Monday, May 15, 2006

After a short good night's sleep, most of us arrived at Belfast Temple Corps at 9:00 AM.   There were a few that were brought to the Corps Officers' home to be transported to the corps because their billets had to go to work.   This "few" fell immediately asleep again upon their arrival at the CO's house and joined us a bit later.   We enjoyed Tea and Breakfast Scones at the Corps and then we were off.   There was some rain in the air, but this did not prevent us from playing our outdoor concert at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.   While we did not play to huge crowds on this ocassion, we met some fellow Salvationists who were touring Belfast and some folks who had, as us, just arrived from Hamilton Scotland!   We enjoyed lunch in the Kennedy Room of the Museum and were informed that this mansion that was now a museum had as we suspected belonged to the Kennedy family of former President John F. Kennedy.

After touring the museum grounds, we were off to the Parliament Building at Stormont.   Visiting the Parliament building on this particular day was special because this was the day the Northern Ireland Parliament was re-assembling after several years of inactivity because of the unrest between the factions in Northern Ireland.   We had the opportunity to learn the history of the building and also were able to sit in the chambers where the various parts of Parliament had previously met and would meet again.

After a bus tour of downtown Belfast, we arrived at the Corps for supper and then the Festival of Music.  What a joy it was to see Dorothy Gates' mother (Dorothy Weyant) at the Festival.     She looked great and seemed very happy to see us.   It was also good to renew friendships with former Camp Tecumseh Staff members and a Project 1:17 Graduate.   Add David Catherwood, Roger Trigg and Jon Cory to those we knew from their time and visits to our Territory and we had quite a homecoming.   God was certainly honored at the Festival through music that brought honor and glory to God.    Jeff Barrington and Staci Ferreira shared relevant testimonies.   Major Susan Ferreira shared from the Word.   The timbrelists were again a "hit" and the band played and sang very well.    We were honored to have Deputy Bandmaster Jonathan Cory conduct the band in our final march of the tour, "The Young Salvationist".    Following the thank-you's and presentations to our hosts (a time in which BM Major Phil Ferreira received unexpected kisses), we sang our benediction and we knew at that moment that God had blessed every aspect of our tour.      

Next, we had a midnight ferry to catch back to Scotland; a 2 hour bus ride, a bit of a wait at the airport and a flight home in which we could reflect on God's blessing and His providential care on this tour.    All glory and honor and praise to God!

Sunday, May 14, 2006

What a privilege it was to share in Sunday Worship at the Hamilton Corps!   Chip Kelly shared a vibrant testimony and it was a homecoming for Mhairi Smeaton.  In fact, it was apparently a homecoming for all of us as Mhairi's "Mum"  made sure that we all felt at home!    Mhairi shared a moving testimony that blessed and inspired all gathered.   Emilee Bennett played the euphonium solo "There Will Be God"  and our Divisional Commander, Major Stephen Banfield broke the Bread of Life in a way that was truly inspired by God.   During the prayer time following Major Banfield's message, Lindsay Waiksnoris presented a beautiful sacred dance to the accompaniment of the band playing Dorothy Gates rendition of the Phil Laeger tune to Stanley Ditmer's "I'm In His Hands".

NJYB members had the privilege of going in small groups to Hamilton Corps members homes and all reports indicate that everyone ate very well.    It was then back to the corps for the Sunday Afternoon Praise Meeting.   It was great to see Derrick Kane in the meeting (whom the NJYB got to know very well at the USA Eastern Territory's Youth Band Convocation last year).   Derrick conducted the band in "All to Jesus".   Timbrel enthusiasts were so inspired by Saturday Night's rendition of "Goldcrest" that they insisted it be played again on Sunday afternoon.   Young people loved "our rendition" of Tomado de la Mano so much that they requested  that we play it again on Sunday Afternoon - a request which the NJYB gladly honored.   This was preceded by Major Alastair Bate sharing the Scripture in a most moving way, attributing his own existence at this moment, to Scottish Salvationists  being obedient to the Lord and loving someone.

