Stories from the Road

What the summer project students have shared from the road as they were on tour with their Keynote Summer Project bands:

I know tired and busy are my new favorite adjectives while being on tour, but it has been so worth it!- Cory, bass player for stop on green
It was nice to bring a little light and a little hope to an otherwise disheartening situation. – Danielle, Tattooed Planet

I feel so blessed to be a part of that and just to get to pray over people.-Danielle, Tattooed Planet

It’s a good thing we didn’t cancel that concert! Sometimes you play for 1200, sometimes you play for 12, but God can work just as well in either circumstance.- Lauren, Swerve, vocalist It confirmed what we’d learned this summer about how our past, good or bad, can be used to bring glory to the Lord.-Lauren, Swerve

Stories from the Road:
Swerve- Pennsylvania at the North Hampton Correctional Facility for two different audiences, each of about 60-70 inmates. We were not allowed to pass out comment cards for security reasons, but we were hopeful to get to share afterward. Many of the inmates were hurried out before we got to talk with them, but we got the chance to talk briefly with the women from the first group. Several of us agreed that our first experience playing in the prison was one of the most humbling so far. It was easy to walk into that prison with a stigma about what to expect. One of the women asked me what we thought about playing in prisons. My initial thought was “it’s terrifying!” Luckily, instead of saying that, Allie and I told her how we were all sinners and on equal footing in God’s eyes despite how “good” or “bad” society considered our sins. The girls around began to agree, but unfortunately, they were ushered out at this point. But for Allie and me the conversation provided good perspective and a heart-check: we were no better than the inmates, and they need Jesus just as much as anybody else. At one point during tear-down, Allie had an officer approach her. He told her that he has a daughter named Angel and that he used to sing the song that ties in with her testimony, Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel). He explained that he’d never thought about the words to the song in the way that Allie presented them and it really made him think. When telling us about this encounter, Allie expressed how she had somewhat forgotten that we could be ministering to the officers too. She said she had been so focused on working with the prisoners that her conversation with the officer reminded her to always be open to ministry.

Swerve-Christian Haven- at-risk youth home, where we played for ~55 students. at the end of the concert the students were so appreciative and we found that 12 of them made a decision for Christ. An encouraging comment card from Tom said that the concert “just made me think about how great it is to be alive.” Our host informed us that Tom came from a home where he was unloved and was hard to reach since being on the campus. Tom has been struggling with depression problems and he expressed how encouraging it was to hear the music and Allie and Nate’s stories. This concert taught us that even though our audience doesn’t seem to be engaged it doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit isn’t working.
Summer Project Dad Who Received Christ
My team had been praying for my dad for the last few weeks of rehearsals. He was the only member of my immediate family that had not accepted Christ and God had really been putting that on my heart. My parents started to go to a community church and he started asking a lot of good questions about it, even that last weekend before the dress rehearsal when we went to a local church, together he was asking a lot of God questions. He asked, “People keep talking about giving their life to God but how do you do that?” Both of my parents came to the dress rehearsal. Afterward I went over to them to hug them and see what they thought and I saw that my dad was crying. I asked him why he was crying and he said he was so proud of me. Then I asked him if he prayed with me and he said yes! He cried some more and I held him. He said, “Sorry I’m such a slacker” because he was the only one left in the family who hadn’t made the decision to start a relationship with God. I told him I was so proud of him! I feel so humbled because I knew God would get a hold of my dad but I really didn’t think he would do it through me.