This entire tour has been surreal and nothing really set in until last night actually. When I got on the plane departing LA it felt like a dream, when we landed in DC it felt like a dream.
Every inch of this trip has been a new experience. We arrived at the airport on time with 102 men and all of us wide eyed and ready to go. When we got past security everyone broke off to go exploring and get food. At 1:45 before boarding I met our co-pilot and asked if I could check out the cockpit, she agreed to give me a tour when we got on the plane. A few moments later around 2:00 everyone trickled in to our terminal. When we all met up Harold opened us up in song! A crowd gathered around us and everyone had their phones and cameras out snapping pictures and recording video. A few minutes later we were all called to board and hurried on the plane. However, it didn't hit me that we were leaving until what happened next.
When we approached the ramp everyone stormed down it! I went to my seat and put away my baggage and then approached the cockpit to speak with the pilot. It was so cool, both the co-pilot and pilot were extremely nice and very very charismatic. We talked about the tour and the choir, both seemed more interested in that then talking about their own careers - which is what I wanted to hear more of. However, I did get a quick run through of start up procedures and the instruments I learned about in ground school a few years ago. It gets better though, before heading back to my seat I made such a good impression on the both of them, that they suggested I hop on the intercom. He handed me the mic and I made an announcement; "Hello everyone my name is Tyler Fischella, and I will be your upgraded pilot! We will be departing shortly and the weather is expected to be good in DC, thank you for flying American Airlines, again we will be departing in 15 minutes". Both the pilots looked and me and laughed, I was flush red and I laughed too. We said goodbye and then began take off procedures.
The plane departed and we were off. The ride was expected to be about a 5 hour flight but it only felt like 2-3. I wasn't really able to sleep very much because the ride was just so personally enjoyable - I love airplanes! Yet everyone in the back was completely knocked out, even the thunder stormed we started to pass didn't wake them up. They were pretty cool, there were lighting flashes all around us, it was like being in an Indiana Jones movie or something. The best part was our decent, because during the final stages of landing preparation we broke out into song. Then upon touching down everyone began to feel the time difference, we were all wide awake because in DC it was about 4 hours ahead of California. When exiting into the terminal everything was closed. We moved through to baggage pickup and waited there for about 30minutes before getting on the bus. This is where the adventure truly began.
It didn't really dawn on me that I was in DC, until we headed out the next morning. Our bus driver gave us a great tour of the city before we left for our first concert. The first place we ended up passing was the pentagon, it was huge! Then we went through the heart of the city, passing every major district building and government facility that the city held. But it was only the beginning. We were finally let off at the Martin Luther King Memorial, from there we walked to the World War I memorial, then the World War II memorial, then the Vietnam Memorial. I had such a reverence for these places. From their we continued on and performed at the Lincoln memorial.
When we finished up at the Lincoln memorial we were let free to wander around the city. Me and a group of friends decided to visit some other places as well. From the Lincoln memorial we stopped by the White House and Washington Memorial. It was pretty incredible covering all that ground. Eventually our venture landed us at the capital to take a few photos before heading back to our meeting point. What I didn't realize at the time was these quests were only the tip on our iceberg. The next day Harold had planned for us to sing a few other places in the afternoon. Supposed to take place before our rehearsal dinner, they canceled due to them actually expecting us to sing more towards the evening. In turn once again we were let free to explore the city. It landed us at a few museums and other popular tourists stops.
It was all like basking in heaven, a city filled with history and beautiful architecture, giant marble and granite structures and pillars was just so much to take in! That night we all met up at the Jw Marriott Hotel in downtown DC. There we had a rehearsal dinner and reception concert for the National Day of Prayer - which was to take place the next morning. Everything in the concert went well, we sounded good, and we were even able to get some free food afterwards before being dropped off for dinner. I believe it definitely gave us a little boost of confidence before the big show. The next morning we performed for the National Day of Prayer in the Cannon Building. It went fabulously! This will blow your mind as much as it did all of ours. We performed so well that our director got a email later stating "the bar has been raised, finding a choir for next year which can match your talent will be a hard and maybe even impossible, God bless! You did fabulously!". I don't remember it verbatim but it was something like that.
