Casting Crowns Concert

Our social worker emailed me earlier this week and let me know of a fun opportunity to represent our agency at the Casting Crowns concert this week. Because I am a huge fan of our agency, I rearranged my schedule and made it work.

I found out that I was to be the only one at the table until intermission when Eric got off work. That made me a little nervous but years on the road at admission fairs had boosted my confidence a little.

I arrived at 5:30, in search of a man named John Michael Hall. I walked in and asked for him and he was right there. As it turns out, John Michael is 14. As it also turns out, his dad is the lead singer for Casting Crowns and his mom is the tour manager. John Michael and his sisters hit the road with his parents throughout the tour and John Michael's job is to set up the Show Hope/ America World table a help set up the World Vision tables.

John Michael showed me the ins and outs of Show Hope's materials and America World's (though I had a pretty good handle on AWAA's info packet. I have to admit it was a complete throwback to see the baby blue, shiny info packet we had mailed to us three years ago when we were researching agencies. So many of the countries have changed. So many fewer in this packet... But I guess that's just international adoption for you.

I staffed the table by myself til intermission and only got some reaction. At intermission Eric showed up. Good thing, too, because people started asking LOTS of questions. It was so fun to see people full of questions and hope and uncertainty. They asked so many of the questions we did when we started the process. John Michael came by several times to give us the thumbs up.  

After intermission we sat together in the lobby and watched the concert. That is, until, John Michael came out to thank us and give us a CD.  We were incredibly grateful. Then he popped back by and noticed we were getting really into the music, sitting on the floor of the vestibule. So he found some seats and ushered us in to the concert.

That is a 14 year old kid who has been taught hospitality and kindness to others, I tell ya!

Here's a shot from our seats. The concert was BEAUTIFUL!

After the concert we talked about adoption with couples for quite a while before I finally started to pack up the brochures. John Michael arrived and helped us pack up. Not before I convinced him to take a picture with us.

It's funny how adoption has become such an overarching facet of our lives, even before we have a referral. This is just one more example. I'm hoping Casting Crowns makes a stop on tour in a few years so we can introduce John Michael to little man. Then we'll know we've come full circle.