Family Fest in the Smokies

by Lisa Hildreth

I just returned from spending a fun filled weekend in Gatlinburg, TN.  The annual Gaither Family Fest was the event.  We had a great time.  It was wonderful to spend some time with The Isaacs and to hear some uplifting music and testimony.  If you've never attended this event make your plans now for 2010.  

The Isaacs had just returned from a 10 day trip to Africa on Wednesday.  Becky said she did not even get to sleep in her own bed for even one night before they had to leave out again for the weekend.  I can't imagine!  But you know what, they didn't even seem tired.  They were still top notch all weekend!  They had performed in Nashville on Friday night at the Legacy Five

 Homecoming and then made their way to Gatlinburg arriving in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday morning.

I left my home in NC around 3:30 and drove to Spartanburg, SC to meet up with my good friend Shelly.  She then drove the rest of the way to Gatlinburg.  When we got there Lily called and said the guys had taken in all the product and she needed us to set up the booth when we got to the convention center.  It was kind of difficult since the doors had already opened for the morning show and while we were trying to set up, folks were already trying to buy stuff.  We got it done though.  The morning service started at 10:00am.  On the morning sets Bill usually had each person/group do one song and then had the morning speaker to come up.  All of the services

 were so good.  On Saturday morning Bill Young, author of "The Shack" was the special guest. That was really great!  Zig Ziglar made a brief visit to the stage.  Sunday morning's speaker was Steve Brown, well known Christian author and founder of KeyLife Network.  The messages were great, the music was fantastic and the Blessings were in abundance.

The Isaacs performed a variety of music this weekend.  Bill called them up to do several songs from their upcoming Acapella album which is due to be released sometime this summer.  They still don't have a definite title for it, but we'll be announcing that soon.  The songs are awesome. One very special one they did this weekend was "Mama's Teaching Angels How to Sing" by the late Dottie Rambo.  This month marked a year since Dottie's passing.  Sonya mentioned Eva Mae Lefevre as they began this song.  Miss Eva Mae was always a favorite at Family Fest.  She passed away this past week and she was greatly missed.  

It was a fun filled weekend.  It's always especially great because most of the artists have their spouses and children with them for the weekend.  On the final night Bill has all the children come onto the stage.  It's a wonderful site to behold.  

Sonya did not wear a raincoat on stage

see! there's proof! this was in the pocket

Becky with Sherri Easter

Ben & Mindy with Gordon Mote

John & Becky

Sonya backstage visiting with friends

Nathan on the cajon - Walk On

Becky, Sonya & Ben singing with Gordon Mote

Home Sweet Home

The Isaacs will begin their journey home in just a few hours.  Our flight leaves Africa on Tuesday and we will arrive back in Nashville on Wednesday evening.  Thank you so much for your prayers. We pray that our stories we've shared will encourage you to support World Vision.  Adopt a child today.  Save a life!

Victoria Falls and the Zambezi boat ride.....

Hey everybody... Im sorry you havent heard from us! We reluctantly left the village of Musele yesterday (the17th)  and flew to finish our trip in a very touristy part of Africa. A place called Victoria Falls in Zambia...  Yesterday we arrived by charter plane, a 12 seat Cessna plane which just barely had room for us and our luggage! Poor Becky was so nervous (she hates to fly anyway) and we all dreaded the 2 1/2 hour flight with no bathroom!  lol!  We finally arrived in Livingstone and spent the day at the Amazing Falls... One of the Seven Wonders of the World!  WOW!  We rented a rain coat at the entrance not knowing what to expect as we walked the path to the falls.  It was sooo breathtaking!!  The mossy path led us through the woods and to the cliffs of the waterfall.. then we took an exciting adventure over a bridge that walked you right through the big splash of the falls.  We all felt like kids again as we walked through what was like a heavy down pour of rain, which actually was the mist from the fall.. it was spectacular, and so huge!!!  Levi and Jakobi loved it!!

After the Falls visit, which left us quite wet inspite of our wetgear, we were taken on a dinner boat up the Zambezi River (which empties in the Falls).  For the next few hours we sailed on the calm waters while the warm sunshine dried our wet pants and shoes.  We saw all kinds of birds and natural wildlife and just enjoed a gorgeous African sunset before returning to the dock.   Our Zambian host, Victor, has done such a great job planning these sightseeing adventures for us.  Thank you Victor!!  We will miss you!

We headed back to our hotel after the boat ride, and after chasing a lizard from our villa,and letting the mosquito nets down over the beds,  settled in for a good nights sleep.  We wanted to be well rested for today.. THE SAFARI!!!!! 

 

 

Meeting the Chief

Meeting Chief Musele!

In every village, there is a Chief and today we got to meet Chief Musele himself!  This title was inherited by his father and those before, and getting the opportunity to visit him was really an honor!  When we arrived at his home..(which really wasnt too much more modern than any of the village folks we met), we were instructed to wait at the gate for permission to enter.  We followed specific rules and guidelines, like, bow and clap when you enter, to show respect, and never ever touch him.. and only speak when spoken to..

He welcomed us into his home and there he and his first wife (he only has 3, lol) entertained us for over an hour.  Being the leader of the people, he really showed graitude to Team Isaacs for helping Musele village, and to WV for all their efforts.. then he continued to share what overwhelming needs they still have.  I suppose representing the people, part of his job is to speak for them, and he shared, almost pleading for more to be done on their behalf.  It was very somber and serious for most of the time there, and when we left, we took pictures with them. 

