Saturday July 17^th, 2004

                                      Jill is ready to leave for tour! 

           Everyone gathered at the church at 8:00am (way too early for summer!) and piled into the automobiles making up our tour caravan. After a long day of driving from Tampa to Atlanta we arrived at Conyers First United Methodist Church where we were assigned puppet pals and devotional groups before heading out to the Salem United Methodist Campgrounds where there is an annual summer camp for families. After their nighttime service we set up for a great performance. In the camp’s tabernacle the ground was covered in wood shavings, which made there way into many of our prop boxes, so for the rest of the tour we were leaving little pieces of Salem at our other performance sites.

After our performance at Salem we returned to Conyers First UMC to say in their youth minister’s house. He had a lot of faith to let 18 teenagers stay in his beautiful Victorian home, while he and his family were staying at the Salem Campgrounds!

Holly and Katie get ready for the show!

Sunday July 18^th, 2004

           We woke up Sunday morning to walk a driveway away to Conyers UMC to perform for their Children’s church. We were grateful to perform for a wonderful group of children. And we were also very thankful to have a stage with enough room for all of our props! After our performance we were treated to a lunch of pizza, and then went off for some shopping at a local mall. While some of us were happy for the chance to do some of our own shopping, there was also a lot of shopping going on for our puppet pals we picked the day before. This year when we drew secret names we were told to keep an eye out for how our pal showed joy throughout the tour, because this year’s tour theme was JOY!

Sara enjoyed her puppet pal gift – an adorable unicorn: Esmerelda

             After shopping we went to Decatur to perform for the United Methodist Children’s Home. We were able to eat dinner with a fascinating crowd of youth, and believe it or not we were a little intimidated to perform for a group of youth our own age! The home provides lodging for children and teens aging from 11-18. PFC is used to performing for our families and children, but to show our ministry to our peers is both exciting and overwhelming. However, once the performance began excitement became the overriding feeling as the crowd was very into our numbers. We especially thank the youth of the home for being one of the most fun crowd’s we’ve ever performed for!

Unfortunately that night after the performance Christina (aka Weasel) wasn’t feeling well, but we we’re able to nurse her back to health!

                             

                      Good friends can always make you feel better!

Monday July 19^th, 2004

            Monday morning was not a joyous experience because we had to roll out of bed at 6:00 AM!! We had to get out early to cross Atlanta traffic to head out to Perimeter church, to put on a show for their Camp All-American. PFC performed for the camp last year as well. At Perimeter we were blessed to perform in their new Kidstown Theater. A theater equipped especially for blacklight! We loved having the space to spread out our props, and have plenty of room on stage for dancing flamingos in “He’s the Best Thing” and our 3 life-size frogs in “Jump, Jump, Jump”. We performed at 9:30am and 3:00pm and we’re provided an excellent lunch from Jason’s deli in between.

              What A Crowd!

Some of the Audience edged up to the stage, excited to see us perform!

            Once we were all packed up we went to Stone Mountain for some fun and fellowship, and also to see their laser light show. Upon our arrival, and picking out a good place on the sloping green where the laser light show is held, a group decided that rolling down the hill would be a necessity, as hills are things of dreams for Floridians. The show was a blast and we got our fill of sweets between cotton candy, ice cream, and sugared popcorn.

Austin, Scott, and Brittany in front of the carving at Stone Mountain where their laser light shows are held.

Tuesday July 20^th, 2004

            Tuesday morning we said goodbye to our Georgia homestead and moved on to Oviedo, Florida. We met a faithful family of 5 who were also willing to put up 21 puppeteers, 18 of which were teenagers! (Where do Becky and Sandy find such trusting hosts?) That evening we performed at our host’s church, where she hopes to begin her own puppet ministry!

                               A group photo before leaving Conyers

            Our evening was spent lunching on a pizza dinner, with healthy veggies and salad provided as well. The puppeteers had a lot of fun fellowshipping with Matthew, Anthony, and Allie (our hosts’ children), who showed us their goats and played basketball with us.

Wednesday July 21^st, 2004

            Our final day of tour came to a close, but in a VERY fun way. In the morning we had our final devotional and revealed who our secret puppet pals were! Then, where better to spend your day in the Orlando area than at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!

         Brittany and Lisa Wait for Tickets                Ian Gets Carried Away

We walked all over and waited for great rides like the new Revenge of the Mummy as well as Men In Black at Universal Studios, while those at Islands of Adventure waited to get on the Hulk and Spiderman.

            Although our tour was A LOT of fun, and left us with some great memories, I think everyone was ready to get home for a goodnights sleep in their own beds.

I think Becky was definitely worn out!

Click Here for MORE PHOTOS from the 2004 PFC Tour!

Thanks to Sandy for the Photos