Covenant youth choir, Journey, spent a weekend in Waco in early March. Journey Director Stacy Curtis said she was looking to travel someplace close and accessible so a majority of the kids could attend. She also wanted a “doable” activity for the teens.

“Waco was great because the kids got to enjoy each other and I got the enjoy the kids too. It’s not often that I get to really participate in the fellowship of the group because I’m always conducting and leading. There was just no stress. It was super relaxed, but I felt like it was Christ-filled.”

When asked to give examples of when Christ showed up, Stacy said it was hard to choose. “God showed up so many times,” she said. “For instance, sometimes our boys have a hard time letting go and hanging out with each other. But during our Saturday morning tour of McLane Stadium, they started an impromptu football game and the boys really become a unit. That was a bonding moment and big God thing. The boys learned to lean on each other and support each other, and that doesn’t happen very often with boys that age.

“It was also great to watch the kids bond through singing and really just loving on each other. I really feel like we were living out Covenant’s mission statement, especially the play part. The group was playing in a positive way. That’s something you don’t always see in teens.”

The trip was largely organized by John and Kathryn Sedberry, whose son, Henry, is part of the group. The Sedberrys are Baylor graduates and have a lot of Waco connections.

Trip Highlights

“Leading worship at the Delaney House was pretty awesome. It was the number one highlight for me,” Stacy said. The Delaney is a senior living community on the shores of Lake Waco. Journey sang twice, once for the memory care unit residents and once for the independent living residents.

“The memory care performance was really special. Many of the residents were wheelchair bound and nonverbal. Singing for them was harder emotionally, but they were very gracious. One woman had tears of happiness streaming down her face.

“We did a mini-worship service for the independent living residents,” Stacy continued. “After that concert, we had a time for fellowship and the residents really engaged with the kids.”

Stacy’s second favorite activity was the McLane Stadium tour. “First, because it’s a beautiful stadium and second, because the kids had so much fun, especially the boys playing football. What a thrill!”

Over the weekend, two Journey members had birthdays: Cody Curtis turned 14 on Saturday and Emma Hoffman turned 16 on Sunday.  Stacy celebrated those milestones with cupcakes at Magnolia. (The bakery established by the HTV stars Johanna and Skip Gaines.)

Trip highlights are too numerous to list here, but Stacy said the group enjoyed their stay at Springhill Suites, the Dr. Pepper Museum and their Saturday dinner at the Casa De Castillo.

“The trip was super fun and laid back. Usually our tours are a week long and we have everything super scheduled. In Waco, we didn’t spend a lot of time in vehicles. There was a lot of fellowship, bonding and making connections. The kids were off their phones for the majority of the time and it made such a difference in their socializing.”

Stacy quoted senior Journey member Lael Weatherby to explained the time disconnected from electronics: “Hang up and hang out!”

For the Journey trip to Waco, that disconnected time resulted in new connections with each other and with God.