It was a nice visit, and we knew that we were appreciated and welcome to return anytime.  Oh, and he wore sortof a long kiltish looking traditional skirt and a matching jacket and some sort of headdress.. He looked verrrry important :-)  

World Vision is saving lives in Musele

World Vision is doing a wonderful job in the village of Musele!  Id like to share with you some of the ways the sponsorship program is helping the entire community! 

We visited several of the schools here in Musele.  The children who attend  all wear uniforms... and although there are many basic schools, there is only 1 high school for 70 Kilometers!!  The teens who are fortunate enough to get to go walk miles a day and some stay in the nice boarding houses on site provided by World Vision donors.  They travel home on weekends and bring back the food they will cook themselves for the whole week.  Its alot different than our schools.. here, they are just happy to get to go.  We got to sit in on a 4th grade class and watched as the teacher, in English and Lunda taught them about thousands,hundreds, tens and ones and how to identify them.  They sang us this familiar song: 

The more we are together, together, together, 

The more we are together the happier we are.. 

Cause your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends

The more we get together the happier we are.

The classrooms look very plain.  Only desks, a chalkboard and some posters hanging on the block wall.  They have to put water on the dirt floor to keep it from being so dusty inside,  I wish all the kids in the USA could see it... they would really appreciate their schools alot more!! They expressed great need for more high schools and need more supplies to make them efficient.  But still they are thankful for the improvement WV (World Vision) has made.  It is getting better constantly thru the donations of WV sponsors and donors. 

We also went to see a fishing pond that World Vision workers helped provide.  They want to help the people develop the land, so they teach them how to farm, make fishing ponds, and grow crops.  This way they take pride in doing it themselves and when World Vision moves on to help another village (they usually stay in one location about 10 years).. then the villagers can continue the work.  We asked the man who owned this pond how has World Vision changed his life.  He said that the pond has provided a means of income and food (the fish) for him and his family.  He said it allows him to be able to send his kids to school and buy food and clothes.  He was so grateful.  It took him about 3 months (with the help of 2 other men) to dig the fishing pond (by hand!)...  He saw how the training and the hard work paid off.  There are many examples of this all over Musele...  People who have taken advantage of WV's opportunity to build a business.  It was so neat to see!

We saw many wells , or 'boreholes"" as they call them.  When you see how spread out their huts are over miles of dry land, you can see why it is such a burden for them to have to walk so far, miles a day, for water.  The wells WV has dug now provide much easier access to the water, and now they have water that is cleaner and wont make them sick like getting it from a contaminated lake.  They are very grateful for the boreholes... You can purchase one as a gift thru WV for about $17,000, or you can buy a small share in one if you go onto www.worldvision.org.  There are other much needed things you can specifically purchase for your child by calling World Visions 800 number.  

The care clinics that have been built have definately reduced the sickness and death rates in Musele.  We met many of the caregivers who work with WV's program to help the sick and orphaned...  They were all so kind and truly had loving hearts.  Their jobs range from visiting and bathing the ill, helping tend to the children, cleaning their homes, serving as midwives to pregnant women, and just anything they can do to lighten their loads.  WV provides caregiver kits that include things like gloves, cloths, flashlights, bandages, sanitary wipes, ibuprofen and other things they use daily.  The caregivers told us that they need more supplies, as they run out too quickly.  You can help provide these kits by contacting WV...  Our WV rep Michael said they helped put together  a thousand kits with GMA people at $28 a kit.  You can encourage your church to do a similar thing.  You can put the kits together for them and WV will ship them over for you....there are specific guidelines that they can give you if you are interested.  Check out www.worldvision.org.  

As you can see, your sponsorship is really saving not just your child, but the whole community! You should be so proud of your monthly sacrifice to help them.. we are proud of YOU, sponsors, nd encourage you to continue to do all you can with us and WV as you Help Us Help Them!

Much Love,

Sonya and the Gang...

Meeting the Children

Musele Children

Mna Handy or....  ""Hello, How are you?"" in Lunda, one of the native tongues here in Musele, Zambia... I love hearing the voices of the sweet little ones running around with sheer excitement at seeing all the visitors... They are so curious, and a little afraid at first, peering around bushes and trees or anything they can to stay a safe distance from all these strange people in their village.  It doesnt take long for them to warm up, though, and by the time we leave, they are running after us, waving and shouting and smiling from ear to ear...  

"More Musele Adventures"... One of our goals in coming here was to meet as many of the sponsored children as possible...  and we accomplished that... having met all of our personal Isaacs children and then some... of course having 1300 children in our team sponsorship made it impossible to see them all, as they are spread out over about an 80km distance and we only had 3 days here.  Mom got to see her sweet little girl, Musoli who at only 5 years was crying initially because she was afraid.. then she suddenly calmed and crawled up on Moms lap where she just rested her little head on Mom's shoulder for the longest time. The only time she cried after that was when we had to leave. Sweet sweet memories!  .. Then we  also met Isaac, whom she chose for obvious reasons ;-) He is also very young and his family was so excited that we shared his name!  We all got to spend about 20 minutes with our kids and the each showed us their huts.. and we got to give them all some gifts that we had brought.  In hind sight, we have realized so much of their needs from being here.  We think about a child missing out on toys and games and sweets, and we all brought lots of that, and they truly enjoy it all, but  in reality, their greatest needs are for clothes, shoes, food, coats and blankets, and even a decent place to sleep.  If you want to give your child a special gift, you can send a gift notification, which is money that you designate how you want it to be spent... a goat, a chicken, a cow, a metal covering for the hut, clothes, school supplies.. desks for the students.. there are so many basic needs that we can help buy them this way.. yet we sit comfortably on our leather couches and watch 95 channels of satellite while we eat our way to obesity.  We must do more... we simply must sacrifice, at least a little more, to provide more for those that are without!