Things continued being sureal, before departing for our hotel a state representative asked us if we had seen the capital, "Wow you guys just did wonderful, I am so happy; hey, by the way have any of you been given a proper tour of the capital?". What ended up happening is we got a private tour of the United States Capital - private and in full. I could take multiple paragraphs to explain the amazement I experienced but ill try to sum it up. After arriving at the capital a two person escort brought us to the front door and all of us went through security. From there we met our representative from the National day of Prayer, then he introduced himself and gave us the rules. He also shared a little bit about his career. Surprisingly he majored in art history. After the briefing we were guided to the House Of Representatives, the room of congress. We were all told to leave our cell phones and cameras (because we weren't supposed to be in there), and then we sat in the chairs on the main floor where congress is put into session, where congressman sit!
All of us were in awe, we were given a long debriefing of the history behind the room, and what goes on on a daily basis and even in emergencies. He then explained the stones on the walls (there were stones, with faces of the greatest law makers known to man through out history. All of them were side profiles, except for one which was at the center of the room. All the other lawmakers faced this face, and this face looked towards the chairman - Moses). Our next stop was the old congress room where congress was held in the very beginning of America. From there we entered the Capitals dome (rotunda). It was HUGE! Now, the rotunda is off limits to singing especially religious songs, in fact you have to keep your voice lowered when inside it. However, when we entered the rotunda, after a briefing of all the history the congressman ordered the guard following us and some of his own personal staff to leave and keep watch outside the two exits.
What came next blew all of our minds. He asked Harold to break us into song!!!! Immediately there was cheering and the entire dome lit up with our voices, the acoustics were just, divine! Harold asked the representative to stand in the center of the room and his wife, we circled up around him and began with Ukrainian Hallelujah. Towards the middle of the song half of us were spread out around the dome facing its center, kneeling, some weeping in praise. I was doing both. The sound, it was... unexplainable. There was a mural on the ceiling of the dome. After the song was over the congressman wife was weeping, and the escorts still around the exits came back inside with awe. They looked dumbfounded, confused, faces blank like white printing paper. From Ukrainian hallelujah we moved onto pentatonic hallelujah, and then holy holy holy. When we began holy holy holy I swear on my life, when I was kneeling, and looking up, that mural turned from being 2D to looking 3D as if someone put 3D glasses on my face.The angels were moving, it was like the gates of heaven opened up and God was looking down at all of us.
When we left the rotunda there was a sense of reverence among every single soul with us. It was amazing to see a congressman who was so proud of his faith, to break the law. I mean, it was 1am by the time when we started singing, but still. He was approached by another man (probably a manager or representative staying late) and that man looked mad, but to our surprise our representative stood his ground. We left the room and moved to the Senate room, but because time was running out we didn't get much a history lesson. After the senate we moved to the capital balcony (totally off limits to tourists). We stood at the balcony and saw the most beautiful view of Washington DC. We snapped pictures and took video. I was proud of our capital, founded on God, protected by God, still... thankfully, guided by God. After each of us exited the balcony we were show the prayer chapel still alive and used inside the capital (also off limits to tourists). It was small, only the side of a small bedroom, each of us went in a line, some said prayers, others just looked at the bibles sitting open at the alter.
The chapel was the end of our tour, it was 2am and Harold needed us rested for our performance the next day. We were scheduled to sing at a devotional for the senate put on by Reverend Black. The next day when we showed up, the building we entered for the devotional was huge - senate offices. We were shown a large conference room, a substitute for the senate floor I think. After singing for those who showed up we all sat down. Everyone was handed a worksheet. Some of us took out our bibles, some took out our journals, some of us took out little scratches of paper. It was a pretty cool event. The devotional was good, the message was good, and the preaching was good. When leaving Harold once again broke us into song illegally lol! It was great, all of us circled up in the main lobby, which was a giant space in the center of the building. There were offices over looking the lobby on every floor, people saw us and stood up. After we finished two songs some people clapped, others just sat down, but everyone overall looked pleased.