Before we knew it, it was time to eat again (the sweets are magnificant!) and then head off to catch the ferry to Northern Ireland.   Patrick expertly drove the coach onto the ferry and we enjoyed a smooth ride to Northern Ireland.   A few of us took the opportunity to call our mothers (as this was Mother's Day in the USA).   We were a bit late arriving in Belfast but our hosts greeted us and rushed us to their homes to rest.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

After a good night's sleep, we boarded the coach for the long ride to Hamilton.    Again, contrary to the weather reports, we began the day with lovely sunshine.  There was some cloudiness as the day went on, but all in all we had another nice day.   Traffic on the motorway was light and we arrived at the rest stop in Stirling in good time.    We spent just over an hour there and had time to travel to a location where we could view the Stirling Castle.   Again, our driver, Patrick, proved his expertise by manuvering our coach through some narrow roads.    Everyone took advantage of the photo opportunities with the castle and beautiful landscape in the background.   Following this, we journeyed on to St. John's Church in Hamilton to meet our host, Major David Kendall.   Again we were provided with a lovely venue for our program and were greeted by an enthusiastic audience.    The evening was very special for Phil, Susan, Mark & Kim Ferreira because of the presence of a very special friend. Isabel Steel, now a soldier at the Greenock Corps in Scotland, was the very first senior soldier enrolled by Majors Ferreira when they were the Corps Officers in Times Square over twenty years ago.   Also present was another former soldier of the Times Square Corps, Sadie Lennox, who also was known by Major Alastair Bate during his time at the New York Central Citadel Corps.   Mark Baker again showed his expertise on the Jr. Bagpipes in an effort to sell our CD's, however, later in the program we thrilled to the true music of bagpipes as a young man from Hamilton gave a brilliant performance for us.   As Jeffrey Huh would say, Mark Baker was "schooled" on the fine art of bagpiping!   We thank God that again, another fine evening of music making was enjoyed by all!
God is most certainly blessing the minstry of the NJYB on this tour!

