Family Kinection

Day 2 of handbell tour: I discover that I have a hidden talent while playing Xbox Kinect. I am really good at boxing. I contribute it to the fact that I was born on Boxing Day. I will someday try my hand at real boxing; it's a dream of mine.

We played a concert in Philadelphia this morning and then drove an hour and a half to NJ to play in another church. Both were full of wonderful people who were delighted to hear us play. It always makes it more fun when the audience enjoys the music. To be honest, we played horribly this morning, but did much better in the evening service. It's hard to switch from travel to bells . . . but we eventually made the transition.

On tour, we stay with families from the churches where we play. Tonight, we were taken to a family's house. First, it's HUGE. Second, I love this family. They have 3 children, all adopted. A girl from China, a girl from Korea, and then a boy who was abandoned by his teenage mom at birth. Their story is wonderful because of how long they prayed for their children. God works in wonderful ways; this family is solid evidence of that.

They were so much fun to be with and we talked and laughed and played Kinect. Their 11-year-old son was puttin out some friendly trash-talk about how he was going to beat me at boxing and though I'd never played on a Kinect before, I took his challenge. Growing up with 4 brothers causes that type of behavior. I won. 5 knockouts to 2. Oh yeeaaah! I did a small victory dance and trash-talked right back. He took it well and challenged me to another game. I beat him again. Hopefully I burned off all the calories that came with the ginormous piece of coffee cake his mom fed me. Hopefully.

These stays with church families is just one of the pleasures of tour. I love getting to know new people and hearing their stories. It is surprisingly easy to bond with families, usually over small things like the fact that they bought their Yorkie from my hometown, or that I knew who was playing in the basketball game today. Nothing huge, but small things tie us together and allow us to connect. Or kinect.

I'll be sad to leave in the morning, but the show must go on! New York, here we come!