A YANKEE HOMECOMING - 5-00

Hey, all!!! If you guys know me, you know this will be detailed, but FUN to read!! Bear with me til the end!! So much happened! ENJOY!! I first want to share some verses God gave me last night before I went to bed. I was feeling down last night and I decided to read a Proverbs for the day, and since it was in the morning, it was the 14th, but I just wasn't finding any encouragement. I then read Psalms 14, but still nothing. I then felt lead to read Proverbs 13, and these are the verses God encouraged me with...Proverbs vs12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. vs19a A longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul. GOD IS GOOD!! He knows!! :) I just know He's going to do something soon! He hasn't give me these desires for nothing. :)

Well, I had an AWESOME time at the concert. I met two VERY special friends from the internet...Brooke Kinder and Rebekah Parini. Rebekah I met last year at another MA concert, and Brooke drove all the way, with her mother, from West Virginia, to stay with relatives and go to the concert! We had a blast! It was awesome meeting them, and we just had a great time. They are sweet friends!

First let me tell you, for those of you who don't know the people I mention, they're singers that travel with the Gaithers and are on all the Gaither videos. I'll put their websites near their names so you can check them out.

Let's see...I met Jake Hess, Jr. first, and his wife Judy Martin Hess, of The Martins (www.the-martins.com, don't forget that dash in between or the site won't work) was there with their two kids (who are beautiful!!). I guess the Martins weren't traveling this weekend. :) Well, Jake remembered me and was SOO sweet. Judy remembered me too. I gave them my scrapbook to sign, and they were looking through it. Jake asked if Judy was in it, and I said yes (he's in it too) :). She found her picture I had taken with her, then showed her nanny. LOL Anyway, they were both so very sweet. I gave them my music, and as always, Jake was nice enough to take the lyrics I had for the other singers and pass them out for me. He is always so very gracious. He even remembered my screen name..."MarkLowryBgstFan." I cracked up. He reads my mail and newsletters! :) We went into the concert, and I spotted Jake Hess, Sr. (www.jakehess.com) down by the stage. People were talking to him, so I ran!! I haven't been able to say hi to him in a loooong time, and I just LOVE this man. He is SO nice. No wonder where his son gets it from!! Well, I went up to him and he remembered me after I said something that jogged his memory. I also said, "I need a hug. I have missed your hugs so much." He said the same thing he did last time, "They don't last too long, do they?" I said, "They sure do, I just need extra!" He signed my scrapbook and I went back to my seat. During the concert, I went around to the tables with Brooke and we got to meet The Easters (www.jeffandsherieaster.com) who are SOOO nice. They took my lyrics and looked through my scrapbook. They found the picture, on the last page, where I took a pic of all the singers on stage, cut out a picture of my head and put it on Candy Christmas's body (so I look like I'm on stage with them...ONE DAY!). Sheri said, "Now look at that. That is very clever! But, whose body did you cover up?" LOL I told her, 'Candy Christmas, but one day I will be traveling with them. It's something I'm praying about." Or something like that. It was funny. Hey, I can't help but dream. :) God is my dreammaker!! Charlotte Ritchie is another singer that travels with them and is one of the sweetest people. She is also exquisite. There is no other word to describe her. I told her so and she said, "Thank you so much. I really appreciate that." If you visit the site, you will see her. She's got such a beautiful face as well as a sweet Spirit. It's so evident. I also got to meet Amy Lamber t(www.amylambert.org), another talented singer. I'm going to send her my lyrics. Well, after them, I got to meet Karen Peck and New River (www.karenpeckandnewriver.com). Karen was SOOOOO sweet!!! She gave me her card so I'll send her my lyrics. Then I met the Talley Trio (www.talleytrio.com), whose daughter has the most incredible voice and she's only 17!! She's got such a vibrant personality too!! She's so bubbly on stage and very nice!! After that, we went back to our seats. Well, the concert soon ended (too quickly), and I ran to try and catch Bill Gaither (www.Gaithermusic.com) before he went backstage, but he was too quick.

Some other fans caught him, so I thought I had a chance, but, oh, well. God knows. I got to meet Kevin Williams(no website), the guitarist for the Gaithers and another sweetheart! He took my lyrics and we chatted for a bit.

Then I got to meet my favorite person in the world...you guessed it...MARK LOWRY!! :) I handed him my scrapbook, and he saw the Piper (The children'sbooks that Mark writes about a hypermouse) I had drawn and glued on the inside cover, and he said, "Hey, Piper!" Then he signed it and looked up (he hadn't looked at me yet), and said, "Hey, what are you doin? You know, your sister is plastered all over my video!" (His new Broadway video taping that my sister, mother and cousin and I went to in February!) He looked around for her and told her. She was like, "OH NO!!" LOL. I was right next to her, at the concert, so I wonder if I'm on at all. He didn't say. I should have traded places with her!! Hee hee! Well, I took a pic with him and my niece got to meet him. She LOVES Mark, BUT she was SOO shy and didn't say a word. I picked her up, took the pic, and Mark gave her a big kiss on her cheek!!! LOL. What a lucky little girl!! hee hee. Mark was being rushed out of the place so I didn't get to say much to him, so we went to leave as no one else stayed after. As we walked out, I got to meet Jake, Jr. again and talk to him about his publishing company, so we'll see. My lyrics have to be put to music, and someone has to sing them, etc. Then I told Jake to tell Bill, when he gives him my lyrics, "Tell Bill I'm STILL looking for a job!!" LOL Then I met Judy again, took a pic with her and my niece. She was SO sweet and kept telling my niece how pretty she is. My niece didn't say a word again. She gets so shy when she meets them. It's so cute. :) Well, I said goodbye to Rebekah and Brooke and we drove home. It was a wonderful time. I'm just not getting my hopes up again. I did it after every other concert, but not this time. I'm leaving it ALL in the Lord's hands and waiting. I get those after concert blues, and I'm going to try not to get them again. God knows my future...He was there last night and knew what needed to happen for me, so I trust Him. I was just REALLY happy I got to meet Mark. I have yet to go to a concert and not meet him. :) Hey, I have to keep my scrapbook going! Speaking of, I gotta go get those pics developed!!! Thanks for bearing with me!! Keep praying!!! God knows and He is good ALL the time!! I"ll keep you posted if anything happens!!! Love you all!! God bless you for everything and for your prayers last night!!!

Love, Elisa