It was amazing what we did those past three days. We started out on the east side of the capital singing in the Cannon building (congressional offices), then inside the Capital at the rotunda, then in the senate offices on the west side of the Capital. Harold said "It was as if God laid down a giant wall through the capital, from left to right straight on through!" He is right! A wall of Men's voices guided by God, and proud to proclaim their faith, proud to be Americans, and happy to have our country guarded by the God of this universe. We smashed evil and we smashed it good! I believe things will turn around in this country, I believe people have been moved, and evil has been stalled again. Its going to have to find a new way to screw with us all now, the capital is off limits.
After the devotional we all departed Washington on buses. It was a five hour drive to New York City. Yet, it didn't really feel that long. It felt more like 2 hours. Some of us spent the journey catching up on sleep. Others were chatting, and then the rest watched two movies which burned most of the time. When we arrived in the city I was just overwhelmed. Getting to our hotel was... interesting. Traffic was horrific, there were taxi cabs everywhere, people were crossing the street at all opportunities - even if it involved the chance of causing an accident. But the streets were filled with signs and wonders, and individuals from different backgrounds, different incom levels, it was pretty impressive. When we got to our hotel cars were honking at our bus, and everyone scrambled to unload the luggage. We checked in and then it took about 20 minutes to get all of us to our rooms. After unloading everyone we all then met up in the lobby and inherited the rules from Harold - 1. No drinker 2. No smoking 3. Everyone travel in pairs of two, 4. Don't die! We didn't have a curfew and were let loose into the city, life was great!
I however, had a paper to finish and turn in before midnight. It wasn't too bad though. I just needed to revise a few things, add in some more details, read over it, make an outline, and cite everything. I finished up around 11:34. By that time, everyone who ran out to time square, was sprawled all over the city. I decided to meet a few guys at a local diner called "Stardust Diner" - it ended up turning into an adventure. I stepped outside the hotel and went just one block down the street then realized I would have to travel nine blocks in order to reach the diner. I went a second block and asked a few random people on the street if they could confirm its location. By the time I finished interviewing the second person for directions a fight broke out just about 20 feet in front of me, at that point I quickly hailed a cab. It was the first time hailing a cab or traveling in NYC alone. It was exciting but then also anxiety creating. I ended up at my destination and paid the cab driver $8.75 for the small trip, met up with the guys and headed off.
We walked off into time square and then stopped by the NBC building where they film SNL. When we exited on the other side, outside was a huge line of people waiting to grab tickets. Our little group got into conversation, one thing lead to another and we were asked to sing. From there we passed an area used for ice skating in the winter. Across from it was another building, where The Office is filmed. After going down 7th street we decided to back track and visit union station. It was huge, like walking into a earth within a earth. Most of the shops inside were closed including the apple store built there this last year. However, trains were still running and we did manage to take a fast look at the ancient boarding rails, it wasn't exciting for the others as much as it was for me lol. After leaving the station we all headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
The next day we all woke up, grabbed breakfast at star bucks and got ready to perform. We were scheduled to perform for church that served the homeless. When we got on the bus Harold got a phone call and it was canceled. So instead, all of us changed and took a tour on the bus of the entire city. After going around central park we were dropped off at the financial district near 9/11. We went up and down wall street, grabbed food, listened to live music, and saw street performers. There were also hundreds of small booths set up selling merchandise.
Harold also took us by the Stock Exchange building. To my surprise it was all fenced off, and heavily guarded. Even the buildings around it had heavy security. Then after walking around for almost four hours we all met up, and prepared for our next destination - the 9/11 memorial.
The 9/11 memorial was absolutely amazing. When we arrived all of us were lined up, the towers overheard, and the first thing I saw was a very long multi-layered security process. All of us went through it. After security came a long pathway with cameras every 5-10 feet. Awhile walking towards the main memorial we passed ground zero, where a ton of construction and debris still remained. I was just in awe, I re-imagined the entire event take place in front of me as we continued walking. Finally after going about three blocks we arrived. The pathway opened up into a giant tree, grass, and concrete filled plaza. Freedom tower was directly in front of us, and to the right was a huge huge huge fountain/waterfall. There were actually two of them, each built into the original foundation of the old towers. The sound they created drained everything else out.