We travelled a few miles up the road to the next dirt path leading us to Ben's sponsored child, Nelson, an 11 year old boy.  Nelson is one of 10 children.  Again, they welcomed us with a few rhythmic harmonious songs  which ended in them bowing in front of us.  Ben got to give Nelson pictures that his kids had drawn for him.. and he gave him a picture of them too, along with some gifts they had sent.  Then before we left their area, they brought gifts to him as well...  bananas, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and another  chicken..  Imagine them handing Ben a live chicken!!  At least the feet were tied so it could scratch and run! ha ha... I wish you could all have been there with us.  Im telling you, you owe it to yourself to take a trip like this... you will never be the same!!

After a delicious lunch which was generally the same as supper every day but still very tasty, we went to visit Becky's little girl, Memory.. this was so moving! Becky had sent her pictures several times of their family, so when we unloaded from the jeep, as soon as Memory saw Jakobi, she ran straight up to her and wrapped her arms around her as tight as she could!  Memory is about Jakobis age, and she is an orphan... She lives with her aunt and uncle's family in their hut and she was perhaps the most needing of all of the sponsored children we saw.  You could always tell which child you were visiting because he or she would be the only one with a washed outfit and clean face.. they took very special care in preparing for their sponsors even though their dresses were torn and their shoes were too big or ripped out.  Memory didnt seem to notice, though, that she didnt have on a matching shirt and skirt, or that only one of her flip flops had a flower on it.. she felt like the queen of the village, even if just for a few minutes that day. I love how all the families that live in her area paid equal part in the appreciation.. because they all want the best for each other, and World Vision is helping them all through that child's sponsorship.  It really does take a village to raise a child.  It was hard to say goodbye to Memory.. but we knew there was much more to see and do before we came home.

Our last visit for the day was my other little girl...Sonia... Can you guess why I had to sponsor her? lol.  I recognized her from a distance because she had on the same red and white dress that she wore in her annual report picture. She was so adorable.. she had on some huge Miss Magoo glasses and it just broke my heart that they were so dirty and scratched!  When we sat down at the welcoming table (every place we went had one), her father told us that she only wears them as an accessory and not for her vision..  later that day we saw many of the people in her village wearing the same kind! Someone had given them a whole bunch of them and they were trying to impress us, as if it were beautiful jewelry or a nice scarf!! lol... we couldnt help but laugh under our breaths!  It was the cutest thing!  

We had a wonderful visit with Sonias family and as we left the children all giggled, saying ""Sonya, Sonia"", they liked it that they could easily remember my name. We had a wonderful time with all of the families we visited, and have never felt more welcomed anywhere in the world we've been.  Some friends of ours, the Beckers, donated about 400 toothbrushes with toothpaste, and our friends the Carmacks sent a box of hair accessories, etc, and we passed them out everywhere we went.. They were all so grateful... really makes you appreciate even the basic things we have that we take for granted everyday!

We visited alot of other places on our trip too.. I will blog about them seperately...  but for now I just wanted you to know about the wonderful children!!

More later..

Sonya

The Isaacs visit the village of Musele and meet their sponsored children

May 14, 2009.. I think.. lol....

Hello from Musele, Zambia everyone!

Today was absolutely incredible!!! I wish I could paint a picture with words to let you see things you wouldnt believe... things that will change your life, as they are ours...

We left Lusaka on a small charter plane yesterday and several hours later arrived in Solwezi, Zambia. We landed in what looked like a field with just enough runway to land, and the airport was no more than a 2 or 3 room building.. very simple, very unmodernized. There we were greeted by several of the local World Vision staff members with roses and big smiles, and grateful hearts for our journey...

Solwezi airport (all of it)

After a great lunch in Solwezi, they took us in 3 vehicles (Land Rover types) to the Mumbezhi Holt Family Guest House... A small cement block building with 4 bedrooms, a living area with dining table, a small kitchen, and 2 bathrooms. There is no running water or electricity here at the Royal Guest House, but they provide water to fill the toilet for flushing and a hot bucket of water every morning for spit bathing. Every day from about 6:30pm till 10pm they have a generator that runs so we are able to recharge our cameras, phones, etc... Oh, and there is hardly any cell service anywhere here, you have to buy a SIM card to get connected and it runs out so fast, youre lucky to say Hi and Bye before the time expires.. lol. We were expecting much worse conditions, and although primitive, we are safe and definately learning to appreciate our spoiled lifestyles. Its alot like camping out here.. bugspray, flashlights, and the brightest, most beautiful starry sky Ive ever seen!

