Day 3 - June 8 - Sioux City, IA to Rockford, IL

 We ate breakfast with our amazing hosts, and then had an early meet up back at the church to pack up the bus and say goodbye to First United Methodist Church. Ringers shared experiences of our first night in host homes this tour (or ever for new ringers). One host made a detour on the way to church to take ringers to see where George Foreman is buried. 

Before getting on the road for the day, we made a stop at Big Mama's Coffee & More for a drink and to thank her for promoting our concert last night to all her followers. Gene joined us and treated us to our yummy coffee, chai, lemonade and other specialty drinks, all made by Mama (Mary). It was such a fun stop and a really nice way to start another long bus day.

 

We drove through sections of heavy rain while on the road, but our trusted bus driver Dave got us through safely. We saw some beautiful green countryside out our bus windows, and even crossed the Mississippi River. We have covered a lot of miles in just three days!  To pass the time, we played another round of Jeopardy. Teams were the same, and this time the Back of the Bus prevailed!

We arrived at The Second First Church in Rockford, IL, and the ringers got to work setting up and rehearsing. The chaperones walked to a post office drop box and made a friend along the way. Members of the congregation prepared a delicious taco night dinner for us before our concert. 

The church is a beautiful space, and does a lot to serve the community. It has some unique stained glass, which we all have started paying attention to as our theme for the daily Devotional this tour. 

The ringers played a great concert and impressed another audience!

Ringers answered a lot of questions from the audience after the concert, and then were given a tour of the church's bell room. 

We love seeing family and friends in audiences while we're on the road, and tonight George was able to perform in front of his aunt and uncle who drove 3 hours to see the concert. 

Before packing up the bells, some of our seasoned ringers had an enthusiastic debate on whether playing tinks or bass is more difficult. The debate has not been settled.

We had a church stay night, so each of us claimed a spot in the gym to set up our air mattresses and sleeping bags. Before lights out, Kelly made the kids really happy by ordering McDonalds and Buffalo Wild Wings. We ended the night on a good note!