We stayed at the memorial for about two hours. All of us were let loose and walked around the large structures in the plaza, parking lots, office buildings, security posts and guest centers. Before leaving Harold rounded us all up in the center of the plaza and we broke into song with the national Anthem and God Bless America. After just two measures a large crowd began to form in front of us. People immediately took out their phones and cameras. Our camera guy also recorded the event, and I took out my iPhone. We ended with out favorite song - Holy Holy Holy. By the end of that, we were surrounded by about 200-300 people in applause! The most surprising part to me was; no security approached us, no park staff, nothing. In fact those standing near by were also in applause. It was nice to see people still proud to be American.
The next day we headed out to two churches down in Harlem, they were both very old. It was the last thing we did in NYC, from there we ventured off to Michigan. That drive was about 13 hours, and when we arrived it was about 9pm. Our host families were politely waiting with their cars. Everyone unloaded their luggage, greeted the host families and then was paired. I was paired with five other great guys and then was off. We arrived at our host families home shortly after and for dinner we had sandwiches with the most amazing pickles I have ever tasted. Their homes backyard view was beautiful, quiet, and had a giant field spread out about 40 acres out. Every morning we got the privilege to eat breakfast and hang out in the kitchen overseeing God's beautiful creation. Most of our time spent in Michigan was touring churches. Although we did meet up and sing at a few other places, including a beautiful home were we all met our host families. Before leaving Michigan we also stopped by a high school and sang for their chapel. It was actually a weird experience, I hadn't stepped in a high school since I was in high school, it took me back a few years and really made me realize how much time had passed.
We also visited a college too, Calvin college. It was very similar to APU. The auditorium we performed in was beautiful, it had hundreds of small lights suspended from the ceiling at different lengths. When the lights were turned on it looked like stars. We also stopped in a small city called Holland - where we sang for a parade. But the best part of Michigan was the movie theater. Harold bought everyone tickets to see the movie Avengers! All one hundred of us crammed into the theater and watch the movie, the applause's were epic, the laughter was epic, every reaction we had towards that movie, in that room was pretty epic. I think my favorite memory in Michigan was at our host families home. One of the guys who I stayed with had never seen star wars, the other three including myself couldn't believe it! So that night we watched it on a pulled out couch at our host families home. All four of us crammed together stomach down. I ended up laying on top of them because there wasn't enough room. Half way through the movie we all fell asleep. It was like being a kid again.
After leaving Chicago we headed out to Indiana and sang at a small church, where we also bumped into the congressman from Alabama who saw us sing in DC at the Capital. It was pretty amazing running into him again. Harold rounded us all up in a circle and we prayed for the congressman and his wife, they watched us perform, and again his wife was in tears. The night was a total blast. But the best part came when it was time to go to our host families house. The host family I was assigned to with the bus drivers, and six other guys (nine people in total) was just amazing. Their house was over 10,000 square feet, a legitimate mansion. It had a basement, and then three stories on top of that. They had 172 acres of land, a river on their property, a forest, huge wheat fields, and a small cabin. The family itself was great too, they were so eager to serve us and give us anything we happened to need. They even put on a bonfire down by the cabin. Before we headed to bed we all talked, shared stories, and one of the guys sang some amazing worship on his guitar. What made it so special for me personally, was the fact it was my birthday - the whole experience was a birthday gift from God.
The following day we all woke up, had breakfast and jumped in the shower. I was sort of slow waking up so most of the showers were occupied. I was then told to use the master bathroom. The bathroom was about as big as my room and had a beautiful view of the front lawn (which was about two acres). They also had ceiling speakers in all the rooms, my bathroom included. So awhile I was showering I got to listen to worship music. It was like being in heaven. After everyone had breakfast we packed up, left the home, and got on the bus again. Our next stop as Chicago Illinois! The drive wasn't too bad though, it was only about three hours. When we arrived the weather as completely different from indiana. It was cold, and drizzling. Just miserable. Even so, we all got off the bus. Some went off to grab food and others went exploring different land marks in the city. My group visited the sears tower, but unfortunately we were not able to see the top, admission was $27 and time was running short. In summation, the city was much nicer then New York, it was clean and people actually obeyed the law.
