, interesting, and got everyone about 1.2 miles extra exercise under their belts.

When we landed in Wedowee we were greeted by an breathtaking show of warmth and welcome the way only backwoods Alabama can do. I even knocked a light off of their front awning when I tried to drive the truck under it. There is no sinking feeling you have ever felt that compares to the one I had when I heard the crunch that signaled I had just destroyed property of our host church. When I went to tell the pastor (with my tail tucked between my legs from embarrassment), he said, “Man, we’ve been wanting to replace that light for a long time, now we have a good reason to”. So shockingly kind and generous. And did I mention the food – there was Renaissance era kings that never at so good.

I hope you got a chance to watch the livestream.  If you didn’t, you should check out the recording. That church’s amazing energy transferred right into the service. We rarely get people hollering “Amen” or standing and raising their hands during the informals, but they were into it right from the start. And it just lasted the duration of the service. There wasn’t a dry eye on the risers. This has been a tour full of absolute barn burners. I knew back in Wagoner that there was going to be something pretty special about this tour. Amazing kids, amazing songs, amazing sponsor truck drivers – it was a recipe for success.

Signing off,

Joseph.