Paris Hilton!!!! oh, and Gun

Well it was bound to happen sometime. MBA crossing paths with Hollywood. On Sunday we spent our day at Magic Kingdom (A.K.A Disneyland in CA) This was the last day on our five day pass. Well we happened to share day with Paris Hilton although I didn't get to see her several of our students did and to prove it Gun Lee walked up to her and asked to take a picture with her. Paris's boyfriend Benji Madden (Guitarist and back up vocalist for the band Good Charlotte) took their picture. He was still shaking from his experience. 

Sabbath Afternoon at Apopka SDA Chrch

Sabbath Morning at Clermont SDA Church

Sabbath morning we performed at the Clermont SDA church. We were very well received and the church members were so nice to us. The pastor gave us the sermon portion of the service. The service was followed by a great potluck. Thanks again Clermont SDA Church.

Lunch at the Carrs

After our encounter with alligators we went back to FLA for a "traditional" Adventist meal... Haystacks. Bill and Dorothy Carr (Herb and Nancy's sister and brother-in-law) fed all 57 of us and top it off with an ice cream feed. Yum! After we ate we had worship in their living room led out by Pastor Jim. He showed us a wonderful illustration on You Tube of a wild life scene set in Africa. 

We learned God always comes to our rescue even though times are tough and even when we are being pulled from all directions. Check out Battle At Kruger. Thanks Pastor Jim!

Swamp Canoe Tour and YES we saw ALIGATORS!!!!!

Forest Lake Academy

Today we performed at Forest Lake Academy for their Friday chapel The students, faculty and staff were really respectful and made playing enjoyable and fun. They were a great audience. Here is what Ernest Ly said about his experience.

"I think it was our best performance of the year. All sections were on the right notes and followed the director closely. The tenor section got the high G note and we sounded amazing along with the rest of the sections."

Mr. Z ranked it the best so far. 

As a side note the auditorium we sang in was amazing and had really good acoustics. 

Thursday Typhoon Lagoon and Coco Beach

Today we went to Typhoon Lagoon. There were some of the kids who wanted to go to the beach so the Bob Boggess volunteered to drive and Joy Boggess went along as the female sponsor. The water park was awesome. There is a large wave pool that sends off a huge wave every 90 seconds the barrels down the pool. It was fun trying to catch some of the waves.  We stayed until 5 pm and went back to the hotel for dinner. When we went to Hollywood Studios we were unable to go see "Fantasmic" a show that Disney puts on with music, film, fire, and water. Once again we decided to take advantage of our Hooper Pass and took some of the kids to see it. Nancy stayed back with those who were too tired or wanted to rest a little. It's based on the show at Disneyland in CA but different in many ways. It was a nice show and we really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is our performance at Forest Lake Academy and we have a full schedule.

-Mr. Rivera

Animal Kingdom and Epcot

It 's been a great day. This morning we took advantage of our Disney Passes and went to Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We had a few hours at Animal Kingdom so we all went on the Safari together on as a group. Nathan Curry broke the news to the cast member that we had 57 people in our group. We made it in two cars. It's surreal to see these animals from Africa 50 feet in front the vehicle. We saw Elephants, Hippos, Giraffe, Lion's and Tigers. It was awesome!

We then went to Epcot Center I figured out what Epcot stands for, it's an acronym for "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow." There were a lot of interesting things to do. My personal favorite was the World Showcase which displayed 11 different countries.

Ernest is Hungry!

Before anyone freaks out Ernest Ly is munching on Disney's famous turkey legs.

I must say it was a bit tasty.

Bon Appetit!

-Mr. Rivera

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Well after much debate among the sponsors we figured out the Disney changed MGM Studios to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We had some free time this afternoon so we decided to take advantage of our 5 day Disney Pass and have dinner at Hollywood Studios. I was convinced to go on a ride to confront my biggest fears...faaaaaaalllllllling. I went on "Tower of Terror." I survived. We got there in time to watch an awesome stunt show and go on a couple of rides. We then met at the bus and went back to the hotel some kids went to their rooms while others who got their second wind had fun in the pool. It was a great day. 