When we left the big city our next stop was Willow Crest Community Church, where Harold planned for us to do a flash Mom after service. The church was absolutely huge, the biggest one I have ever seen. It held seven thousand members in the main auditorium, which three stories of stadium seating and a massive stage. There were also two spill over rooms, which held an additional two thousand. The most interesting part in my opinion was the lobby, it had a large waterfall, food court, jazz band, multiple escalators and fountains. Most of us compared it to looking like a small indoor mall. When it finally came time to sing everyone was scattered around, Harold started with the four years, then slowly each of us walked up to him from out of the massive crowd and began singing. It was pretty cool. But this is where I first began getting sick. When we left for our host families house symptoms just slammed me. The next morning I felt horrible. I had a fever of 102, throat burning, ears throbbing, head throbbing, stuffy noise, coughing, it was just miserable.
We had two big church performances that day, one early in the morning and one later at night. I decided to txt Harold and ask him if I could stay at my host families home, because I was in no condition to sing. Thankfully he allowed it, and my host families mother allowed it too. I ended up sleeping the entire day, catching almost 9 hours, only getting up to go pee, grab ibuprofen and get more water. The mother at the host family was absolutely amazing, even though it was mothers day, she made me lunch. I felt so bad that she had to care for me, but it was also kind of nice, I missed my mom a lot. The other guys staying at the host family didn't get home until around 11pm that night. When they did get home, I was feeling much better, so two of us stayed up with the host families son and played halo for a couple of hours. The next day we headed out of the house, to the busses, and off to Wisconsin. It was the last state we visited before heading home.
Our last performance was at a small church, where we did a debrief (where everyone shared what they thought about the trip and confessed anything they did), and really began to realize that tour was coming to a close. Some of the guys cried, and some of them gave encouragement, some of them bared shame, and some of them joy. It was a very deep and personal experience, everyone grew from it. Then, before starting the concert Harold circled us all up outside, where the church overlooked a beautiful lake. He gave us his final words, and prayed. By this time my cold, or illness, whatever it was... really began to hit me hard. After getting up on the rafters my fever broke out again, I couldn't stop sweating, and two songs before intermission I almost fainted. I didn't sing a word, I couldn't hold a pitch, my voice was just shot so instead, I just mouthed everything. A good friend who was standing behind me helped hold me up. At the end of the concert when we were being assigned to host families I threw up. It was not a fun way to end the trip. I even wondered if this was punishment for something I may have done, but nothing came to mind.
It was hard leaving Wisconsin for the airport, I didn't really want to go home, especially being sick. When we flash mobbed in the airport it just wasn't the same. For some of the guys, especially the graduates, it was the last time we would probably ever see them. Before boarding everyone said their official goodbyes, there was crying, some depressed faces, and then others just looking forward to home. When it came time to board the airplane everyone shuffled on, and all I could think about was home, going to the doctor and then my bed. But now that I am home, and it has been 24 hours since I boarded that airplane in chicago... all I can think about it tour. The brotherhood we have in this group, and the men who are apart of it, I will never find anywhere else. I cant even find it in my own church, and it is not in small group I have been apart of for the past two years. I am going to make sure to optimize the time I spend in this group for the next four years. Time moves on so fast, it just slips through your fingers, and when it is gone you feel a little more empty inside. I didn't do a good job of getting to know everyone this semester, only a couple of guys.
Although this tour has been absolutely a mind blower, fantastic, unexplainable, the presence of God was everywhere, he took us inch by inch almost prophetically, and there is so so much more I can write - Next semester I want to challenge myself. LORD! I pray that my heart opens up and I really get to know all of these great guys. Don't let me become lazy, don't let me become apathetic, let me grow and mature, let me find brotherhood. Not friendship, but brotherhood, the kind I see in this group and Harold tells us to cherish. Amen. Also, Lord, please I beg, dont ever let me forget the amazing things that happened on this tour!
