Day 4

In the morning we got up, took a few showers and drove to the church. We skipped breakfast again, eating only a few snacks on the way.

Dad preached a message that morning to the Teen Challenge group that had had come to the church that morning. After that the Rowe's took us on a tour of the various houses and dorms. It was really fun and on the way we stopped and got coffee and smoothies. We also checked out the Teen Challenge thrift store before going back to the hotel to rest for the evening.

Hours went by. We went swimming, I got another shower and we relaxed. We left once again when it was time for a pre-Independence Day show that was held by the Bethel Church at a huge amphitheatre. Hundreds and hundreds--maybe even thousands--of people crowded into the bleachers while we waited for one hour until the show would started. In the meantime, Mrs. Dana gave us ten dollars to buy snacks with, so we quickly bought some popcorn.

Finally, it started. An orchestra played several songs, some of which I was familiar with. At one point, they played Old McDonald. But we had a part in it, too! Certain groups of seats were assigned with animals to help with by yelling out the lines. We were assigned with pigs. I noticed that no one really got loud until we started. I'm pretty sure all of us were yelling as loud as we could and I think we were all the loudest.

When it got dark, they turned on fire flares and lasers as people danced on the stage and music played. The show as a whole was pretty good, and I had a hard time believing it was done by a church.

It went on late into the night. When it ended it was very dark and we all went back to the hotel, still amazed by the great show.