Day 4 -- April 7, Dundee & Castorland, NY

We were graciously welcomed by members and friends of Crystal Valley Mennonite Church in Dundee, New York, around 10:15 pm when we pulled into town on Saturday night. Thirteen of the guys, along with Daryl & Jen stayed at the church and the rest headed to host homes.

Our Sunday morning program with Crystal Valley was a special service. We did our entire program with acapella songs and the what we initially thought might be a tougher acoustical setting (a low ceiling) was actually quite "live" with sound. Our program went well and the audience was very appreciative of the songs we shared. We made some connections to Lancaster County with the people in attendance.

After an amazing potluck lunch we had time to fellowship in their gym and play some volleyball.

We had a 3-hour drive ahead of us to Castorland, NY (just north of Lowville) where we ended up at Naumburg Mennonite Church. This was our largest venue so far (an auditorium that would seat approx. 900. We had likely 250 there for our program. One of the choir member's families was vacationing in the area and joined us -- so it was special to see some familiar faces. A tasty meal following our program and then introductions to our hosts wrapped up our day.

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2024 M.A.T. Tour

We are less than 24 hours away from leaving on our tour -- we are excited about the opportunity to travel and minister through song. Please keep us in your prayers and follow our progress here!

April 6 -- Day #3 -- Rochester, NY

A light coating of snow greeted us this morning at Penn-Yorks Camp and Retreat Center as we awoke. We wanted to head out promptly after breakfast, so we loaded the bus ahead of that, thinking that would be a good motivation to get to breakfast. It was and it worked! However, before we could savor the eggs, sausage, "donuts-as-big-as-your-head" (as they were described to us), our breakfast chefs decided to motivate us and asked if we would sing #606 -- "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow." This is has historically been called "The Mennonite Anthem" and it is not uncommon to be expected to be able to sing this song by memory if you call yourself a Mennonite. The students pulled it off quite nicely and did a great job with it -- evidenced by the fact that we put a dent in the head-sized donuts that were served. We headed off for Rochester, NY and arrived a bit before 11:00 at Golden Harvest Bakery & Cafe where they were hosting a special chicken

We had a relaxing start to our day -- something that felt needed after 3 programs in about 24 hours. We spent the morning relaxing at Naumburg Mennonite Church enjoying the outdoor weather and some games and activities. Around 11:30, we headed to Brookside Senior Living Community for a program at 1:00 and then a Solar Eclipse Party with them. After that was over, we came back to Naumburg for more recreation, a 6:00 pm supper and then off to our hosts for another night of sleep. We'll let pictures tell the story. Naumburg Mennonite Church indoors and the outdoor view. Beautiful weather for recreation our a rousing game of Quem and Schmeck! Basketball with the students from the school beside Naumburg Mennonite Church. An impromptu performance... Lunches from our hosts We arrived at Brookside and discovered we were doing our program outdoors! Our incredibly talented sound techs. Wait, this looks like a brand-new band from what we are used to! Here we go! "When I Survey the Won

Ephrata Mennonite School Ministry Arts Team

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