Day 1: “You can eat dinner after you learn how to spell B-E-M-I-D-J-I.”

Greetings from Bemidji, home of the best college in the State of Minnesota! Go Beavers!

Okay – so I have to confess something right from the get-go: today went far too smoothly. Aaron and I are quite nervous because of how prepared and easy things are going. So far, nobody has forgotten anything (major). So far, we haven’t forgotten anybody, and if you are reading this, it means you haven’t forgotten about us.

Thank you to everyone for all the help getting us out the door this morning. We had plenty of time and left right on schedule. We took care of some housekeeping items and got into “Code Green” pretty quickly. Boys love their free time, go figure. Just south of St. Cloud, we stopped at the Rest Area and had lunch. Thomas Stewart caught-up with us and joined the tour. He was busy this morning, earning 2nd place in the nation in a competition. No big deal – he’s just a rock star like that.

The boys went down for a good rest period after lunch and that brought us right into Bemidji, for the most part. (We did have to make an “emergency” bathroom break for three young men that just couldn’t make it the full trip. They made it – everything worked out okay….)

The church was very welcoming and prepared for us. After completing some of our jobs, we had a very nice dinner and then warmed-up for the concert. The crowd was a nice one and they appreciated the boys very much. After a good clean-up, the boys were whisked-away to the spoilage of their host homes.

I almost feel like apologizing about this blog post. Nobody threw-up, lost one of their shoes, kept left-over Calamari in their cargo shorts, spilled hot-sauce all over – nothing. It was a delightfully routine and great day – just somewhat void of remarkable stories. I assure you, it is better to have no stories compared to lots of stories.

P.J.