The tour, part 2

Ok, so we headed out for the rest of the tour. The tour we were on was the "Welcome to the Family" tour, headed by Kutless. Other bands were Disciple, Stellar Kart, and Esterlyn. Pretty much everyone on my team were huge Disciple fans. I watched only their set every night, except I watched Kutless on the last night. They all did a great job. Anyhow, so there were two teams that we had. One team would leave the night before to reach the destination, so they could prepare breakfast the next morning for the bands. The other team would leave the next day and get there before the show. Our stops were Vegas, Rialto (CA), Mesa (AZ), and Albuquerque. We were responsible for everything from catering to setting up the stage to shuttling the artists to the entire facilitation of the event. Im trying to keep this short, so I will try to summarize out trip. Vegas went great. We got there very late, ended up grocery shopping in the middle of the night. No walking the strip for us. The whole next day went smoothly. Beautiful church. And everyone at the church was very helpful. They housed us in a gorgeous house that was one of two that had been donated to the church. I was responsible for only one of the alarms going off... but the only real hiccup was that the concert was an outdoor event, and it was 40 degrees and wind blowing. The church forgot to advertise that it was an outdoor event, so alot of people came unprepared. Oops. But it was still a great show. Then we drove the strip that night and headed to freakin' Rialto, CA.

We drove through the middle of the night, and it was kinda a freaky drive. I would take a nap and wake up to roller coasters and clowns, and creepy stuff. It felt like a horror film. We didnt arrive to out destination til 4:30 am. Then had a couple hours of sleep. Poor Rocki. She had to drive. The whole morning pretty much sucked, oh wait, and so did the day. The church pretty much didnt provide any help like they were supposed to, so we ended up running around all day with our heads cut off. The hotel was booked 25 minutes away (why? i dont know why.) and I had to shuttle artists back and forth, back and forth. In the midst of this though, I had to shuttle their manager, who I not knowing was going to be on tour, was ready to email him with my resume. Instead, I got to talk with him. He didnt have any positions avalaible at the moment, but he wanted my resume so he can pass it on to others. He really encouraged me, tellin me we all have to start somewhere. Anyways, back on to the show, because our whole day was messed up, we didnt get to pack up til 2 am. We were so exhausted and angry. Not a good day.

The next morning we headed to Mesa, Az. This is close to where my family is, but we had to get there and then leave again, so I just stayed with a family. It was a good show, and I got to see some people that work for the promoter. I pretty much kicked back this show, just catching up with others. Still, we didnt get to leave until like 2 or 3 am. Ridiculous. We had to be up at 5 am.

Well, none of us woke up until 7 am. Oops. we drove out to Albuquerque. We had a crazy driver, and I dont know how many times he drove off the rode. We all pretty much thought we were gonna die. We got to the show in the late afternoon. We went grocery shopping, and then it was time to open up. I was irritable this day cuz we didnt get time for showers and to freshen up, so i felt blah. I did ticketing, like I did every night. But this night, they had everything screwed up. So it was pretty rough. Not the day to give me a hard time...

The tour was now over, and we just had to clean up that last show. I said bye to all of the bands and took pictures with them. I was so sad to leave. This had been my life for days. We went to the hotel and were gonna go eat, but the driver left the lights on and killed the battery. It was already like 2 or 3 am so I headed to my room. Me and Rocki were so exhausted we stared up at the curtains and had a discussion about how beautiful the lines were in them. lol.

The next morning we finally slept in and then headed to Phoenix. Again with the crazy driver. Btw, he was a part of the crew. We just like to give him a hard time cuz he was ridiculous. So we are out in the middle of nowhere, and the tire on our trailer blew. It was either stay there and die, or drive 5 mph up to this creepy western restaurant. So we went up there and waited for our tire to get fixed. The restaurant had guns and nooses and stuff. The driver felt the need to pull the revolver off the wall and almost get us kicked out. Just sit down!

We were off again and got to drive through Payson. This is a mountainous city and it still had a bit of snow on the ground. It was so perty. I saw lots of Elk too. cool. Then we were back in Phoenix, and a few of us girls went to Denny's. It was here that I learned that one of the girls had lost her son at Age 5. We both sat there in Denny's crying as she told me the story. She talked about how Christian music saved her life. It was here God reminded me the reason I share my music and help others share theres. A lot of people feel lost in this world, and many find Christ through music. God wants to use our music as a form of worship. I once was at a Shawn Groves concert and as he was singing, I saw this girl in the crowd balling her eyes out, and I believe she accepted Christ that night. I want others who are at the end of their rope to find their hope in Christ, and while God uses all sorts of things in people's lives to bring them to Him, I believe one is music.

So this was pretty much the end of my trip. I said bye to all in Phoenix, and boarded my plane. This trip gave me a clearer perspective on things, and a motivation to pursue my dream. I have no idea where God is going to lead, but I just need to humble myself and follow His lead. He has been very evident in my life, even the very hard times, and I am so excited to see what He does in the future. I write all this as my testimony, and can only hope that he has planted something in you that motivates you to follow your dreams. For all of us, this is different, and some of you may already be following yours, and that is awesome. Just dont give up home, thinking you are inadequate. God is our Strength, and with Him, all things are possible.