After getting a good nights sleep, we woke up early today to visit the children in Musele. There are about 5000 in the sponsorship program here, and the village is spread out for miles and miles! At every home we visited, we were greeted by women singing welcome songs, and by the children, barefoot and smiling, waving to us like theyd been waiting for a lifetime to meet us! The first child we visited was one of my little girls... Sella. There were 100s of children following us as we walked to her hut. When we arrived, she was standing in front of all the others, waiting to meet me.. her sponsor from America. Her little dirty face was so beautiful.. and she shyly stuck out her hand to meet me. I was so happy to finally meet her. We sat down in a circle and the women again sang songs to welcome us and say God Bless you! Then I went into Sellas hut with her and her family. She has 4 brothers and sisters... and you wouldnt believe the size of the hut they all sleep in... honestly, its not as big as the bathroom in my house with mud walls and a straw roof... Sella showed me where she sleeps. It was just a place on the dirt floor. No bed, not even a mat.. just the earth.. It broke my heart! How could we ever complain about anything!!! I gave her the gifts I had brought... 2 outfits, a slinky, a few blow up balls, some pencils, paper, a bracelet, some polly pockets, and a few other little toys. She loved it all. Then they asked us to sit down outside and Sellas family presented me with gifts... a chicken (yes, a real live chicken!!), some wooden spoons, some pumpkins and some sweet potatoes. I couldn't believe that as little as they had to give, they still gave me all these things. They as well as the other families are so grateful for their sponsors.. This program really is giving them hope and life!!!

After saying goodbye, we travelled a short distance to meet some of the other children, inlcuding Jesse's boy and Ben's boy Nelson. When we arrived at Nelsons home, the women were again singing to welcome us.. and Nelson was in the center, with a cover over his head.. like a surprise who was waiting to be unveiled! Ben lifted the cover from his head and met the little boy that his family has been talking about and writing to for almost 2 years now. Nelson, like some of the others, was also very very shy but he was glad to meet Ben and his family and again presented him with similar gifts, including another live chicken! So very very sweet, so very happy that we came!

After meeting several more of the children in our sponsorship program, we went to see the new hospital clinic that World Visions sponsorship program has built... they are so excited to have this clinic which will be primarily to help HIV/ AIDS patients and also is a maternity ward for mothers who otherwise would have to deliver at home. There were several dozen caregivers there who were so gracious to us and answered alot of questions about the programs. We even got to meet one of their clients, a lady with 5 children who is frail and suffering from TB. She told us how much the WV Caregivers have blessed and helped her and was grateful for all WV has done for her. It was overwhelming to feel like such a help to them all.

After a great long first day in the village, we retired back to the guesthouse where supper was waiting: Sorta fried chicken, sweet potatoes, collared greens, shima (like grit patties) and other local vegetables. Then we had some delicious watermelon and pineapple for dessert. We had to be really careful not to eat anything that wasnt boiled or that they had made with their water... we had to drink only bottled water, even to brush our teeth... because its easy to get sick from what we are not used to. The food was delicious..and the women who cooked prepared it with much love.

Time for bed now.. a twin size bed, 3 in each room, with a treated mosquito net hanging over each and a few spiders (apparently harmless) beaming at us from the top of the walls. Oh, and I shouldnt forget the shrill sounds of the bats coming from the rooftop. Sweet dreams! LOL

More soon... Sonya and the Mazungos (their word for white people) LOL!!

Musele

I received a short message from Sonya today. They wanted everyone to know they have arrived at the village of Musele. They are safe and they are having a wonderful trip. She is eager to blog about their adventure as soon as she has internet connection. Thank you for the prayers! Keep sending them up!!

Lisa

The Isaacs meet a fan in Zambia

Hi yall.

Today we are leaving the capitol of Zambia.. Lusaka.. And flying a small plane to Solwezi.. The closest big city to Musele.  In the airport today we were greeted by a huge fan.. Mr Vivian Saws, Who sees us on the Gaither shows here in Africa!  So cool! He recognized us and was so excited to meet us!  He wants us to come to Zambia to sing.. Go God!

 

All is well on the trip.. We are safe and feel so blessed to be here with World Vision. Just a little tired from all the travels.

More asap.. Keep us in your prayers! Pray especially for safety, and that we can touch the lives of all those we meet this week.  Thank you so much...

Gods blessings!

Sonya and the Gang

Safe Arrival in Johannesburg South Africa

Updated at bottom of post + a few photos

Hey everyone! Just wanted to try to keep you in the loop on our trip to Musele Village in Zambia with World Village!  This first blog will be a little short but I just wanted to let yall know we have made it this far with no trouble... After 28 hours travel time including a 4 hour layover in Detroit and another 4 hrs in Amsterdam we are in Johannesburg South Africa. We are spending the night here and flying out at 10:50am for Zambia in the morning. I don't know if I will have internet on a lot of the trip but I will do my best to blog.  Keep us in your prayers please!  We are coming home the 20th...

 

Love and Blessings!

Sonya

I received a brief message from Lily today.......they have arrived safely in Zambia.  She said they haven't had a chance to see very much yet and they are very tired.  They will be flying to the village of Musele tomorrow and will be meeting and spending time with their sponsored children.  They will be "camping out" for the next three days.  Lily says thank you for praying and please don't stop now.

Lisa

Becky, Jakobi, Lily, Sonya & Levi and representative 

from World Vision - at the airport - ready to fly

The Isaacs waiting to board

Ben with Heidi - the videographer filming their trip

The Isaacs in Paducah, KY

The Isaacs return to Paducah, KY on May 30th at 6:00pm.

Don't miss this great concert.  Get your tickets now!

Click on photo to view Concert poster

A Great Evening of Music

Join The Isaacs in Rector, AR on August 4th along with Guy Penrod (former Gaither Vocal Band member), Dailey & Vincent (a hot new Bluegrass group), Russ Taff & funny guy Kevin Williams. The concert starts at 6:30pm and will be held at the Rector High School gym 600 Block, 5th St. Rector, AR.