-Hasta Manana

Quote of the day: "Hey Mr. Rivera I learned a new Disney word, 'Fantasmic!'." - Karissa Torres

University Adventist School

Our second performance today was at another elementary school called University Adventist School. We were met by one of its teachers who told us she used to teach and live in Oakdale, Ca. The kids were great just like this morning. We performed the same program we did earlier at OAS. 

Osceola Adventist School

This morning we had our first performance at Osceola Adventist School. O.A.S. was a one classroom school located behind their church. We basically took over their classroom and set up for Westwinds. We met their teacher, Mrs. Bushie who was really kind and patient with us. 

Chosen sung three songs to start the concert followed by Oceanaires (who sung I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light, Oh Lord There's A Fire, and Ride the Chariot), and Westwinds ended the concert (they played Tarzan, Mission Impossible, and Pirates of the Caribbean). All the groups did well and the kids loved it. 

Here is what Dani Nob said about her experience: I think that the kids were really nice and they were really funny, cause they would just talk to us even though we had no idea who they were, and they totally welcomed us.  When Westwinds played, the kids were all dancing and stuff, it was really cute.   

Blizzard Beach

We spent the day at Disney's Blizzard Beach (Water Park). We had a blast!

Mc "D's"

Our first breakfast in Florida was at a huge McDonalds in Walt Disney World. 

We were hungry and sleepy but we're happy to get something in our stomachs.

We're online

Sorry I was having network problems. Now I have to work in the lobby to get online. I have alot to post.

A Tired Sponsor @ MCO - Pastor Jim

We arrived but dead tried!

Bobby Burnside and Aaron Chen passed out at baggage claim.

Sleeping on the plane

Written Early This Morning

Monday 7:30 am EST (4:30 am PST)

And we’re off again. We had a short layover in Atlanta, Ga and hopped back on the plane. Gun Lee almost spent his “homeleave” in Atlanta because he was ordering a burrito. We made it on with out problem although I did tell the lady checking us in to give Gun a hard time. On board found it quite amusing when our pilot told us our flight was an hour and 2 minutes long.

I have a window seat. The sun bouncing off the clouds and shining through the my window. It’s beautiful. It reminds me of the top of a giant cappuccino. J   Next stop MCO (Orlando, Florida)

Prego!

-Mr. Rivera

Written Sometime Last Night

Well we made it on the plane and we are flying now. I tried to get a blog in but when I sat down we began to board.

Today was a whirlwind. We had Sunday school. Oceanaires, Chosen and our newest instrumental ensemble MBA Brass Ensemble played for the “49er Brunch.” All three ensembles did really well. Everyone began loading their luggage in the trailer around 2:00 pm. We met at the music department for a pizza dinner and I had a quick meeting with the sponsors. After talking to the students about what to do and expect at the airport we began the loading process. We pulled out of MBA at 6:20 pm. Cecil Razor drove the bus and David Lara drove the van with the rest of the kids. Traffic was light and we got to the airport 10 minutes early. Check in was awesome. Mrs. Kubrock was at the desk making sure everyone had a tag with their name and address on it and made sure the line moved smoothly. AirTran was really patient with us and did a great job getting us all through. Mr. Z was at security letting the kids know where to go and what to do. Thankfully only one student got beeped and had to go to secondary inspection because she was wearing a belt. Mr. Dunn was at the gate letting the kids know where the gate was located what time to meet. I am so thankful we have awesome sponsors on our tour. 

The kids are having fun!

We will be arriving in Atlanta, Ga around 3:30 am Pacific Time (6:30 am Eastern Time). We will then board our connecting flight to Orlando, Fl.  Hopefully we could get a little sleep on the plane.

Hasta Pronto!

-Mr. Rivera

Something New

This year a new vocal ensemble will be joining us on tour. Chosen is an all female quartet made up of one freshman and 3 sophomores. They are very talented and have an wonderful sound.

We are happy they are joining us this year.

Chosen...

-Alyssa Fitting Sophomore   Soprano/Alto

-Tarynn Richert Sophomore   Soprano/Alto

-Dani Nobuhara Sophomore   Alto 

-Danielle Walker Freshman  Alto

Getting Ready to Go

Well it's coming down to the last couple of days until we head East to the Sunshine State. I hope you all will have fun reading this blog. I will keep it updated daily so keep checking in. Pray that everything goes well. You are welcome to post a comment we would love to read it. Take care!