Nate wanted to be back in Nashville by 7 pm on Sunday night so that I could go with him to church. He's been attending Ethos Church, which meets in an old brick bar near the train tracks. It's just about the last place you would ever expect to find a thriving young church, but the setting is so perfect. When you walk into the space, you see the long, wood bar running down the right side of the room. It's lit by red pendant lights which give the room a neat ambiance. Scattered around the room are little tables with cups of juice and real loaves of bread for communion. The ministers are awesome and the church is doing some great things around the world - feeding the hungry in Africa and combatting human trafficking in India. But my favorite part about visiting Nate's church was the worship. Of course - being in Nashville near Belmont University - most everyone in the congregation are musical. The worship was lead by one guy with an acoustic guitar, but everyone was singing at the top of their lungs, harmonizing and stomping their feet to create a drum beat. It was so moving, and I did not want the music to ever end.
After church I dropped Nate off and then headed downtown to see my friend Jason Snedeker. I met him through the Seekers college group at First Pres, and he was a part of James' and my wedding. But I haven't seen him since then so it was great to catch up and hear all about the new leading lady in his life. It's crazy to see how far so many of our friends have come in the last three years. I wonder where we will be in another three?
Monday was my final full day in Tennessee. Nate had class most of the day, so I decided to drive out to Knoxville and see another one of my close high school friends who is working at a camp north of there. I met Ian when he was a high school freshman and now we have both graduated from college and have traveled extensively. He is such a silly, warm hearted guy and getting to meet up with him for lunch was definitely worth the 6 hour round trip.
Unfortunately, the drive back from Knoxville did not go as smoothly as all of the others. As I drew nearer to Nashville I could see some dark storm clouds looming over the city. So I turned on the radio and - to my horror - found out that there was a tornado watch in effect. I continued listening and monitoring the situation as I got closer. Soon, my worst fears were confirmed. An emergency message was played that told me there was now a tornado warning and if I was driving I needed to exit and seek shelter. There was no where to go except into a McDonald's near a gas station. So I waited it out in there and watched the news on TV until we received the all-clear. It definitely rained very hard and the power flickered for a second, but that was the worst I experienced. 30 minutes later, I was back on the road, headed to Belmont for a final meal with my brother.Originally we had planned to go out and explore the downtown area and do a little sight seeing, but it was still raining outside. So instead we just headed to the local Qdoba Mexican Grill for some more tasty burritos and good conversation. It was not a completely wasted experience, though. Suddenly Nate looked up from his meal and whispered that Jonny Diaz, the famous Christian artist, had just walked in. Apparently they had performed together at a First Pres winter camp before Jonny hit it big. So Nate got to introduce me to a true celebrity!
Unfortunately, that was when we had to say good bye. Nate needed to head back to campus and I would be flying home the next morning. But I didn't wallow too much. The rain finally stopped so I grabbed all of my camera equipment and headed downtown to get some final shots of this beautiful city. I really didn't know what to expect but I love the heart and energy there. This vacation was a crazy whirlwind but I had so much fun and did not want to leave. Thanks to all my friends that helped to make it such a fantastic experience!
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