Today is our sixth day on tour. The first full day of concerts in Washington was a difficult one; we had the privilege of singing in a Catholic cathedral with amazing acoustics. We arrived there with no time to rehearse in the space so we went on cold turkey. This was a challenging concert but we persevered through, and over the next few days sang three of the best concerts we have ever done. Today is our second day in Oregon. Today we spend the majority of the day on the beach throwing the Frisbee or just walking around the gorgeous Oregon coast. My favorite thing about this day involved Open Road. We made a circle right on the water and sang “Here by the Water” and we took stones and placed them in the water. This event made me realize how truly lucky I am to be involved in this group, and how much I am looking forward to the rest of this tour. Nathan Snyder: 3/23/11This morning we left Lebanon Mennonite Church after homestays and a wonderful breakfast at the church. Buoyed by their love and kindness (and food), we headed towards Salem, where a community event was being held to provide services to the homeless. Originally we had been told that we would be able to pitch in and help, but when we arrived, we found that they had more than enough volunteers; they preferred that we sing instead. (Go figure!) So we broke up into groups and became “walking minstrels,” roaming through the halls where they were providing dental, medical, support, and counseling services. For the choir itself it was rewarding to be able to bond through small group singing, but even more so than that was being able to share with the people at the event. Right as we were leaving, a woman and a boy of about three years came out of the building, and they were invited into the middle of our circle. We sang “Not One Sparrow is Forgotten” as the boy gazed shyly up at us and the woman beamed all around. The boy’s t-shirt had a picture of Buzz and Woody (from Toy Story) returning from one of their adventures. The text on the shirt read: “No one gets left behind.” The connection between the shirt and the text of our song was perfectly poignant, and I was reminded that no one, from the sparrows to our friends to “the least of these,” should be overlooked. Rachel Voran: 3/24/11