Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute

06/12/2026

Thursday/Friday
June 11-12
Cheyanne Weaver
"What can we say to these things...If God be for us; Who can be against us?"
This is a phrase from one of our choir songs and I can't get it out of my head this morning.
Thinking back on the last 3 weeks I believe we can all say we have felt the power of God in big and small ways!Thursday was a day of many mixed emotions amongst the choir members. From the highest highs to some of the lowest lows, glittering tears were not an uncommon sight. After all, we've lived life in close proximity not only the last 3 weeks but 2 months at least! Change is not an easy thing but a necessary one as NO ONE would want to spend the rest of their life stuck on a bus with 43 other people. Lol.
Our last program at Gap View church was special in many ways as lots of friends and family showed up for the last hurrah. Kind-hearted listeners encouraged us with words like,"We definitely felt the Holy Spirit in this place", or "We could tell you meant every word you sang, your hearts were really into it." (Even tho musically they couldn't deny that we struggled a bit if we're being honest)
From the barren desert in Nevada to the mountains in Utah to the orchards and vineyards in California to the salty coast in Oregon and the beautiful big sky of Montana... We've truly come a long way! And the people we were blessed to meet along the way impacted our lives whether we know it or not. The hospitality shown to us the last 3 weeks was a gift we warmly felt! Lord willing we will arrive back to SMBI around 11:00am and the next set of goodbyes will be given. God is a faithful Father who cares deeply about details and even in the middle of change we have confidence that He remains the same.

From us as a choir, we want to thank each one of you for joining us on this journey in this way. Thankyou for the prayers you prayed and the encouragement given. We truly don't live life alone. Community is a beautiful thing and we've felt the support on this tour. We appreciate it!💛

06/11/2026

June 10
Written by Hadassah Schrock
Today marked the end of our three very long travel days. After a hotel breakfast we loaded up in Coach Cammy and continued our journey East. As the Chicago skyline flashes by we did our normal high,low, buffalo time, devotions and quiet time. Then the games began, there was a very rousing game of dice, lots of Rook, cover your assets and more. For lunch, Jadon and Kristen’s mom graciously offered to make the whole choir lunch. Why not? So we took our lunch break in Fort Wayne, IN. They served us pulled pork sandwiches which is better than any fast food, in my book. 😁 After lunch we played some spike ball and sang one of our choir songs and then hit the road again. More games were played including a Rook game that finally ended after 40 hands! We arrived at Faith Haven around 4:45 and tried to feel and look freshened up for our program after traveling all day. Our program went very well, it was one of my favorites. After we chatted with people and then dispersed to our various host homes.
Some random facts:
* Roughly 60 pints of ice cream were consumed on tour (including food committee root beer floats)
* There are 4 highland cows on board named Mitch, Murphy, Cali, and Bert
* Many coffees and stickers were bought.
* And countless memories made
* The dryer was invented in North Dakota.
Please pray…
* for energy and grace as we finish up tour and that we could finish on a good note. (pun intended)
* Alertness for Jadon as he drives
* There are several members that are struggling with colds. Pray that they could sing in the last program.

06/11/2026

Tuesday, June 9
Heather Stauffer
Today we had another long day of driving. Plans were to leave the motel around 7:50, but unfortunately a group overslept, and were awakened by luggage committee calling and wondering where their suitcases were. They were out by the bus within 10 or 15 minutes after they were awakened.
We traveled through Minnesota, Wisconsin and into Illinois. And per usual, games were played for the better part of the day.
After one stop, we signed impressions, which lasted a little over 2 hours until everyone had gotten theirs back.
For lunch, we stopped at a rest area, and food committee made us their last meal for this tour, which they were pretty happy about.
Driving into Chicago last night was pretty cool, becouse the sun was setting, and planes were landing and taking off at the airport.
We arrived at our motel in Chicago at 8:15, where we could finally lay our weary heads to rest.😁

06/10/2026

Monday, June 8 by Sarah Snyder
We had a long day of driving today. We left the Fairfield church this morning around 6:45 and drove all day. We spent all day occupying ourselves with anything we could find from playing games to munching food for hrs. Our day was spent driving through Montana and North Dakota so there really was not much to see, except for some antelope, which we slowed down so we didn't hit them, and even a bald eagle. The lunch committee made lunch in a roaster in the back seat of the bus, making the bus smell like good food long before we were allowed to eat it. Fun fact, we went over a scales and the approximate weight was 47,440 lbs. Around 11 pm we finally reached our hotel destination, not a minute too soon as most were more than ready to get off the bus.

