Well, it sure is nice to be home after the long trip this weekend, but the beach was wonderful! We arrived before lunch on Friday in Ocean City, NJ. It rained part of the way down, so we weren’t sure if we would actually be able to enjoy a sunny day on the beach, but it cleared up as we set up the system in a sweet new youth center at the New Jersey Tabernacle.
What a great space! After eating a delicious lunch, we headed to the beach for a few hours. In spite of the freezing water, we body surfed for a while and then crashed on the beach. Erin and Sarah built a nice little sand cottage while Melissa and the boys slept.
In spite of taking plenty of sunscreen, Jon and Tim ended up with some pretty bad burns… 
But it was still wonderful! We ate a quick dinner at a Greek diner before running back to change for our concert. We had no idea how many people would show, but we had quick a crowd and an exciting concert. Visiting was great and then we headed off to the boardwalk for a nice of cotton candy, caramel corn, and deep-fried oreos! (which were quite delicious!) we walked the whole stretch of the boardwalk and then enjoyed the cool sand on the walk back before crashing on the huge bean bags upstairs and calling it an early evening!
Breakfast the next morning was delicious! We sang for some VIPS at the tabernacle and then enjoyed a few more hours on the beach before packing up and setting off for Erin’s hometown. Somehow God really blessed us with great weather, because it started raining again on our way!
After some yummy picnic food and setting up our system again, we all went our separate ways to our host family’s houses and enjoyed a relaxing evening there! Although I must admit, it was quite strange being separated for the evening! Our reunion this morning was nice with our concert at Erin’s church and a picnic after that as well. The sun finally came out right before we left and we enjoyed a sunny, almost 4 hour drive back for our Harrisburg concert this evening. Meeting up with old friends as well as new was great as we sang in the outdoor pavilion and watched a gorgeous sunset on our ride home.
Now we can settle in and enjoy a day off!
By the way, I’ve finally figured out how to upload photos (as you can see!) so check out our group photos page for some more! We’ll upload them as we get a chance! Thanks for all of your support and prayers!
Melissa
