The "Isle of Dreams" hit the road to share a little joy and kind of "plug" the upcoming April 15th performance. A group of 10 of us travelled down to Rolla, Missouri, to sing for pastor's association meeting. Considering that it is a gathering of the different denominations in and around the area to discuss issues that impact their city, it's a cool event in and of itself. The idea was that we would sing for 2o minutes or so and let them experience a little of what will be in the Leach Theatre that evening. If they wanted to promote us and invite their congregation afterwards would be completely up to them.

First we went to the Rechtien farm for a brief rest after our two hour car ride. Ma and Pa Rechtien are two of the most genuine, loving people you will ever meet. Their home emanates the welcoming attitude of Christian love, and you find yourself immediately at ease and relaxed. It's a gorgeous place in the country that we plan on returning to this summer to help with various projects around the site.

We arrived at the church prior to all of the other pastor's. Michael spent quite some time speaking about the "Isle of Dreams" with the editor-in-chief of the local paper, who had come at the invitation of the Rechtiens (after God allowed them to finally connect and set it up). The gentleman appeared to be very interested in the story or the musical and stayed aroudn to hear us sing. Michael then led our group to the sanctuary, where we held a brief communion service prior to performing. It's always a blessing to have a leader who makes time for such spiritual encounters in the midst of all the hectic scheduling that takes place from time to time.

We rejoined the pastors meeting and Pa Rachtien gave us an amazing introduction and, more importantly, he gave God the credit that He deserves for every aspect of the musical. After the intro, we took the front and performed "Listen to the Rain", "If You Had Only Been Here", "Rocky Road", Everybody is God's Child" and "Heaven". The pastors started out pretty uninspired by the first few songs (although there were a couple of notable exceptions), but by the end of our little set they all seemed to be enjoying the music and taking in the message.

We grabbed our stuff and made our way outside, where two pastors pulled Michael aside and asked us to come back down and sing at their churches, which we indeed look forward to doing when God allows. We made our way back to the Rechtien farm, where we praised God for what He had done and enjoyed our time together. One of the pastors came over the the farm after the meeting was over and shared lunch with us. Michael, being led of God, grabbed the performance cds and we sat in the front rrom by the fireplace and performed a larger selection from the musical. The visiting pastor was obviously in need of a time of blessing and revitalization and God allowed us to be the vessels of that process. It was a truly sweet and special time as we all basked in the Glory of God.

It's always amazing when God allows us to actively participate in being a blessing to someone else whiel still being filled and blessed ourselves. Truly, God is an all Powerful God, able to do whatever He deems necessary as He deems fit. I am blessed to be a part of a ministry that God has blessed, that blesses me daily and proves to be a blessing to others often.