NYC was cold. Very cold. But OH so amazing. So, here's a
Thursday: Woke up at 5:15am, dressed and made sure I had everything. A sweet friend of from choir, Vicki, picked me up for the airport. We arrived, checked in and got through security like a breeze. We got to the gate and took a few photos.
We boarded and were off. We had a connecting flight in Detroit, and caught that with no problems. The flight from to NYC was not bad, with the exception of the turbulance landing in NYC. Trying to see the city and the Statue of Liberty while landing was not fun. In fact, it was downright nauseating. But, we landed and found our guide and got on the shuttle. We finally made it to the hotel, which was the Sheraton New York. Beautiful hotel.
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| The front of the Sheraton :) |
We didn't get our rooms right off the bat, so we decided to start our adventures. First stop, the 9/11 Memorial.
The WTC
Some of the names on the wall
This is the tree that was saved from Ground Zero.
Some more of the names...you can see the waterfall behind it. It was beginning to freeze.
The Memorial was beautiful. The only thing that could have made it better was if it was warmer. We went through (security is REALLY tight), and it wasn't very crowded. They had the north pool off because the fountain was freezing. The south pool was in the process of freezing over. I took a few pictures, but I don't feel like I was really able to appreciate it because I was frozen.
After we left the Memorial, we headed to St. Pauls church (the church across the street that remained undamaaged after the attacks), but it was closed. Back to the subway, where our group split up. Most of them went to the Empire State Building. I, however, had to go back to the hotel because I left my ticket at the hotel. So, my roommate Velvet and I headed back to the hotel. We got there, got our bags and went to our room. Velvet's friend called and asked us to walk to Time Square with her. I being stupid, left my hat and gloves in the room. It.was.cold. Holy shenanigans. We walked.and walked. We then were invited to a restaurant, called Carmine's. It's very similar to Buca Di Beppo here in Louisville. They had already eaten, but had some left over so Velvet, her friend and I had a bit of lasagna and salad. It was delicious. Very happy with the food. Velvet and I decided to head back to the hotel, and froze on the way back but we stopped in at a few stores. I did not buy anything, although I sure wanted to. When we got back to the hotel, I met up with two other roommies and we went to a little deli next to the hotel. I had a piece of cheesecake. Ahh...it was heaven.We went back to our room and headed to bed, as we had to wake up super early for a meeting.
Friday: Up at 6:30am for a 8am meeting at Calvary Baptist Church. Here, we met David Hamilton (MWS producer), Roy Hayes with True North Productions (the company who organized this amazing event)...and of course, Michael W. Smith and his beautiful sweet wife, Debbie. After the meeting, the "friends" (or guests of the choir members), went back to the hotel with MWS for a Meet and Greet. The choir stayed at the church, were we rehearsed from 9am-4:30pm (with a 1.5 hour lunch in there). After the rehearsal, we had to decide what we were going to do. I had no interest in trying to go back to the Empire State Building, so I headed back to the hotel. Some took a short nap, and I took a shower and checked e-mail. Lorneth (roomie) and I headed to get a pizza and to a drugstore for some medicine. We ended up finding the Late Show with David Letterman's building. We also found the imfamous Ellen's Startdust Diner. We heard from our choir director's wife, Carrie, that it was amazing and the singers were awesome but it was best after 10pm. We were not out that late, so we decided not to go. We bought our pizza from Angelo's Pizza. My portion was burned so it was not good. Back to the hotel we went, after sitting up talking for a bit, we went to bed so that we could go to our Meet and Greet with MWS at Carnegie.
This is MWS at the church, before rehearsal
The Calvary Baptist from the back.
*Picture by Major*
SECC's amazing choir director, BJ (in the black). He joined us to sing :)
I have no idea why I am smiling. Ha!
My roomie, Lorneth
I was pointing at the other row that I was going to stand with at Carnegie...althought it didn't work out that way.
Michael W. and I at the Meet and Greet. He is so down to earth, and sweet. Very humble.
Michael W. and my roomie, Heather
Michael W. with Lorneth and Brandon.
And last, but not least...my roomie Velvet with MWS :)
11:30am, we left Carnegie. My roomies and friends and I headed to the Stardust Diner. O.M.Gosh. How amazing it was. The experience, that is. The food...ehhmm...not so much. Overpriced and well, mediocre food. I ordered loaded fries. Still ended up with a $21 bill, but ya know, like I said the experience was great. Watching the waitstaff singing was just awesome.
First waitress, belting it out.
Lorneth and her son, Brandon
Me :)
My overpriced, mediocre fries.
