Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Team 1422 departs!

The members of Team 1422 have checked in safely and are on their way to the Philippines! Check back soon for updates on their trip!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Countdown to tropical paradise....

Early Tuesday morning (tomorrow) we will be leaving for the Philippines! Please keep our travel plans in your prayers as we are looking at 40+ hours of travel. We have to make a bunch of connections, clear customs, have all our equipment meet us, and figure out what day/time it is when we get there in less than a day before our engagements start. Sooooo, that'll be a blast! (in all seriousness we are looking forward to all of this). We've heard stories about the food (it's very important in Philippine culture), weather (hello current typhoon), and snorkeling (amazing), and are now ready to get there and try it for ourselves. Hopefully this blog will be updated once a week, but if you do not hear from us for a few weeks, fear not (keep praying, but fear not) we shall return. We're back in the US around the 23rd of October (I'm a little fuzzy on the date as time zones change quite a bit). Our time in country will be spent on three islands working with a radio station, some established worship teams (kind of a cross cultural worship exchange), and hopefully some outreach concerts. 

To sum up:
Leaving for the Philippines first thing in the morning.
Back later in October
Pray for travel, people we meet, EQUIPMENT, etc.

We'll be having fun!
Peace and grace to you all,
Ed

Monday, September 22, 2008

Hey all! Just wanted to send out a quick shout to all the fine folks who put us up and put up with us on this tour, you all have been great! We have amassed memories which will be spoken of in reverent (and not so reverent) tones for years to come. A bat, throwing knives and home theaters come immediatly to mind.
We also would like to thank all who have been praying for us and supporting us in many ways for this last month of training. It has been grueling at times, but ultimately rewarding. God is so big, and His people are so varied, and we all feel like a part of something so much bigger than ourselves, and that is amazing.
Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for our next adventure: the Phillipines! Pray for flexability and humility for us as we learn about this new culture, and for sensitivity to the spirit to discern how best to reach our fellow humans.
May you all be blessed by that which shall never lose its palor- the Life of Christ.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Vision of 1422

So we have discussed as a team where we want to be focused this next year. No one decisive concrete answer came from that discussion. However, a basic idea seems to be agreed upon. As a team we want to see people (and thus be able to treat them) as Jesus does(would). The song is "give me Your eyes" and it's included in many concerts for that reason; we want to see people through His eyes. You'll notice a lot of pictures unconnected with our recent travels, I pulled pictures and videos from our pasts (see if you can identify people/places/yourself in any) to show the people and places we have been (and potential opportunities lost/gained). I put more thought than usual into this video, it started as a joke music video idea that snowballed into something serious. Enjoy.

Almost Home

This morning 1422 is in Cushing, MN (pop 65 according to the sign) to play at Lincoln E-Free church. Carl will be preaching and we will be performing for the last time before we arrive in the Philippines. We are all looking forward to being back at "home" and have many stories from the road. 
Some interesting notes from the last few days:
*I might have jury duty soon (weeee)
*Most host homes have pets of some kind (usually at least a cat and then a second). We love animals.
*I didn't eat this well down at school. 
Peace and grace,
It's service time,
Ed

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Friday, September 12, 2008

Ribs.

Team leaders... CHEAP!!

Sheboygen Christian HS

Aaron Edwards, CTI summer alum (Singapore '08) shared with his fellow students about his experience.

Oostberg Christian School

First chapel service on this "double header" Friday. This was our time with the awesome middle schoolers! We're headed to the high school this afternoon.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Giddy Gretchen rocks a sheep...

CTI 1422 Episode 2

And we are finally on the road!!! Enjoy this video explaining why it is so good to get away from Willmar (although we will certainly be very happy to get back!).

Peace and grace to you all,
Ed

The tough boys loading out...

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Celebrating with the awesome family at Ascension Lutheran in Fond du Lac!

Hellllooo Wisconsin

The band has now moved into the great state of Wisconsin (after a nice long 10 hour drive). Tonight we will play at Ascension Lutheran in Fond Du Lac. The new sanctuary wing is quite nice and we look forward to playing this concert. A brief view of our driving:
1) Person driving (Eric and Sara yesterday) staring blankly at the road ahead.

2) Everyone else falling asleep or vegging out watching the office/ipod..
3) Occasionally viewing the beautiful creation God has provided us.
Another video will be released shortly...

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Van life...

Yesterday we spent the day at Oak Hills college, and we want to sincerely thank the students and faculty there for being such gracious hosts.

Today we are driving to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin - about 9 hours. Night night, Nate and Carl!

Breakfast with the Caracios!

Thanks, Tom & Dawn, for a great breakfast before we headed to Bemidji!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Christening "The Cave" in Osage!

Departing for tour!

Byebye Willmar - see you in a few weeks!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Team Time!

Previously in the life of team 14:22...we had just met, learned some music together, and had our first concert (that was in a nut-shell of course).
Since then we have been having a lot of fun together. One of my personal favorite team times was our adventure at Carrie's host home...
We found a new friend...
cooked (and consumed) some delicious food...

watched the first season of The Office, and had a bed-time story by Carrie ;-)

Until next time!

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

End of training for the day

1422 finishes another day of musical rehearsal. They are pictured here with their beloved van.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Monday, September 01, 2008

Almost On Tour

We have now in our third week of training. During this time we learned 15 songs (which we are still working on), ate numerous meals together, and generally enjoyed ourselves here in Willmar, MN. Our days "officially" started around 8:30 am with morning devotionals, and then between rehearsals, seminars, food, and having fun, we regularly got "home" by 9 pm. Weekends we had off to relax and have (much needed) fun. This Saturday we hit the road for our first tour. To follow our progress on the road, we will be updating this blog a few times a week, and your comments are appreciated. And another introduction to the team is our first video of the year (many more to come)...


Meet the Team


The band (as seen from left to right):
Eric Mok: Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
Sara Hoagland: Bass and Vocals
Nate Myrick: Acoustic & Electric Guitar and Vocals
Carl Dernell: Drums and Vocals
Gretchen Ehret: Keyboard and Vocals
Ed Baumann: Sound Tech and Frisbee Player
Carrie VanderHorst: Keyboard and Vocals

We look forward to keeping you in touch with our travels and ministry. 
Peace and grace to you all,
Ed