The last month...

Well, the last month in my life has been a whirlwind. It all started with one Sunday morning. One of my pastors was speaking on following our hearts. I believe that God has given everyone a specific passion/gift in their life, mine being music. The pastor was talking about how alot of people will not feel equipped to pursue their passion, and will just settle in life. I had felt I had settled. Still I struggle with "feeling" equipped, but God continually reminds me that He doesnt call the equipped, but equips the called. So, this being all said, I was really wanting to leave the bank I was working at, and dive into the music industry.

Later that week, I was working at the bank, and when I went to count out money to a customer, I realized that I was short $500. That was a blow. But not two hours later, we got a call from our cash vault stating they were short another $1600 and it had come from my drawer. I was confused because I was ALWAYS in balance, and knew I had not taken it. Over the course of the next couple of weeks they were doing an investigation, never figuring out who took it, but nevertheless, I was fired over it. Most people would think I would be devastated, but not the least. I had wanted to leave there for years, feeling they had sucked all life out of me. The fact that all this randomly happened at the same time meant to me that God was kicking me out of there. I knew He was calling me on a new journey, and even though it can be scary having no source of income, I knew He would take care of me.

So, on to the new journey...

A couple of days after I was fired, my friend, Megan, came to visit. We had a blast over the few days, and while she was here, we got the idea in our heads that I should fly out to AZ and surprise my friends and family. I knew that once I started a new job, I wouldnt get to go, so this sounded like a good plan. But I looked into tickets and it was way to expensive. But then the next day my dad called and told me he had bought me a plane ticket to come out the next week. Sweet! I was so excited. So I flew out, surprising my mom, sis, nephew, and friends. It was so surreal for everyone. And what an amazing, fun week! I dont think I slept. Well, the week was coming to an end and it was time to go home...so I thought.

I was making plans to do lunch with a friend, a concert promoter I used to work for. We were talking, and he mentioned that since I really didnt need to be home yet, that I should change my flight back and go on a concert tour with his crew and a few Christian bands. I prayed about it and felt it would be a great opportunity for me to network with some of the people on the tour, them being from Nashville. Also, since I had been out of the industry for a couple of years, I figured I could get my feet wet. So I agreed. And on with the tour...

My first stop was Wildomar, Ca. This was very close to where alot of my relatives live in CA. My mom and I decided to drive out for a couple of days, and on Saturday, I would drive to the show to meet up with everyone. So I got to go stay at my grandmas. Me and her have never been real close, but since my grandfather died a couple of years ago, Ive been wanting to mend my relationship with her. I got to spend the day with her, and we had so much fun. I always felt so intimidated around her, but that all changed this trip. I also got to see my great aunts and uncle. My great uncle is nearing the end of his days, and I got to go visit him in the nursing home. I knew this was my last time seeing him. He grabbed my hand and teared up when I was leaving. I told him I would try to come see him soon, even though I knew this wasnt possible. I walked out trying to hold back tears. I was just thankful I got to see everyone again, not knowing when I would ever be able to. Saturday came, and it was time to head down to the show. But not before making a stop at the beach. I drove out to Oceanside, only for an hour, but I had longed so much to go to the beach, I just had to. I walked the pier, and this huge pelican flew down and sat on the ledge. He just sat there forever and let people pet him. I got an awesome picture of him. I then walked the beach, getting my feet wet, taking in the sun, feeling the breeze. It was very hard for me to leave, but I was grateful just for that hour. I then drove up to Wildomar, driving past the Bible College I went to a few years back. I wanted to walk around, but everytime I visit, they wont let me in, even though I am alumni, so I just drove on. When I got to the concert, I got to surprise some friends that had no idea I was still around, and didnt know I was going on the tour with them. It was so good to see them. We didnt end up doing much at the concert, just hanging out... After the show I drove up to my aunt and cousins' house who I hadnt seen in a few years. I spent a couple of hours with them. A good couple of hours.

The next day I said by to my grandma. I had told her I wanted to learn how to make scarves (hoping she would teach me to crochet). But instead when I was leaving she laid out 20 scarves and told me to take whatever ones I wanted. That was nice of her. Unfortunately I left all but one in Phx, by accident.

OK, so I went back to Phoenix and helped out in the Promoter's office for a few days. Got to see some more friends and my brother, sis, and nephew, who is almost two. Hes the one in the pic on my blog. He learned my name. I have only seen him a couple of times. He was born 2 days before I moved to TN, and then I saw him last June. I wish I was able to see him more. Its weird cuz I helped raise my other nephew and he is such a big part of my life. I wish I could have the same with him.

Anyway, so trying to finish this blog off (kinda gettin long)...
Actually, I think I will end here, and start a new one for the tour, part 2.
Thanks for readin.