The outside of the diner
I am next to the lady in the blue shirt at the bottom in the middle.
Rehearsal (no I am not in this one)
I am on the bottom right, again, next to the last in the blue shirt.
Me, before the big event. Didn't have anyone to snap a picture, so I did it myself.
The Big Event: We arrived at Carnegie at 6:15. I was placed in a different row, which happened to be the very front row, inbetween percussion. We filed onto the stage, and sat down. The concert began. The Holy spirit filled the room, and it was the most incredible feeling. Watching people in Carnegie Hall, stand up and lift their hands in worship. I fought tears and got choked up many of times. It flew by, and ended so quickly. 6 months of planning, anticipation, and two weeks of quick rehearsal and God took it in His perfect hands and made a beautiful masterpiece of heavenly voices...and I was a part of it. It is truly humbling, that little old me got to sit on the stage of Carnegie Hall, with Michael W. Smith and sing my heart out.
*The following photos were taken by our amazing photographer, Major. We were not allowed to have cameras in Carnegie Hall (though MANY people did)* Thus far, I have no found a photo of me during the actual concert. I was seated in a very bad area from a photographer's POV (between percussion and orchestra). So...here is what I do have.
During the concert.
MWS, what an amazing man of God he is! So blessed to have met him and sang with him.
After the concert was over, we loaded onto a shuttle and boarded a cruise ship. The dinner cruise was amazing. We ate a delicious dinner of prime rib, salad, rice and veggies, and rolls. Kind of funny, because the buffet table was about a foot too high for me, so it was difficult for me to see what I was getting. HA! I forgot to get a picture of the dinner, as I was STARVING...but it was delish! I sat there, taking in this elegant ship and the people I was surrounded with. I finally met up with our amazing choir director, BJ. We took a group snapshot. When dessert was served, we ate New York cheesecake (YUMMO!), chocolate cake (another YUMMO!) and a mini-ice cream. I simply couldn't eat it all. Michael W. and Debbie made their appearance and we thanked them for the amazing experience...and just like that, it was over. We left, got back on the shuttle and headed back to the hotel, where we packed because as soon as church was over, it was back to the hotel to board a bus to the airport.
Not the best picture, but this is the inside of our cruise ship
Two sweet friends of mine :)
The NYC skyline in the background
My roomie, Heather.
Lorneth, Me, BJ (our choir director) and Velvet
My delicious dessert plate. That was after I got ahold of it. Notice I didn't eat it all. But it was SOOO good!
Heather and her son, Tyler
The Smiths. Debbie and Michael thanking everyone for the incredible experience
Michael leaving the boat.
Here are the professional shots from the boat
This is the outside of our boat
My "travel family". From L to R- Lorneth, Velvet, Me, Brandon (behind me), Kelly, Heather, Rick (behind Heather) and Tyler
Lorneth, Me, Michael Daniel, Velvet...and I don't know who the redhead is.
Sunday morning: We rose after I don't know...3 hours of sleep? We got dressed and met in the hotel lobby with our room. Can you imagine? 75-100 people in the hotel lobby, following to mod the streets and subway of Manhattan? :) Fun stuff! We got to the subway...and as our group was waiting for the train, something amazing happened. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_M-f9hn8xs
We made it to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for Sunday morning worship. It was a little out of my element, because they are very different from SECC, and I was exhausted so I had a hard time staying awake. But, all in all, I got a meaningful message out of it. After service, we made a mad dash to the subway to get back to Manhattan, to the hotel. And just like that...within an hour or so, we were boarding a plane and on our way home.
On this trip, I learned to hem (which my sister will love because I won't have to pester her anymore), I learned to turn anything and everything over to God. Waking up at 3AM with stomach issues, and Lorneth praying over me...the pains went away and I slept. It was good. I remember praying that I would be shown what I was supposed to be seeing/taught or why I was there...and I am still not sure why I was chosen. I am not sure why God put me there...but I am truly grateful to be little old me who was able to praise Him in the most incredible way. I sang and praised Him in Carnegie Hall on a stage in front of 3,000 people. Amazing!
I want to say "THANK YOU!!!" to those who made this trip possible. I cannot express my gratitude enough. It was a long six months, but GOD worked through these amazing people, and I am just in awe. So, thank you, thank you, thank you! You know who you are, and I am truly blessed to have you in my life.
**Disclaimer - Most of these images are mine. I took them. The professional images are by our amazing photographer, Major. I have not have all of them yet, and not all of them are posted yet, so there is more to come, I promise.!!**
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