During the past three weeks, the Point Loma Nazarene University Concert Choir embarked on two different ministry tours. The first tour consisted of churches in Visalia, Porterville and Bakersfield, California; the choir went right before Spring Break, March 4-6. During this tour, they stayed with members of the congregations of the churches in Porterville and Bakersfield. The second tour was in Murrieta and La Jolla, California from March 18 to 19.
Over 50 students in the Concert Choir led ministry and ended their concert by praying with individuals from the audience. Kiannah Freddie, a first-year international studies major, recalls prayer time being one of her favorite parts about the tour.
“Praying for them and hearing their stories was a powerful and positive experience for me. If I could have done something differently, it would have been to have more confidence when praying with and for people,” Freddie said.
Freddie described the tour as an “unexpected, unforgettable event” and said that she looks forward to going on more tours with the PLNU choir.
The students in the Concert Choir had the opportunity to share their testimony during the concert. Bella Krassow, a third-year applied health science major, was one of the students that decided to share their story and did so at the Torrey Pines Church in La Jolla.
“This is my second year going on a concert choir tour and every year I am amazed by the talent and overwhelmed by the presence of the Lord. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to share my growth with God and to feel the support of the Christian community,” Krassow said.
Even though this was not her first experience going on tour with the choir, Krassow said that this tour was very special to her because of the opportunity to share her testimony.
Sierra Hill, a second-year education major and a transfer student, came to PLNU in the spring 2023 semester. Hill and Krassow both enjoyed staying in the homes of members of the congregation. Hill said that she was nervous about staying in others’ homes, but those emotions subsided.
“I was incredibly worried about staying at strangers’ houses, but I was pleasantly surprised by how welcoming everyone was,” Hill said.
She said that the homestays were also a great opportunity to connect with girls whom she had never talked to before in class. They ended up being Krassow’s favorite part of the tour.
Hill recalled feeling nervous about going on tour because she felt disconnected from some of the members of the choir.
“This was my first time ever going on tour with this group and I think my biggest takeaway from the tour was all of the time I got to spend getting closer to the members of the choir. I wasn’t actually looking forward to going because I felt as though I didn’t really know anybody, but those feelings quickly subsided as I spent time with many different people I hadn’t had the chance to spend time with in class,” Hill said.
Written By: Emily Baumgartner
Steve Anderson