Back Home Again in Indiana...

The first ECHO team of 2005 got back to Southside 2nd RPC at about 5 pm today. During the last stretch of driving before we got to the church my van – Daniel, Nathan, Luke, Andrew, Haley, Heather, Grace, Charity and I – sang psalms. As we pulled into the church the girls all started crying, I think our crying must have been contagious because by the time everyone was out of the vans all the girls were crying.

ECHO was a blast! I hope I get to go every year I can from now on. But I can’t even try to compare this year and last year. They had their differences, things that were good and things that were not so good, but were both equally awesome!!! :) I already decided before I started writing this that I wasn’t going to give you all the nitty-gritty details, and right now I don’t feel much like giving you an explanation at all, maybe tomorrow when I’m not so tired.

Here’s a song I’ve had in my head for a couple days, Allen got a mix CD from Laura Soma in a care package, and we played it in the car… anyway here’s the lyrics. I would try to put it on my blog, but I can’t figure out how to make the music work at the moment.

Friends Forever by Vitamin C
And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down

These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of the night in June
I didn't know much of love, but it came too soon
And there was me and you, and then it got real blue
Stay at home talkin' on the telephone and
We would get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels

Chours:
As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change,
Come whatever
We will still be, friends forever

So if we get the big jobs and we make the big money
When we look back now, will that joke still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

Repeat chours

La, la, la la; yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la, we will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there? Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

And if anybody from my ECHO trip is reading this right now, I miss you bunches and bunches already! I wish our trip wasn’t over. I love you all!!! :) Night-night.