Reinhardt University – Mar 14, 2012
The early morning drive through the mountains into Reinhardt was an adventure because of the heavy fog. And then, out of seemingly nowhere, this gorgeous campus appeared. They had red balloons hanging out on street corners to greet us and a ton of volunteers were already hard at working preparing the area by the cafeteria for an incredible day of Red Bus activities.
It wasn’t long before the Red Bus store was open and students were browsing and purchasing great clothes – all for the benefit of orphans!
The Reinhardt team joined together with the Red Bus team to accessorize the bus with additional inflatable games, a marshmallow roast, etc. Some great sidewalk chalkings stopped students in their tracks with critical facts about the plight of the over 140,000,000 orphans around the world.
For the first couple of dates on the tour, the temperatures had remained cool and it was rainy. On Reinhardt, we learned for the first time how hot it gets in the Red Bus! As the temps soared to mid-80’s with clear skies, the upstairs became a sauna in spite of the valiant efforts of the lone air conditioner unit and a floor fan. That didn’t seem to phase the Eagles as they shopped and raised nearly $1,000 to help orphans find forever families.
One sad note is that our fearless leader in charge of the store, Sarah Fess, came down with the flu and had to go home to recover. We hope she can join us soon!
The evening culminated with a great show from acoustic sensation Emily Hearn and CALEB. After a delightful performance by Emily, CALEB took the stage and began to rock the house.
Just a few notes in, with a big SHHHMP!, everything went silent! Caleb, always the consummate pro, told a few jokes while the crew revived the generator that had blown. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before CALEB was back jamming and inviting students to consider how they take simple actions that can help give orphans a voice in the noisy world.
Students from a number of church youth groups in the area showed up to enjoy the CALEB show and a number of foster children were given the VIP treatment at the show.
Check out another video from the Reinhardt University here.
It wasn’t long before we were packing up and moving on Rome, Georgia, to spend a day with the folks from Shorter.
A big thank you to Leigh Martin, and the Red Bus Project Reinhardt team for a tremendous experience!