Tickets go on sale May 15 and are $50 for orchestra seats and with the purchase of each ticket you receive a gift bag with products valued at more than $50.  General admission is $20.  Tickets may by purchased at the Arkansas State University ticket office in Jonesboro by calling 870-972-2781 or at their website at http://www2.astate.edu/tickets/.  Tickets purchased early will be mailed.

We hope to see you there.  

South Africa

The Isaacs are about to embark on a trip to South Africa.  No concerts are planned this time.  They will be visiting their World Vision sponsored village in Zambia.  Your prayers are much appreciated for a safe trip.  Thank you for sponosoring a child through World Vision.

We would love to hear about your sponsored child and how you correspond.  Send your World Vision stories to share with others.  Email to info@theisaacs.com and we will post your story on our World Vision blog.

Hannah Montana? It's Sonya Isaacs!

Last summer I was invited to be a backup singer in the new Hannah Montana movie that just came out! My friend Lisa (she's on my right in the scene) was my publisher at Disney Music Publishing, and she asked Jessi (another Disney writer) and me to join her as backup singers for Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus on 2 songs during the movie. We couldnt believe it! Actresses!! lol... We were given the opportunity to write songs as well, but I didnt have any luck with it... Jessi, on the otherhand,(btw: she's the girl to my left in the scene) had some amazing luck.... She and our friend Jon Mabe cowrote the smash hit "The Climb" which is now a HUGE song for Miley! What a great song.. and a great performance by Ms. Cyrus!!

We filmed for 3 days in Smiley Hollow Campground, located in Goodlettsville, TN, in the dead heat of the summer last June (08)... In spite of the 95 degree days with no a/c on set, we had an amazing time and got to hang out with the wonderful cast of Hannah Montana. Miley is very sweet, and is such a great actress... and all the other cast members were so down to earth and friendly too. It was an unforgettable experience and I feel blessed for the opportunity to be in it. I believe good clean entertainment is important these days. Kids need to be presented movies like this one that teach you to keep dreaming, but keep your feet on the ground! Hope you enjoy the movie!!

Sonya

Isaacs update

Many of you have written recently inquiring about the A capella album that the Isaacs have been working on. I wanted to update you on that process. Lily says they have almost completed the album, just a little more to do. They don't have a definite release date yet, but we will be sure to post that here as soon as we know something for sure. They also have not definitely decided on a title for the project. There were so many great ideas sent in here on the blog and they also have a few great ones they came up with. Stay tuned here for more info. as it becomes available.

If you haven't heard yet, our very own Sonya Isaacs is in the brand new, just released Hannah Montana movie. Keep a close eye on the blog as we will have some news for you about that in the next few days.

The Isaacs hit the road again last night after having a few days off for Spring Break. Catch them in concert if you can!! View the tour schedule HERE.

Blessings,
Lisa

The Isaacs sisters big winners at 2009 SGN Music Awards

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The 2009 SGN Music Awards were handed out last night at a special concert celebration in Smyrna, Tennessee to a capacity crowd. The Booth Brothers were the big winners of the night - winning five awards. The group took home their second award for Album of the Year for the critically acclaimed Room For More project. That album was also awarded Progressive Southern Album of the Year. The group was also awarded Male Group of the Year and Best Live Performer. In addition, Michael Booth was awarded Male Vocalist of the Year.

Mike & Kelly Bowling won three awards. The group’s #1 hit “Your Cries Have Awoken the Master” was awarded Song of the Year and Progressive Southern Song of the Year. The trio’s debut recording, Faith to Believe, also won Country/Bluegrass Album of the Year.

Songwriting siblings Becky & Sonya Isaacs also won three awards over the course of the evening – including Songwriter of the Year (Artist). The sisters also took home two more awards for writing the Mike & Kelly Bowling song “Your Cries Have Awoken the Master.”

Click Here to read the entire article and to see a list of the winners.

Touring Stirling Castle and Our First Concert in Scotland

Hi everyone!  It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Scotland.  Feels like its close to 60°  and we are heading out for our 3 hour drive to Northeastern Scotland to the town of Peterhead.  We are having a great time, and making new friends all the while!  Yesterday was a fun, adventurous day for us!  We had several hours to go to the Stirling Castle… where we learned about the legendary William Wallace “Braveheart” from the Scottish insiders!  The castle was built in the 1500s and has been preserved and restored to allow tourists to enjoy its history.  We were fascinated to learn about King James V  and also visited the Regimental Museum inside the castle where we learned about the history of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.  There were 1000nds of  pictures, stories and remains from the Scottish soldiers gear, and we saw uniforms and machinery that had been used during wartime!  We saw our first KILT yesterday!!  I cant imagine these men having to go to war wearing them… wasn’t it hard to fight in a skirt? Didn’t their legs get cold? However difficult it may have been for them to battle in (and that is just my speculation) , the kilts were absolutely beautiful and the tradition of the Scottish uniform is marvelous to see!

After lunch in the town of Stirling, we headed to the Dobbie Hall for our concert that night in Larbert, Scotland.  This was an older, smaller venue, seating about 400 people, but it allowed for more of an intimate atmosphere with the audience.  Most of the people there, as was the case in N. Ireland are HUGE Gaither fans (they all pronounce it “Gether” lol), so they were familiar with us through the DVDs.  They seemed excited from the get-go, and by the end of the night they stood and clapped for more.. J  There was another family performing last night. The Gardiners.  They are from Peterhead Scotland, and are a mother, father and 2 children.. They were fantastic!  Beautiful tight family harmony performed southern gospel style! We are singing with them again tomorrow night.