06/10/2026

Sunday, June 7 by Mickeyla Miller
A day in the big sky country

Our time out west is drawing to a close as we begin winding our way east. This morning started a big day of two programs in Montana. The first one took place at a community center in Missoula and at least one community person attended whom we had handed out an invitation to yesterday, which is pretty cool! After a welcomed lunch of chicken, rice, and an array of salads and desserts (including raspberry cheesecake), we took our leave to make it to our 6:00 program in Fairfield.
As per usual, during the first leg of our journey we had a time of “high, low, buffalo” which consists of sharing experiences from the previous day. You never know what could happen on a choir tour; you may end up finishing a gallon of ice cream between just a few people, making pizza at 11:30 at night, or be startled by sleepwalking roommates, the possibilities are astounding and the stories entertaining.
Mid afternoon, we arrived at the Fairfield Mennonite Church surrounded with rolling green fields and mountains looming in the distance. After a short rehearsal and supper, we gave our second program of the day and then mingled with the audience.
A number of us were staying with Chey (one of the ladies’ deans) and we piled into what they call ‘the Llama van’ and sped away. A big high for the day for myself, as well as a couple of others, was shooting a pistol for the first time! Dreams can come true on a choir tour😊

06/08/2026

Teresa Yoder
Saturday June 6 began with two very fun things for me... i got to hold a puppy and try a maple bacon doughnut! We collected ourselves and our belongings into the bus sometime around 8:45.
Our first stop of the day was near a park in Thompson Falls. We had a little free time there and not surprisingly, there were soon two rousing games of spikeball going on. We enjoyed the green grass, brisk fresh air, and delicious pizza simultaneously, and then piled into Coach Cammy again.
We stopped briefly at the house of one of the choir member's grandparents (Elvin and Doris Eberly) to sing a few songs for them. His grandfather is very sick with cancer, and some of the lines in our songs struck us in new ways as we sang them. There was hardly a dry eye among us as we quietly filed out.
When the bus came to rest again, we found ourselves at Bonners Park in Missoula, MT. We split into small groups and dispersed through nearby streets, spreading invitations for our Sunday morning program as we went. The groups had varied success, but overall we met quite a few new people, and had some great interactions!
After a delightful supper provided by the local church people, many of us were excited to head over to a nearby gym and play some volleyball! From there we were sent to host's homes. Eight girls and Jadon, our bus driver, headed thirty minutes away to meet our hosts.

06/08/2026

From Fairfield, MT 6:00 Mountain Time

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06/07/2026

Friday, June 5 by Samara Harnish

Friday started off with a bang! After a good night's rest, we met the bus at 8:30 to head for Bonners Ferry Idaho. Our first count-off of the day resulted in a speedy 12.4 seconds erasing our previous record of 13.5 seconds!
The next leg of our journey took us along State Line Road driving between Oregon and Washington! A 15 minute rest stop in Washington found most of us taking selfies with one another. This checks off yet another item on Jodie's Scavenger Hunt. Bus life consisted of napping, and playing games like Cover Your Assets and Rook!
With a very short travel day, we arrived at Kootenai Church around 3:30 and spent around an hour in quiet time which was very refreshing!
Our program went very well! With lots of prayers for energy... it felt like God certainly answered that prayer! The songs felt connected and filled with conviction. If you’ve been wanting a livestream, last night’s link is the best so far.
Truck rides are so fun! After the program, we loaded our luggage on the back of our hosts truck and proceeded to pile in along with it! The mountain air was freezing cold, but we managed to survive the 5 minute drive to the house. The snack we had was also amazing...quesadillas, chips, salsa, watermelon and grapes!
At long last, I reached my bed! With my alarm set for 7.5 hours...I fell fast asleep. 😴

06/06/2026

Thursday, June 4 by Micaiah Quackenbos

We left our motel in Newport around 8 o'clock Thursday morning, and drove North along the Oregon coast in 101 for a bit. The scenery was gorgeous and it was sad when we had to turn east and leave the coast behind. A couple of hours into our day, we stopped at the Multnomah Falls! We had over an hour of freetime to eat, get some fresh air, and enjoy the gorgeous falls! Some of us started by playing a couple of quick spikeball games while food committee prepared lunch (walking tacos 😋).

The falls were beautiful, with the main upper section featuring a 542-foot plunge, and the lower section dropping an additional 69 feet. Getting to the bridge in between the two falls required a fairly easy 1/4 mile hike up a nicely shaded trail. It would have been fun to continue hiking all the way to the top of the falls, but unfortunately there just wasn't enough time.

After taking some photos and enjoying the refreshing mist of the falls, we went back down and explored the gift shop. Some of us got ice cream from the snack shop, while others got coffee. Before leaving, we made use of the "temporary public restrooms" (about 30 port-a-johns 😬).

For the next two hours, we enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the Columbia River, which is the dividing line between Oregon and Washington. We arrived at the church in Milton-Freewater soon after 5, and proceeded to go through the fairly normal steps of practice, supper, etc. in preparation for our 7:30 program. We were excited to find out that there would be a livestream to share with our friends and family! Mr Samuel also had a new standing arrangement for us to try, which most people seemed to like.

The host that I stayed with was multi-lingual, and I enjoyed wrapping up the day with some Spanish conversation!

06/06/2026

From Bonners Ferry ID 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time

The Sharon Singers performance at Kootenai Valley Mennonite church ...