Day 2: Sunday Report

Hello families and friends of VIP!

The choir kicked off our first full day of tour by singing at the 8:30 service, attending Sunday school, and also singing at the 11:00 service at the beautiful Church Street UMC. The space was gorgeous, acoustically beautiful, and the people were so welcoming and kind. Following the 11:00 service the people of Church Street UMC served us lunch.

After lunch the choir split up for some free time: some touring the shops of Knoxville, some working out, some in the pool, and others napping. After free time we departed our hotel for the Knox Area Rescue Mission facilities. This ministry provides shelter, showers, food and other basic necessities for living. Before our concert there, the choir split up into groups to service the facilities. Some VIPs prayed over the beds where people would be sleeping. Other VIPs helped in the kitchen preparing dinner, which was served by other choir members. VIPs also sorted donated clothes and toiletry items, and made encouragement cards.

I would like to take a moment to share a personal experience from the perspective of a choir member. In the cafeteria, I talked to a man who was just lively and he lit up the room. As I sat down and talked to him, I found out he has an autistic son, and he was enlisted in the army and served in both Germany and Bosnia. As some of you may know, I have an autistic brother and my father served in both Germany and Bosnia. This story really hit home with me and I realized these people we are ministering to are just like us but had different circumstances and different decisions to make. It really reinforced the idea that these people are like us and we should accept them and welcome them with the same love we show our friends and family. This was an amazing experience and we are so blessed to have this opportunity. We closed out the day with Chinese food and Devo. Thank you for your continued prayers, and support! We made this card!