When we were in the Faroe Islands last year, we were booked at a festival with a well-known Christian rock band in the UK called Superhero. We had a little time to get to know them and then on the way home from the Faroes ran into them again in Copenhagen airport…  Long story short, we became good friends and have kept in touch with them via email.  Well, two of the guys came to see us sing last night! Johnny and Tim, some super sweet guys surprised us at the concert and even stayed to eat.  They are coming to Eastern America in May, so check out their website (www.superhero.org.uk or www.myspace.com/superherouk) and if you like Christian rock, go see them!  They are very passionate about Jesus and are fun to know!

We finally wrapped up the concert about 11:00 last night (started at 8 and had an intermission) and headed over to the Pastor’s house for … you guessed it, Chinese take out (they say take away here)… Yummy!  Pastor Michael Rollo and his wife Diane along with their kids were an absolute joy to meet and wonderful people!  We had time to eat supper with them the night we got into town and we laughed and laughed for hours!  Then they took us to the shortest street in the UK… “Tollbooth Street’..  it was only                                 

 58 feet long! We’d call it an alley in the USA..lol…  But quite a cool experience!! 

We are nearing Peterhead now… and are looking forward to another fresh fish and chips supper tonight! MMMMM!!!  I will talk to you soon.. Thanks for reading, and keep us in your prayers!

Sonya and the I’s.  

        

Sightseeing and Mum's Day!

We have had a few days this week that we used to go explore the countryside of Northern Ireland… and let me tell you, it is breathtaking!  On Saturday before our concert we headed to Port Rush for some delicious fish and chips and enjoyed the peaceful shoreline scenery !  Then we headed up to Bush Mills and to the Causeway Coast,  where we visited the legendary “Giant’s Causeway”.  It was so amazing.. Stacks of hardened lava have formed pillars of stepping stones out into the ocean and up high above sea level.  We carefully climbed as high as we could and took some great pictures! We will try to get you some pics as soon as we can.  We had to head back to Belfast for load in later that day.

Our other adventure day was Sunday,… Our hosts for the day, Leslie and Carol Ann Brown (sweet people!)  wouldn’t tell us where we were going  so they could surprise us! We drove about 2 hours and got  onto a wee ferry for a wee ride across Strangford Lough (Lake)… we saw miles of yellow flowers blooming from bushes (Carol Ann said they traditionally used the dye from them  to color Easter eggs!) and then after about 40 minutes we arrived at our surprise destination:  a place called Down Patrick in the southeast part of the country.  We were at the St. Patrick’s Cathedral and next to it was the cemetery where St. Patrick was buried in the 12th century!!  Did you know that Saint Patrick (his name was Patrick Brennan) is from Britain, the son of a wealthy landowner?  When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped and brought to Ireland where he was sold into slavery.  He escaped to France, but one night in a dream he heard the voice of the Irish calling him back and felt called to go back and witness to those who had mistreated him.  How Patrick answered that call and brought Christianity to Ireland is one of the most splendid stories in history!

We weren’t able to go into the church because it was closed due to the holiday.  Yesterday was “Mothers Day” in Ireland!  And its so adorable how they all say “Mum” instead of Mom.  Even the cards all say Mum on them!!   So, when you see our Mom next time, say “Hello Mum Isaacs”!  

We drove around in the tourist- loved town of  Newcastle and viewed the grand Mourne Mountains off in the distance.  Then we stopped briefly at the majestic Slieve Donard Resort.  Behind it lies the greens of the famous Royal County Down Golf Club where famous Americans such as Tiger Woods, and Bill Clinton have been spotted.  That reminds me, Ben, Nathan and Thomas got to spend the first day here golfing in Portadine with Gary (the Browns son) and had a good “guy bonding” time Irish style J .  Thanks for a great day Gary!! The girls and some of the guys opted to go shopping, and found some great British deals!! 

 

After Newcastle on Sunday  we drove to the Glassdrumman House, a quaint lodge nestled in the mountains, for lunch.  The owner, Joan was at our concert the night before and fed us a delicious authentic meal consisting of  ham, lamb, roast, potatoes (they eat A LOT of potatoes aka “spuds” here too!), cabbage, broccoli, carrots, soup and dessert.  We pigged out and said goodbye to our new friend and headed back to the hotel to freshen up for church.. 

There is so much to see here, so much that we will have to return for!  Lord willing we will come back again and again.  You HAVE to come see beautiful Northern Ireland for yourself!

BTW: The wearin green or you’ll get pinched fad is American made, they don’t do that in Ireland : > )  Oh, and we managed to stay out of the pubs too…lol.

The Titanic and a Scottish Rainbow!!

Today we left N. Ireland at around 11 this morning and headed for Scotland.  We drove onto a ferry leaving from Belfast and rode for 2 hours across the Irish Sea… a rocky, but gorgeous ride. We were told that the Titanic was built right there in Belfast and sailed the same sea as we did!!  Boy, Im glad we weren’t on it today.. Lol.  

When we reached the other side, we drove off the ferry into Scotland.  Our 2 hour trip began alongside the ocean at the bottom of  tall green mountains and was breathtaking.. THEN we saw the most beautiful huge rainbow... Both ends touching down on the rolling emerald acres of Scottish fields!!  God reminds us all the time How Great He really is.  We just have to keep our eyes open!  We are pinching ourselves every day because we just cant believe we are here!!  We loved our time in N. Ireland, and certainly hope we can return soon, and are excited about the next 5 days in Scotland!!  More to come…!!

