Tour Blog — Day 12

“Well, since my baby left me, Well, I’ve found a new place to dwell, Well, It’s down at the end of lonely street At Heartbreak Hotel.”

-Elvis

Yep, you heard it right, folks. My baby left me and I’m stuck here in Great Falls, MT at Heartbreak Hotel. I dropped Emily off at the airport in Missoula this morning and watched her carry her packed bags back to Kansas City, leaving me to fend for myself in the hills east of Glacier National Park. So, it’s not all that dramatic. We knew she had to be back at work Thursday. Every one of us sponsors is sacrificing something to be here, because we believe in what this group is. Emily sacrifices so much, and she’s already living the dream the rest of us on tour are chasing right now, sleeping in her own bed — and I know she’d do anything to be here if she could. Trust me…there were tears at the airport.

All of us sponsors really are sacrificing to be here. I got to ride in the truck today with Matt Paden. Some of you know Matt better than others, but if you don’t know him well, you are missing out. Do you have any idea what Matt means to this group? I couldn’t count the hundreds, probably thousands, of people Matt has impacted through his leadership and mentorship in New G. I am one of those people. At this year’s tour worship that we did in Golden, BC, Matt took a moment to get vulnerable with the kids and talk about how everyone, even himself, feels unworthy of doing the work of New G at times. I know exactly that feeling. I was grafted in to New G by marriage. I never sang on the risers as a youth singer here. The unbelievable graciousness of these people, accepting me into their family, is just, well, I guess it’s unbelievable.

I don’t know if it’s gotten any easier for the Padens to come on tour, but over the years we had whole seats taken out of the bus to accommodate a pack-n-play for all three of the Paden kids. This year, past the diapers, with Christian setting his sights on singing in the group in a couple of years, there are still sacrifices to be made. Matt sells houses for a living, and guess what you can’t do while you’re on tour… Sell houses! Matt is a person who deeply sacrifices for the things he loves. The Padens do all of this because they’re a family passionate about legacy.

We talked a lot about legacy riding in the truck today, and about how sponsors tend to be the type of people who find ways to make sure their impact is forever felt in New G. We talked about how desperately we want to pass those values on to the singers. I can look back at so many singers who I can point to something that we still do that was a result of their legacy-building. Katie Mendenhall, Kaleb Johnson, Jackson and Grace Connors, Malissa Hafely, the Gentry sibs, the Hunter twins…I could go on and on.

I love this guy like a brother. Almost every tour we get at least one day together in the truck, and today was really something special. I always look forward to those moments, but today was different. It’s a day I’ll never forget. Things like this are what make this sponsor group so tight. We don’t just say we’re family — we really, really are as close to family as it gets without being related. And your dopey kids are the medium, the common purpose, that makes those bonds so tight.

Tonight’s performance was one where the singers really had to dig. It was HOT, but there were still 50 or 60 people who turned out and bore the heat with us, so our singers rewarded them. You’d never know how tired they were by the way they performed. The music minister at Our Savior’s Lutheran, Ellen, said that she was extremely moved by the level of emotion and sincerity in their voices. I think that goes to show we’re helping these kids build legacy, Matt. It’s working.

Today was our last short drive of tour. The next three days will go by fast, but they’ll be grueling — long, long drives each day as we make the trek back to God’s Country. Glendive, MT tomorrow. Hopefully there’s internet so we can live stream it for you – they say it’ll be beautiful.

Goodnight all, we’ll see you in a couple of miles.

Love you all, Joseph