Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Back from Baltimore!

Byron and I just returned from a World Music Drumming workshop in Baltimore, Maryland. It was awesome! We learned so much, and I am so excited about taking it back to Franklin! We met a lot of really neat people--some teach in Maryland, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, and even Japan! Meeting them and getting to study the music of Ghana, West Africa, as well as Latin America, and the Caribbean made us realize how big the world is, but also how small. The differences remind us of how great and awesome and infinite God is, and the similarities remind us that we have "One Lord, and one Faith...."

Besides drumming like crazy, we also got to hang out in Baltimore. Baltimore is neat--it's like a southern city in the "north," though I guess they wouldn't consider themselves Yankees or anything. I love all the small, ecclectic restaurants (we visited Paper Moon for dinner and again for dessert, Arco's for Mexican and the best tortilla chips ever, the James Joyce where we and David's friends won trivia night!, John Steven, Ltd. for some amazing crab cakes, Pei Wei, and Camden Yards for some $1 hot dogs and a great game), the culture, and the beautiful harbor! It's Byron's new favorite city. And there is so much history there, which we both love (Federal Hill and Fort McHenry, for example).

Even though we were taking the workshop as a class, we treated it as a mini-vacation. It was fun just hanging out again with my husband and going on dates! We don't get to do that very often in BG...it seems like there's always something (i.e. laundry, grass to be mowed) to be done. I think that's why we love to travel so much. Not only do you get to see new things, but you also get to enjoy what is constant!

The trip also allowed us to stay with my Aunt Susanne in Lexington on our way up there and back! We had a great time there, also! And we ate good! Byron has been spoiled this week in that department.....hopefully he'll still eat the things I can make! We also got to go to my Aunt's church with our friends Maryann and Bryan! She goes to Southland Christian, and it is always wonderful to worship there. If you're ever in Lexington, GO! The message was on the first chapter of James--"Just Duet"--check it out on their website.

On another note, Byron has a job interview on Wednesday--we would really appreciate your prayers. We believe that we're starting to see part of the plan God has for our lives, and are very excited about the possibilities! God has been so incredibly faithful to us, even though we seem to lack in that area. We are so thankful and give Him all the praise for what He has done and what He is doing in our lives!

1 comment:

Jennie said...

Glad you're back and that you had a great time! I've never been to Baltimore, but we are going to go to a wedding there in October. We'll have to check out some of those restaurant you mentioned. Hope to see you soon!