Great concerts in Ballymena, Craigavon and Belfast!!

It never ceases to amaze me how the Spirit of God unites perfect strangers!  Here we are in a foreign land, learning the habits and dialects of a people we’ve only heard about, and meeting individuals we’ve never even seen… and yet we feel like family!  Only God and the shared passion we have for His kingdom can unite us in such a quick heartfelt way!  We are having some amazing concerts here in N. Ireland.. 

Our first concert was on Thursday night in Craigavon at the beautiful  Civic Center.  Start time, 8pm…  Seats lined the aisles of the overcrowded auditorium and anxious Irish folk filled them with great anticipation!  We were shocked to see such a large crowd at our first ever North Ireland performance!  Our promoter Ronnie Dawson plays with a group called the “Drop Inn Country Band” and they started the evening off with about 30 minutes of great music each night! The guys in the band were so kind and tirelessly helped out with sound equipment every night… They were so much fun to watch and did a great job, and we enjoyed their humor and hearing the different accents on some popular songs we all know… “Because He Lives“, “I’ll Fly Away“, “Try A Little Kindness”, to name a few, and the crowd sang along and had a great time with them!  By the time we got up, they were already warmed up and ready for more!  We sang 45 minutes, then took an intermission where we invited the audience to meet us and give us song requests.  We were overwhelmed by the songs that they knew and sang another 45 minutes to accommodate them.  Here are some of the most requested:

“Stand Still, He Understands My Tears, Yours and Mine, Sweet Holy Spirit, Heroes, He Never Failed Me, If That Don’t Make You Wanna Go, Walk On“…  to name a few… 

We sang what seemed to us a long time and at the end of the night, with pictures and autographs and visiting, we were,, to say the least , a “wee bit tired”!  J  But it was a great night, and we were so happy to be singing to an audience who seemed anxious to listen! The former mayor of Craighaven was there and gave us a tour of the Mayors Chambers after the show.  (He) Councilor Robert Smith has become a friend of the Isaacs for life!! 

Friday night’s concert was in a town called Ballymena (they would pronounce town like “tine”- all the words with the “ow” sound - sound like long “I“- (now=nie, how=hi, down=dine)… .. Its so cute, and a little hard to get used to!  Anyway, it was in the Seven Towers Leisure Center and the crowd was nearly full!   It was a wonderful evening and seemed the most spiritual of all 3 shows. The anointing fell on Sweet Holy Spirit, and before the concert ended, we were praying together and worshiping with tears abundantly flowing everywhere.  It was a fantastic night!

Our last performance in N. Ireland was in the  capital, Belfast, at the Spires Centre.  This was a large auditorium and was beautifully colored with careful architectural design.  It was our biggest crowd yet.. 800 excited fans, most coming for the first time ever to hear us, and around 100 who came back for seconds.   It was a spectacular night and seemed like the perfect finale for 3 amazing concerts. 

To wind up our time here, we were invited to worship at Pastor Dawson’s church last night.  He asked us to sing a few songs and Mom gave her testimony.  Then he gave a wonderful message and impressed on the people to come to the Lord.  One sweet 13 year old boy came up and prayed with him and hugged us all after the service telling us with teary eyes that he got saved J !!! That was worth all the hassle at immigrations in itself!! Thank God the Spirit is the same everywhere we go!  After church we headed over to the Dawson’s home (where we also ate a delicious home cooked meal of lasagna, chicken pot pie and 5 different desserts the first night we came!) Then last night we had, believe it or not, Chinese food!  Oh, and we also had KFC, Subway, and Dominos pizza this week..  Some things are just to good to stay in one country! LOL..  We fell in love with the entire Drop Inn Church and the precious Dawson family (especially  2 month old Caleb and 4 month old Daniel) !!  Thank you all for all your hospitality.  Come see us in the good ole USA any ole time!

Dixie Stampede then Ireland !?!

The story of how our  trip to Northern Ireland came about is so cool!  We were visiting the Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge TN last summer…  after the amazing show (our friend Jay Teter is one of the great hosts of the show, so we go quite often), we were leaving and heard some full Irish accented voices calling from the gift shop.. “Are you the Isaacs?”….  A group of gospel music fans from N. Ireland was visiting and recognized us as we were leaving. “ We love your music in Ireland and we want you to come sing for us next year!”  So….  We exchanged contact info, feeling grateful that we were recognized, and not really expecting it to lead to an actual tour here…  Sure enough, they followed through and arranged 3 concerts here, and 2 in Scotland (next weeks concerts)!  Ronnie Dawson, our promoter and his wife Carolyn are hosting us this week, and are doing a fantastic job. Once we got over the jet lag, and the initial detention at immigration, we have had a brilliant time!  The country side is so green, and beautiful!  Cant wait to see more, and share pics with you all… 

More soon…  Sonya

All's Well that Doesn't End

Greetings from Northern Ireland!!!  Boy do we have a story for you!  We have had quite a memorable adventure thus far and have finally caught a moment to fill you in!  

We left Nashville TN at 2:40pm on St. Patricks Day (Mar 17th) to begin our  long anticipated 10 day tour in Great Britain! How cool to be going to Ireland, where this holiday was started..  on St. Patty’s Day!!  

