Canton, OH

Did I mention that I am sick of traveling? I am sick of traveling. I joined the guys at the airport in the morning to find out that our flight was 3 hours delayed and we'd miss our connection to Ohio. The guys were able to transfer to another airline to get in time for set up and do soundcheck, etc. I, on the other hand, stayed on the delayed flight and didn't get into Canton until 4:30. Boo.

My ride from the airport to Malone College was from a guy named Rahim. He's an Iraqi who came to the States in 1997. He was a day away from flying to DC for 2 weeks training in the army and then going on for a year in Iraq to serve as a translator for American soldiers. I asked him what he thought about the war adn Bush and all of that. He said very clearly that Saddam had to go and he's so thankful that we captured him. He told me about the fear and terror that reigns in his country. He has hesitations about Bush's policies and his approach to all of it - but he's just glad that they don't have to worry about Saddam. Rahim's mother was killed by Saddam's men after she spoke openly against the regime. Rahim said he loves both his home country and the US - and he doesn't agree with everything that's going on, but he wants to play a role that will help bring the 2 together - where he can serve both of his countries. I was fascinated by his perspective and his commitment to being a bridge in the midst of deep wounds.

Got to the venue just as the guys were finishing soundcheck. I set up the table and then helped Matt with merch. We ran over to the college cafeteria for dinner. I met David Van Buskirk, a young man who will be hiking the Appalachian trail from April to August to raise funds for the 1000 Wells Project. We've been talking for 9 months now and he leaves next week. He handed me an envelope with over $4000 worth of checks from people's pledges. He has another $4000 on the way. Unbelievable!

The show was okay. I love the new setlist but the audience was dull. Rob called in the middle of the show so we talked about the office and budgets. At the end of the show I had volunteers to help with collecting the money. The enthusiasm was much lower than normal. Not sure why. We pulled in $1500 from an audience of about 800 - so that's pretty great!

After the show, we drove over to a Christian bookstore for signing. The line was long so the guys signed forever. I helped Jay with the raffle where we gave away 10 new Redemption Songs cds, and then I sat in the back room counting cash. We got to the hotel around 11:30, Jay and Steve went to do karaoke, I did some emailing and then crashed. It was a nice hotel and I slept like a baby.

Got up this morning at 6:30am and am still on the plane back to Nashville. I'm tired for sure. The guys get on a bus tonight, so I'm glad I don't go again until Wednesday...

Jena