Day 3 - Show time!

What a successful day! The boys had their first chance to sleep in today, eventually meeting at 10:00 am at Holy Family Parish for a rehearsal and day of fun activities with Amabile boys. The boys reviewed their music for Mass tomorrow and had a combined rehearsal with 50 of the Amabile singers in preparation for their big concert tonight.

After rehearsing, the boys were treated to a nice lunch and an afternoon of sports. Nothing like a gym full of 60 sweaty middle school boys! Anyway, the boys were thrilled to have a soccer rematch with Amabile (which ended in a very diplomatic 3-3 tie). They showed off their great basketball skills and enjoyed exercising their dodgeball muscle a little too.

After a quiet and restful afternoon, the boys showed up at St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica for their concert with Amabile. A lot of people turned up for the concert and they proved to be an extremely supportive crowd. The boys sang their first 9 sacred songs (ranging from chant to the "Sanctus" and the "Ride On, King Jesus") before Amabile took the stage to do 6 of their own. The second half began with the boys singing with organ and then two joint pieces with Amabile - "Dona nobis pacem" and "Imbakwa" which wowed the crowd. SJBC then closed off the program with their world music and Canadian folk songs. The standing ovation was almost immediate and the boys felt really good about their performance.

After the concert, the boys said goodbye to their Amabile hosts and greeted their new host families from Holy Family Parish, where the boys will sing at the 9:00 am and 11:00 am Masses tomorrow morning. After that, it's a day at the water park and finally some R&R. We hope things are going well at home. Peace, and God bless!