Friday May 12, 2006

Visit to Arbroath

After breakfast at our billets or for those who stayed at the hotel, at the ‘Little Chef’, we boarded our coach for the 100 mile journey north to the City of Aberdeen. The route would take us along the coast through the cities of Perth and Dundee with a scheduled stop for lunch in the ancient city of Arbroath. We crossed the Firth of Forth, the wide estuary of the River Forth on which Edinburgh sits over the Forth River Bridge which used to be the longest bridge in the UK. The countryside was vividly green with many fields full of sheep and new lambs. Other fields were recently plowed ready for the planting season. The weather was significantly colder and the grey cloud cover threatened rain, but the spirits of everyone on the bus were high as we headed to our next destination.
By lunchtime we reached the fishing town of Arbroath and Patrick, our bus driver, maneuvered the large coach through the narrow streets to arrive at the storefront Corps in this small town. We were graciously greeted by the Corps leaders and folk who were helping prepare for the lunch time seniors program. The plan was for us to spend some time with the senior citizens and present an item or two as part of the program. We were also greeted by the Provost of Angus, the head of the local county, the importance of his office represented by the heavy decorative gold chain he wore around his neck. We were informed that the chain was made in the early 1900’s. Before lunch and our short program we were invited to visit a couple of local sites which would be of interest. We set off on foot behind a local leader and headed to Arbroath Abbey. The Abbey was founded exclusively for monks in 1178 by King William the Lion although it took 40 years to build. The King was buried in the Abbey near the time construction was concluded. As the band stood in these ancient walls (the roof and pillars had long gone) the very informed curator spoke to us of some of the history of this amazing place. The Abbey famous for being the site of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, a letter that was sent to Pope John XXII declaring that Scotland no longer wanted to be subject to King Edward II of England but rather to their elected King of Scotland, Robert the Bruce. It was Scotland’s “Declaration of Independence”. The youth band explored the ruins, many climbing the narrow spiral stairs to the precarious viewpoint from the transept, a place where fires used to be set to guide ships into the harbor. Eventually we all ended up in the sacristy, a small but high-ceilinged room, the most well preserved part of the Abbey. All of us enjoyed the acoustics, with an incredible reverberation time of seven seconds. I think we all wondered what it would sound like if we sang – and so we did! – A Claire Benediction. The significance of this moment struck us all. May the Lord show his mercy upon you, may the light of His presence be your guide. May he guard you and uphold you; may His Spirit be ever by your side. As we sang these words, we knew we were in a holy place where monks in centuries gone by had dedicated their lives to the Lord’s service. Major Banfield prayed. As we walked back to the entrance I heard the curator ask for a copy of the video someone had taken of us singing. He was moved and wanted to place the audio on the Abbey’s website.
Our walking tour was not over. A real treat for us was to walk down a narrow but busy road and be shown the birth place of George Scott Railton, the Army’s first commissioner and the man who led the Hallelujah Lassies as they brought the Army to the U.S.A. in 1880. His father, Lancelot Railton, was the minister of the small Methodist church next door, a church designed and built by John Wesley himself. The challenge for the band was to cross this busy road and stand on a narrow sidewalk for this great photo opportunity. Eventually Mark Ferreira stopped the traffic so the opportunity wouldn’t be missed!
Lunch was waiting for us back at the Corps, platters of neat little sandwiches, chips, and pitchers of the best coffee yet to be tasted in Scotland! Following a short program by an ensemble from the band and a vocal item we said our farewells and boarded the bus for the remaining hour’s journey to Aberdeen.
Aberdeen is a port city on the mouth of the River Dee. For centuries it was a major fishing port but in recent decades the North Sea oil industry has affected the port and many of the old fish docks are owned by the oil companies. We were welcomed at the edge of the city by a lovely lady who guided our bus driver to a bluff overlooking the entrance to the port near a large lighthouse that was built by Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather. The cold wind blowing off the North Sea cut through our jackets but it didn’t seem to faze the hardy Scot, Margaret, our guide. She shared some interesting facts about this city before we again boarded the bus for the short trip to the Torry Corps where supper was to be served. The main Corps in Aberdeen, an imposing castle-like building complete with turret, is currently being renovated and the congregation meets in this little Corps on the outskirts of the city. Our evening program was to be held in a local church to accommodate the crowd but it was good for us to see this beautiful little Corps Hall. We were warmly welcomed by local leaders and invited to sit at the beautifully decorated table, complete with fresh flowers and even a menu! The meal of roast turkey, crisp roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and vegetables was superb, and thoroughly enjoyed by a hungry band!
The evening program in the Gilcomston Presbyterian Church went well. Brandon shared his testimony, here in the birth city of his father which made it particularly significant. Lindsay also shared a challenging testimony and all of the soloists played excellently. Mark again displayed his skills on the bagpipes and yet we still were able to sell some 30 CDs of the band despite his performance! Closing again with A Claire Benediction the people of Aberdeen were blessed by the ministry of the band, and showed their appreciation.       Major Alastair Bate


