Blog
UK & Europe Tour Begins
Our first impression consisted largely of a heavy fish scent as the sun peaked through the grey horizon. Driving towards Reykjavik to our right, vast moss-covered plains dominated our view, while on the left, coastal towns sunk into the rocky landscape meeting the expansive Atlantic Ocean. Our one night stop over in Iceland began at 6am after taking the morning worship at the GC and a red-eye from New York (JFK). This combination turned into a short nap at our accommodation that made us feel like we were in Iceland for two nights rather than one. Following our nap, a trip to the top of the cathedral gave us a view of the gorgeous mountains and colourful homes, while a walk around the windy capital had us discovering a music store with the most unique collection of instruments we have seen. Our stop over ended with relaxation at the stunning Blue Lagoon.
Arriving in England we got immediately excited by the mixture of the ancient with the modern. The Tower of London opposite the imposing structure of The Shard. Stonehenge not 600 meters from a highway. SmartCars and VW Golfs squeezing through 15th century alleyways originally intended for the horse and cart. A modern SDA church plant settled in a church built in 1720.
Our short whirlwind tour in England saw us travel 1095 miles. We went as far south as St Austell, Cornwall and as far north as Manchester. We enjoyed the hospitality of some old friends as well as some newly acquainted ones. We are forever grateful to those who open up their homes to us during our touring. We would not be able to do music ministry without you! Thank you for your amazing hospitality.
We just want to share with you some of the testimonies from our time in England:
One concert had 1/3 of the attendance who did not attend church.
A lady who told us how after the difficult week, she had experienced God spoke through our Word and song concert and it gave peace to her heart.
St Austell spent some time with us at the end of our concert in a dedicated prayer to send us off on our touring. It was incredibly special and an absolute blessing.
We've just flown to Europe and over the next four weeks we have concerts in Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden! Check out our tour page for the exact details for each concert.
If you would like to know what we get up to throughout Europe follow our Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for more updates.
If you would like to support us in our music ministry you can buy one of our albums or use the donate button to the right of this page.
~ Eric & Monique
Songs of Ascent Winter Tour
The nine-week Songs of Ascent Winter tour has come to an end. So we thought we'd take a bit of space to share about the tour. We have loved touring and doing ministry with Matt & Josie Minikus and Bryant Rodriguez. You can read more about what we did throughout the last two months here, here and here. It has been an amazing experience. The first time we have been on a tour that constantly travelled around for nine weeks!In nine weeks we did...3 house concerts + 28 concerts + 9 school chapels + 4 miscellaneous music events = 41 music events. We have driven 9,138 miles throughout the tour and roughly 2,934 people have attended the 41 music events.When you travel with a group of people, certain phrases continually pop up. Such as...
Matt's constant phrase: "The facts are..."
Bryant's continual repetitions: "Weak sauce" "Haeeeye" "So, where am I sleeping tonight?"
When we have an idea but its too late in the tour to implement it. Someone would undoubtedly say: "...Rend my garments" along with the appropriate gestures.
After looking at the Thai menu for awhile Eric would always say every time: "So, I'm going with the Pad Thai."
When we are trying to figure out what to eat: "Hey, there's always Taco Bell..." "Is it above 4-stars? (Referring to the Yelp rating)"
At every house we stayed at: "Do you happen to have a Wi-Fi here?"
Every third day of the tour: "We need to go to Walmart to buy some water."
Common phrases while doing sound check: "It could be louder." "It needs more depth." "It sounds really thin."
Constant comparisons using the phrase "buck rabbit". e.g. "It's hotter than a fried buck rabbit." "It's colder than a frozen buck rabbit." "That guy is as blunt as a flat faced buck rabbit." Throughout the tour there were many testimonies that blessed us and, at times, gave us the energy to keep going. Here are just a few of the many:
A boy was in trouble for doing something wrong, but wouldn't take responsibility for it. After the concert the boy said he didn't want to be that type of person anymore, so he owned up and took responsibility for his actions.
A man wanted to apply the principles of Psalms 103 in the home as a father and husband.
A woman contacted us a bit after the concert and told us how the concert inspired her to start devotions.
A little boy bought the everything bundle (which was five CDs) with his own money.
One of the best testimonies came after our last concert. A lady and a man came up and told how throughout the concert we, as artists, became invisible as the worship experience enabled them to focus solely on God.
Songs of Ascent Winter Tour 2013 is over... It's definitely sad, but God is continually leading the future of this ministry.
"Bless the Lord, O my soul!" - Psalm 103 ~ Eric & Monique
Floridian Adventures
We've been in Florida for 1 1/2 weeks. 1 1/2 weeks of sun and warmth. Before that though we were in Tennessee. The five Tennessee concerts were diverse. One Academy. One University. One Church. One Youth Sabbath School. One House Concert. Then we drove 9 hours south to Florida for two weeks of rest and three concerts. To be honest it was a little strange to have time when we could actually relax after such a busy tour so far. But after four days and a concert we were able to finally relax a little. 
Kennedy Space Center. Clearwater Beach. Orlando. Tampa. Fort de Soto. Rainbow Springs. Catchups with friends. We loved our days off in Florida!
Now we're off to South Carolina, Maryland and Philadelphia for our last nine concerts of the Songs of Ascent Winter Tour. ~Monique