2019 Croixaliers Tour - April 10-14

The view out of the window looks much different from Day 1 of our tour. So much has changed since then.  Right now we're on our way across Illinois headed to Davenport, IA, and it warms my heart to see sunshine and green grass.  Even better, my heart has been warmed by the way these 24 students have conducted themselves on this tour. At every point they have been helpful to me, courteous to others, and encouraging of one another. As we approached this tour there were some reservations among the group about whether or not they could handle singing an hour's worth of challenging music.  Some of them have been slightly under the weather as well.  They stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park, though.  They have been singing with passion and heart.  Their confidence has grown and they are really coming together even closer as a result. Our audiences have been enthusiastic and appreciative.  They have told me how impressed they are with these kids' talent, t

Day 4 of the tour brought us sunny skies and a cool 50-degree day- a perfect day for us! We said goodbye to our wonderful host families and quickly hopped onto the bus to head to our next destination: Chicago. After about an hour and a half of driving the Croixaliers were very excited to explore this new city. We first went to the John Hancock Observatory (despite several of us being scared of heights… *cough* Pastor Sievert and Zach Polzin *cough* *cough*). It was really amazing to see the beautiful Chicago skyline from so high up- and we even had an impromptu Croixaliers performance of dancing and singing for the people as we waited in line. For lunch we had reservations at Giordano's Chicago- Style Pizza, so we walked a couple of blocks to get there from the John Hancock Center. We split off into 4 tables (one being gluten free exclusive) and began feasting. Each table had a salad bowl and 3 deep dish pizzas. The boys challenged each other to see who could eat the

It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Hartford, Wisconsin (previous homeland to the Marquardt family). We woke up this morning in our respective host families, had breakfast, and headed to morning chapel at Peace. We sang two songs for the elementary students there and Mr. Marquardt taught us a devotion about Palm Sunday! After the service, we immediately hurried into the bus to reach our next destination: Mequon, Wisconsin to tour Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.      The first thing we did at the seminary was to attend their chapel service. We saw the Seminary’s unique chapel design and took full advantage of the acoustics after chapel. We even ended up meeting with the Milwaukee Mission Trip with Pastor and Mrs. Enter! We sang Abendlied for the mission trip people, a handful of ministry students, and the tour guides. We had a great tour of campus, and Zach Thiel was giddy with delight the entire time. With the sun shining, we hopped onto the bus and went to Culver’s for lunch. The Culv

Our Friday night concert at Faith, Antioch was a "Homecoming" for Croixalier senior, Daniel Kim. Before arriving at SCL, Daniel spent time in Antioch attending the school and being confirmed there. Daniel not only reconnected with his Antioch "family" he also tag-teamed with Pastor Sievert to share a devotional message using the theme "Amazing Love, How Can it Be?" The Croixaliers enjoyed singing in another worship space with amazing acoustics; and once again they filled God's house with praise and proclamation. The junior choir of Faith joined the Croixaliers in singing "Hosanna." Our group was blessed with great hospitality and a really positive experience at Faith! Next stop: Davenport, IA!

Who knew the Marquardt Fan Club was so big? And where do I sign up!?!  Tonight, the Croixaliers had the privilege of presenting their concert "Alive in Christ" at Peace Lutheran in Hartford, WI before nearly 300 people! Peace is the church and school where Mr. & Mrs. Marquardt formerly served before joining us at SCL and many people turned out to reconnect with them and hear our choir. And the Croixaliers did not disappoint!  Amplified by fantastic acoustics and with some help from the school-children of Peace Lutheran, it was a memorable night.  We woke up in Madison, WI ever thankful we bypassed Eau Claire (they received 11.5" of snow) to get past the storm. Once again we are reminded "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." (Prov. 16:9)  While it was disappointing to miss that stop, we made the best of it and joined the Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel (campus ministry of UW-Madison) for their evening Lent 9 PM se