May 11, 2006

How beautiful the weather has been.  After a good night's sleep, we headed back into Edinburgh for sight-seeing and shopping.   What a lovely city!   Almost as soon as we arrived in the city, several NJYB members took immediate advantage of an opportunity to have their photo taken with a genuine Scottish Piper.  Others went back to the Royal Mile and headed for Edinburgh Castle for a tour and still others took advantage of an opportunity to climb to the city's historic towers.   After a few hours of this, it was time to time to get down to the business of being on tour!  We headed to the Edinburgh Gorgie Corps to set up for our festival.   After setting up, we did a quick sound check and were then treated to a Chinese Buffet for supper.  As if this were not enough, it was 'make your own sundae' for dessert!    We then met up with the members of the East Scotland Divisional Youth Chorus and rehearsed the item that we would be singing with them.  The Gorgie Corps Hall was filled to capacity as the NJYB entered to the beat of the drums and commenced the festival by playing the famous Scottish tune, 'Highland Cathedral'.   This was warmly received by all and we were off to a great start for our first Music Festival of our tour.   The band and timbrels played well, we thrilled to the singing of the East Scotland Youth Chorus.   We were blessed by an inspiring and challenging testimony by Christine Scheibner.  Emilee Bennet drew thunderous applause as she displayed her technical expertise on the euphonium.  Lindsay Waiksnoris danced beautifully to 'I'm In His Hands' and Major Susan Ferreira shared from God's Word.  The band played James Curnow's 'Jubilation' and then it was time for the intermission - but not until after Mark Baker displayed his talent on the Junior Bag Pipes he had purchased the day before in an effort to promote our CD, 'Generations'.    The second half of the program featured our soon to become famous rendition of 'Tomado de la Mano' , our very enthusiastically received timbrelists and Jeff Barrington's technical expertise on the cornet.  Mark Ferreira shared a word of witness and Mark Baker blessed us with James Curnow's solo, 'the Depths of His Love'.   Another song from the East Scotland Youth Chorus, the NJYB joining with the Youth Chorus on 'Lift Up A Shout' and our concluding item, 'Endless Praise'.   After very warm applause and a lovely presentation by East Scotland's Divisional Commander, the band played 'Star Lake 70' and we concluded with 'A Claire Benedicition'.    Certainly, God was honored and with a sigh of relief, we were through our first festival!


May 10, 2006

Arriving in Scotland only one half hour after our scheduled time, we got through customs with no difficulty.  We were greeted by Major Barbara Kendall and Salvationist's from the Hamilton Corps.   Mhairi's mother was among them and she had packed lunches for us.   We immediately loved her!    We headed to a beautifuly scenic and historical village called "New Larnark".    Everyone had an opportunity to shop in a truly Scottish gift shop and walk the beautiful grounds.  When we left New Larnark, we went through the "Burgh of Larnark" which was the home of William Wallace of "Braveheart" fame.   After this, we headed to our hotel for much needed showers and naps!    At  9:00 PM, we headed off to downtown Edinburgh for a "Murder and Mystery" Tour.  To say the least, this was an interesting tour through some of dark areas and history of Edinburgh.  Our host was gracious but the acting wasn't all that good.  However, a good time was had by all.


May 9, 2006

Everyone got to DHQ in good time and the bus showed up again. Family and friends were there to see us off and our DYS, Captain Marcus Jugenheimer sent us off with an encouraging prayer.   We got checked into the airport with only a little hassle  - no extra fees for heavy equipment.   We boarded the plane and were only delayed by about an hour before before taking off.    A relatively smooth but crowded flight and now we are in SCOTLAND!!!


May 9, 2006           Good morning everyone.  Today is the day that we leave for Scotland.  We had our rehearsal last night and everyone seems to be ready for this tour.  We know that God is going to bless us because so many are praying for us and we are prayed up too.   Just about all the details are taken care of, yet at about 5:30 this morning, I could not sleep as I was going over everything in my mind.  I figured the best thing would be to just head to the office, get a start on my last minute errands and take an opportunity to once again make sure that all the details racing through my mind were in order.    As I pulled into the New Jersey Divisional Headquarters parking lot at 7:00 AM, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a big bus waiting to transport people.    I thought it would be in my best interest to speak to the driver to find out what he was doing there....and yes, there he was 12 hours early waiting to take the New Jersey Youth Band to the airport!!!   I explained to the driver that we were leaving at 7:00 PM and wrote a note on his itinerary form indicating such and now....I hope that we have a bus here this evening to get us to the airport!    Perhaps a telephone call is in order.     I will call the The Salvation Army Newark Ironbound Boys & Girls Club (who have graciously made our transportation arrangements to and from the Airport) to let them know of my encounter with the bus this morning, and they can make certain that the bus shows up this evening for us.    We hope to put daily updates on our website and include some photos of our activities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.  Do pray for us...that there are no complications at the airport, that we travel safely and that God bless our ministry.  Major Phil Ferreira