We have always dreamed of coming to Ireland, and the UK, and were so excited that we might have gone a little overboard clothed in our “I love Ireland” tee-shirts and flashing pins! Lol…. We planned to surprise our hosts with this patriotic attire, and were, as cheesy as it was, green to the max.. nobody was getting pinched on our plane!  After a 3 ½ hr layover in Newark, we left at

 9:30pm that night for our direct flight to Belfast, N.Ireland.   The flight was 6 hours long but smooth.. And with our 5 hour time change, we landed safely in Belfast around 8 the next morning.  This is where the story begins:

We got our carry ons and headed toward the customs/ immigration to flash our passports and proceed to get our luggage and meet our promoter Ronnie and the pick-up crew…  Ben was first in line.. He flashed his passport and began to answer the string of questions the immigration officer had for him.. She soon learned that we are a band here to play some concerts and quickly asked for the proper documentation to enter the country under the working clause.  Oopsy…  we didn’t have any papers to show her!!  She asked us to sit in the corner and wait till the end of the line so she could deal with us together.  After waiting for about 45 minutes, she finally finished checking the other passengers through and came to talk to us…  We were starting to get concerned, but none of us knew the seriousness of what she was unveiling.  After speaking to our promoter, and her chief officer, she returned to tell us that this is not a good situation and we would most likely be denied entry into N. Ireland!  What? Are you kidding me??  We just flew half way around the world, we are exhausted, and there are thousands of ticket holders expecting to see 6 concerts within the next 10 days!  Denied entry?  There MUST be some mistake!  We waited longer as she left to draw up some papers.  We were then taken to wait in another room downstairs.  So, security searched our bags and padded us down, then took us to a freeeezing room where a few officers stayed with us.. FOR THE NEXT 6 HOURS!!! Wow..  We were so exhausted,  no sleep in 24 hours, hungry, cold and worried.  After about 4 hours, they sent a lady with papers and a finger printing machine.  We ALL had to get fingerprinted, and had a mug shot taken!!  How did we become criminals all of a sudden??!! (least that’s how it felt!) This less than nice immigration officer certainly was taking her time in getting anything done.  I guess in hind sight it was good because it allowed our promoter to get in touch with some powerful people who started working immediately to fix the problem.  We did have some extra nice security officers guarding us though, and they got us water, tea and cappuccinos and some sandwiches to hush our growling tummies…  Thanks Amanda and Adam, and the other nice guards whose names I cant recall… A few of them even watched our live from Norway DVD on Becky’s computer while we waited…  

About an hour after our fingerprinting, the officer came back in with a handful of documents, which she proceeded to pass out to each of us.  “These are your papers saying that you have been DENIED entry to the country. We have rebooked your flights and you will be flying home in  30 hours.  We are keeping your passports and you must report at 7:30 Friday morning to collect them and fly home or you will be arrested.  You also will be arrested if you perform during your temporary stay.”  Whoa !!!  That was verrrrry disappointing news! Then the part that sent Becky through the roof… She continued “Only the 7 onstage have to leave.  The children (Levi and Jakobi, Becky’s kids are with us) and Steve (also traveling with us to help out) will be keeping their original flights home on the 28th…”  Seriously?  They expect the kids to stay in Ireland without their family?  That part was ridiculous and when Becky lividly stated that she would NOT leave her kids , the officer suggested we talk to the airline to change their flights too.  WOW… That was shocking! 

When they finally released us to go to the hotel for the night, we tried to stop at the airline desk to change the kids flights, but they were closed for the night.  We called everyone we could think of to start a prayer chain to help get this ruling reversed… and we crashed that night, trusting that God would take care of it!

We slept until 11:30 the next morning, just exhausted, and woke up to a phone call… Ronnie called Moms room to tell us that his friends (and Gospel Music Fans) in government and the Parliament had convinced the immigration control to allow us to stay, and to perform!!!!  Praise the Lord!  Thank you Ronnie, and all the invisible heroes who worked so hard to help reverse this decision, it is not a frequent happening here!   Jakobi answered the phone when Levi called our room to tell us the news, and  it was the cutest thing ever!  Her eyes got as big as saucers and with happiest, most excited voice I’ve ever heard, she shouted out to us “Don’t pack your bags! We’re staying!!!”    AHHHH!!  What a relief… What a BIG GOD!!  

Yes, what a BIG GOD!!  He is our Comforter and our Provider.  Prayer is so powerful!!  It not only brings peace when your back is to the wall, but it moves mountains too!!!  We know that He has called us to be here and only time will tell the reason the enemy fought us so hard to keep us away.  The Lord is triumphant and we Praise His Holy Name for seeing us through!  

Thankfully, we got our passports back and have been able to enjoy the rest of our trip so far.   I will try to blog more this week.. So stay tuned for more from Northern Ireland!!!

Sonya & the gang

Current Ireland Time

The Isaacs are touring Ireland and Scotland. They have 5 concerts planned over the next few days. Join us in praying for their safety as they travel.

To read some responses from concert attendees the last two nights.....click on comments at the bottom of this post. Emails are coming in and also some photos from concerts. Nathan's mom Peggy has been keeping us updated and it sounds like they are having a great time. Ben, Nathan and Thomas played a little golf yesterday with the promoter and really enjoyed it. Hopefully we'll hear from some of the Isaacs sometime this weekend.

Blessings!

Photos from Craigavon Civic Center 3-19-09

Photos from Belfast 3-21-09

A few photos from Hoofers Gospel Barn in Lagrange, GA

Saturday March 14th, 2009

by Peggy Fauscett