The guys couldn’t resist taking a picture with this gentleman outside one of the little Berlin shops. Brian tries hard for those high endings… here he wasn’t making a sound though.
Year: 2009
Holmes County
Friday morning, September 4th, we headed for Holmes County, OH, with the Garment of Praise for 3 programs. The bus was a little fuller than usual with Marcus and his family joining us to help fill the vacancy from Jason staying home with his wife and new baby.
The travelling was uneventful and we arrived at the Townhouse Bed and Breakfast, where we unpacked and got ready to head over to the auction for the Friday evening program. The guys warmed up a little in the big tent; Brian and Daryl with their usual parts, Marcus returning to baritone, and Danny filling in the bass. It went okay–one amusing part was Brian singing Jason’ bass solo on “Where His Grace Begins” and then jumping back up to tenor for the chorus, dropping down for the bass run, hopping back up to the tenor for the finish of the chorus. I think we were all grateful to hear Jason sing that one the next time.
Hitting the coffee house late Friday night after the children are in bed.
We walked around Berlin to get breakfast Saturday morning–what a pile of children were on this trip. Made for some fun…and chaotic times!
Homestead Restaurant for a great buffet Saturday morning!
Setting up on Saturday morning for our next program to be on Sunday morning. Jason says, “That’s what you call ‘air bass'”.
Enjoyed the auction for a few hours Saturday afternoon, to bid on a few things, and visit with friends.
Joe and Rhoda Miller, our good friends, always have us over for supper…and the guys have to get in their half-court basketball game! Jason drove out with daughter, Molly, to help sing on Sunday! It was good to see him join the group again.
Now there’s a pretty picture; John Deere and GOP bus! Joe took us on a hay ride around the area for some beautiful views!
Headed for Sharon Conservative Mennonite Church. We attended Sunday School with the church people, then the guys shared the morning message in song, then we enjoyed a good fellowship meal with their congregation, and some visitors–a lot of our German Baptist friends were there.
Joe and Rhoda came to the last program–their Brianna made good friends with our Chrissy.
Even though Jason was there to sing for most of the program, Marcus filled in Danny’s part for some of the program, and all five of them sang “One Fine Day” for a grand finale.
Strasburg Mennonite Church
Photo’s of our Strasburg Mennonite Church program…this was a good program…and was nice to be near home.
ROAD TRIP: Lamb Of God
This is a continuation of the Indian trip…
We went north to Lamb of God on Sunday Morning. The children went to Sunday School while the guys set up and practiced a little. Family friend, Justin Stoltzfus, dropped in for the program from over in Goshen. The church also fed us a wonderful lunch before we headed home.
The road home was uneventful. Brian got to try out his “shroom burger” and put in his solid 45 minutes of driving. We arrived home around midnight. Thank God for safe travels and a good tour!
ROAD TRIP: Terry Myer’s House
This is a continuation of the Indiana trip…
We got to Terry Myers house around 3:00 and he fed us the biggest, baddest burgers (definitely hard to sing on). It was nice to see their house almost finished and visit with our friends. Terry had just been to our church last October for meetings and it was good to catch up with them again.
Then it was on to the 3rd program of the tour, Cuba Mennonite Church, for a full auditorium and reconecting with old friends.
The Last Ride Home
This was to be her last ride home-almost.
We left Harrisburg via Interstate 81, headed west on 322, north on 11/15 and than snaked our way through some back roads, and finally to the dirt lane that would take us into the “Bigger Plantation.” My oldest sister, Diane Bigger, 4 years my elder, was diagnosed with cancer merely 6 months ago.
I can hardly have it or believe it. This was a lady who knew how to love and to care. As a younger brother, I would watch her carefully remove glass from hands bloodied by a friend’s drunken stupor. Her compassion seemed to know few limits; at times I would question the sanity of some of her efforts. Fear did not seem to handicap her in any way. She would personally canvass East Reading with tracts each month, passing them at any hour of the day or night.
At 19 she fell in love with and married my teacher, Jeff Bigger. After several years of life in the city, they decided to move to the little farmette near Milton, PA, to be closer to Jeff’s family. At first it was a real adjustment for this life-long city slicker, but it didn’t take long for her to find ways to become active for God and bloom where planted. 12 years later, 5 children, and a grand child on the way, Diane has been given about a month to live.
Cancer has robbed her of some of her outer beauty, but has not touched her spirit or inner beauty. She has been incredibly strong through it all. I can only hope to have half of her dying grace when my time comes to go. So many memories flooded my mind as I followed that van home, and often I would find myself sobbing out loud wondering why it has to come to this.
The final turn into that dirt lane drew one more splash of emotion knowing this would be her last ride in that dirt lane. So many Thanksgivings before we had made that same turn and been treated to a royal feast-Oh the memories. I watched Jeff gently lead Diane out of the van and across the thresh hold of the house where he tenderly hugged and kissed her as if it was their honeymoon night.
The hospice nurses arrived 30 minutes later, and I watched Diane sign her life away-literally. She will die soon, and then she will take her final ride home-eternally. Before leaving, she thanked me and my father for escorting her safely home. I told her that I expect her to return the favor someday; she promised me she would.
I love you Diane.
ROAD TRIP: Motel & Breakfast
We stayed in a motel Friday evening, and used this opportunity to take a few snapshots with Danny in the quartet. OK,… so the guys got a little funny. When we were out on the motel porch, we got visiting with some other people and sang a song for them. They wanted to go in and get their elderly mother and have us sing to her too! Then out for breakfast at Knepp’s Family Restaurant with Jason’s family and his father. Jason Knepp’s sister runs the restaurant. Great buffet!
ROAD TRIP: Pleasant View
This program was a kick-off for the school year for Pleasant View Christian School in Montgomery, Indiana. Jason, Joanna, and Rachel Knepp provided supper for us at the school and then the guys warmed up and worked on “Gloryland”, a new song they sang this weekend. The children enjoyed this evening, since they played outside for some of the program and there was a concession stand run by the volleyball girls.
On The Road To Indiana
On the road to Indiana,
We were on the road to Indiana (stopping first for a program in Ohio) at 4:00 am. It was a good trip, no bus problems. Denise stayed back since she’s expecting in two weeks, and Sheryl stayed back to take care of Andrea, recovering from a ruptured appendix. Accompanying the quartet were Brian’s two older boys, Daryl’s family, and Caitlin, Jason’s oldest daughter.
We hit the top three this weekend: Burger King, McDonald’s, and Taco Bell. All were great (a little slow)…
ROAD TRIP: Greenville, OH
We arrived at David Gipe’s house for a meal before the program….
…and visited with Shirley Bowman (wife of Dwaine, affectionately known as Big Bear), and Shirley’s daughter and son-in-law, Sheldon and Kim Lavy. It was nice to look through Shirley’s memory book of Dwaine and listen to some of his CDs he recorded singing with the Hobo’s!
After supper, we drove over to Lighthouse Christian Center where the guys had sung previously other years. They had about 450 people in attendance from all different churches in the area.
We returned to David Gipe’s house for the night. They put us all up for the night, and Kim provided a wonderful breakfast for us before sending us off onto Indiana.
