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Tuesday June 2 ![]()
Today dawned warm and clear in John Day, Oregon. The students flocked to the bus from their various host families and by 9 o'clock we were on the road! Our first stop was at a little visitor center/museum. It ended up being closed so we just soaked up the sun and enjoyed the view for a while. A spike ball game started in the parking lot and some students made a quick hike up to an overlook, while still a few others discovered and disposed of a baby rattlesnake. We took a group picture before hitting the road again and then enjoyed more beautiful scenery before stopping for a light lunch served by the snack committee. We arrived at Zion Mennonite Church in Hubbard, Oregon around 5 o'clock and were served a delicious supper before giving our program. Fun fact, in the audience was Urie Sharp, who was a choir director at SMBI for about 18 years. Our faithful Coach Cammy, who had thus far brought us safe and cool from the East, must have gotten a little weary as her AC failed on us last night. Big thanks to our dedicated bus driver, Jadon, and a kind hearted mechanic who both stayed up till about 4 this morning to ensure we could continue our journey without overheating! Another fun fact, the mechanic, who was not from Mennonite or Anapatist background, had heard of SMBI and actually had a friend who attended a few years ago!
Monday June 1st by Trenton Weaver ![]()
This morning dawned calm and clear, a few wispy clouds in the bright blue sky. The big Idaho hills were dotted with small green bushes and trees. The bus was parked at a gas station about 25 min north, which set us up further along on our journey to John Day, Oregon. The morning rest area was a good place for people to raise their heartrate and hit the restrooms. ![]()
With only a 4-hour drive to our program, we had an afternoon with quite a lot of free time. The park in Baker City, Oregon, afforded a great place to park and spend a few hours. Beyond the swings and slides, many benches and monuments dotted the shady green area. The bus came to a stop (taking approximately 3 parking spaces), and Josh advised that we spend some of this time in solitude. While traveling in a bus all together, there is little time to be in solitude. Both the rest stop and the park are in the area of the Oregon trail. Several plaques and info boards recount the events of traveling such a route. After a buy-your-own lunch, it was time to be back on the bus for the longer leg of the trip. ![]()
The way to the church, lead through a beautiful forest section of Oregon. Pine trees and lush green meadows made beautiful scenery on both sides of the road. Sometime during the trip we got word that the restrooms were out of order at the church,(the sewer system broke down). But God had the details together ahead of time. There was a park across the road(with restrooms), and the Wolfer family lives only 3min away. John Day Valley Mennonite church didn't have AC, but thankfully God made a cooler evening, and the temperature was bearable. The people really enjoyed the program, and clapped after almost every song! We even got to do an encore on "I am Your Child!"
Sunday, May 31![]()
Wanda Troyer![]()
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We reluctantly crawled out to the bus from our hotel in Reno, Nevada early Sunday morning, after having breakfast at a bar. Shockingly, this is not the first time on tour that the hotel we stayed in provided a free breakfast in an attached tavern/restaurant. Welcome to the west, SMBI. ![]()
We had a long travel day so we took it calmly, with no games before 11 and some devotional, singing and quiet time in lieu of a church service. The scenery was relatively dry 🙂,but small cheers arose when crossing state lines, specifically Idaho, since for our choir director’s wife Jodie, it marked the last state in the lower 48. We just need to get her to Hawaii. ![]()
We made a much advertised stop at the Golden Gate! (a disappointingly average gas station) where the food committee provided PB & J for lunch. The afternoon stayed calm as well, with lots of napping, Rook games, coloring and books, punctuated by rest stops at woefully tiny Nevada gas stations. The fact that the women wildly outnumber the men on this tour was not helpful in these situations, but we successfully made it to Cambridge, Idaho by 5:20. ![]()
They hosted us in a gym where we gave a program to an audience seated on bleachers, an interesting change of pace from church pews. We were blessed by a diverse attendance of churches up to three hours away, and actually lost one of our deans to his family who lives nearby. (He is rejoining us tonight we are told.) ![]()
Jackie Beachy, one of the girls from fifth term who did not go on tour, is from the church there, so her family hosted nine of us girls. It was delightful to catch up with her, and the rest of the choir was also well received by hospitable Idahoans for the night.
Saturday, May 30 Danielle Fisher![]()
It was a beautiful morning, not too cold and not too hot, in Modesto California. We all had a great night of rest with amazing host experiences and also lots of snacks to take along on the trip such as Blue Diamond almonds, oranges, and chocolate. ![]()
We had the privilege of being dropped off near River Walk Park in Old Sacramento for about an hour and a half scootering/walking the streets and seeing the state capitol building. For lunch we headed off to Denny’s for our first banquet. Our only waiter for 44 people was amazing! Everyone had a budget they could not go over but when you put money and food together we all had plenty to eat and we were out in just under 2 hours like our waitress had said. ![]()
From Denny’s we had about a 30 minute drive to Streetlight Christian Ministries. We had a short presentation about the mission and then went to meet the 40 plus children. We were able to give them a small program of two songs and our skit. After the program each choir member paired up with at least one child and made homemade ice cream in a bag. There was a lot of tossing, squishing, and punching bags as each child hurried to make their ice cream. After the ice cream was finished games started and most of those energetic children gave us a run for our money.![]()
By the time the children left to go home we grabbed sack suppers the staff there graciously provided for us and hit the road for our next stop at a Walmart before our hotel stop. At the Walmart stop we were able to see a beautiful full moon which put a perfect end to a perfect day.
Friday May 29,2027 Cynthia Glick ![]()
The morning events were the normal eat breakfast and get on the bus at the time that Josh says. As we get on the bus Jadon will greet us with a cheerful good morning. We start each day with sharing (high low buffalo) and devotions by one of the men. After devotions we are allowed a time of quiet time. ![]()
We have been blessed seeing all the different scenery. Today we got to travel through the mountains on our way from South Lake Tahoe, California to Modesto, California. As we traveled through the mountains we were at 8,527ft above sea level. We went from almost at sea level up to 8,527ft and then back down to about sea level all in one day. Jadon (our bus driver) did a wonderful job driving through the fog as we went up and down the mountain. ![]()
We didn't have far to drive so we stopped at Big Trees State Park. It felt so good to be out of the bus for a while and see God's creation. It was so refreshing to walk among the trees. Seeing the big stumps and tall trees but thinking that God is even bigger than that.![]()
We got to the church in lots of time before the program. One of the men from the church shared with us some about their culture and who they are and some about California itself. There were many interesting things that he said but one that stood out to me was if California would be an economy industry it would be the 6th biggest in the world. ![]()
Tonight was our first program without one of our choir members. I feel like it was a good program over all. Thanks for all your prayers we really appreciate it.
Introduction to SMBI
The Lord of the church has given his body a variety of gifts and roles “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). This verse contains a three-fold directive for every born again follower of Christ. As saints, we are called to move toward and into the ongoing work of sanctification and perfection in our own lives. As Christ works in us, we become His hands and feet continuing the ministry of redemption which He initiated before mankind ever needed redemption. Finally, since we are designed to function as a body and not an isolated ear or foot, we must band together as a body to build up and encourage our fellow pilgrims as we journey together.
At Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute it is our vision to function as a support to churches and families as together we endeavor to see these directives fulfilled in our lives and the lives of our students. We have no desire to become another option in the smorgasbord of entertainment and diversion, but rather to be a dynamic tool that God can use to perform His work in and through each of us. We appreciate your support as we strive to perfect the saints, equip them for ministry, and build up the body of Christ.
Clifford Schrock, Administrator
Nondiscrimination Policy
Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and other school-administered programs.