Max, Thomas, Greg, Leah, Martin, and Peter
Last weekend, God gave Greg and me the opportunity to welcome four young men from Germany into our home. They were part of the 60 member German Madrigalchor that came to Young Harris College on tour. Our friend, Emily, who is Bree’s roommate at YHC, played a big part in making housing arrangements for the Germans. She assigned Martin, Max, Peter, and Thomas to us. What a delight they were!
Before they arrived, my prayer was that Greg and I, and our home, would be a blessing to these young men. As it turned out, they blessed us in a myriad of ways. When they arrived on Thursday evening, I had a simple supper planned for them. As we sat around the table, they learned that Greg had celebrated his birthday the day before. So, what did they do? They sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him! What a treat! (If you receive my posts via email, you might not be able to see the videos in this post. Please click on the title of the post above, and you will be directed to my website where you can click on the videos and watch them.)
After dinner, they gave us a mini-concert. Here is just one of the songs they sang. What is amazing is that all four of these guys sing bass, yet their range is unbelievable.
Over the course of the weekend, we didn’t have much time with them, because their days were filled with activities at YHC. On Friday evening, we attended a concert at YHC in which the German choir sang, then the YHC choir sang, then both choirs sang together. We sat and soaked it all in. Obviously the majority of the Madrigalchor’s pieces were in German, but it didn’t matter. I was transfixed by their harmony, and the richness of the voices. There were no musical instruments involved…only amazing, God-blessed voices. It was a magical evening.
Saturday morning was the morning that we planned to introduce them to a true Southern breakfast. Greg and I made eggs, grits, gravy, biscuits, sausage, and bacon. It was all new to them….and they liked it. In fact, they were so taken with the breakfast that they declared they might form a new band, and call it ‘Grits and Gravy’!!!!
The guys were quite amazed, and amused, at all the deadheads in our home. More than one picture of some of Greg’s mounts showed up on their Facebook pages. They loved the rural setting of our home, and took lots of outside pictures. In addition, they were quite curious about Greg’s ammunition, telling us that they had never seen ammunition. We said, “Welcome to the South, where God and guns reign supreme!”
Sunday morning came all too quickly, and it was time for them to depart for New York. They blessed us with several gifts from Germany, including a stash of German chocolate, a beer stein, German beer, and a Bavarian cookbook. A little piece of our hearts went with them. They were such wonderful young men, and we feel so blessed to have had our lives intersect with theirs. We told them that they would always have a place here when they visit the US.
As Greg drove away with them, I asked the Lord if we blessed them well. I believe I heard, in my heart, ‘YES, you did.’
