We thought this was worth sharing with everyone:

Morgan and Terri's Adventure:

July 25, 2009 – We set out on our trip at about 7:30 a.m., destined for Kelowna, B.C. to see Morgan’s favorite musician, Michael W. Smith. Now everybody reading this must understand that according to Morgan, the sun rises and sets on this man. We arrived at the Heartland Music Festival grounds about 7 hours later, approximately 4 ½ hours before the concert was to begin. I thought that the road trip would be our adventure, but boy was I wrong! Morgan heard the crew sound checking their equipment, so of course we had to walk down from the van onto the large grassy field to see what was going on. We were only down there for about 10 minutes when the most ferocious wind swept across the concert area, sending vendor canopies twirling up into the air then crashing in a jumbled heap onto the ground. I scrambled to help people catch canopies, t-shirts, and hamburger buns that were blowing in the wind. Then the real storm came. Thunder boomed and lightning was slicing through the sky all around us, and then came a driving sideways rain. Morgan and I along with two other women stood under the food vendor canopy not sure what to do next. Then we decided to run to a nearby van so they could take Morgan and me to our van. The other two women made a dash for it first, with me trying to help Morgan scurry through the downpour. Just as the women made it to the van, a bolt of lightning hit the ground right between us and them. Morgan screamed and I hustled her back to the shelter of the canopy. We were within 20 feet of being struck by lightning! Miss Morgan was a champ, though – she ran right back out to the van and we were driven to safety. The photo to the left shows how unaffected she was by the storm. Her hair is wet, but she still has that great smile on her face. She wouldn’t have been smiling, however, had she known that all of the sound equipment and instruments got soaked, and due to weather and wet equipment there was a pretty decent chance that the show would not go on. I spent the next 45 minutes lying on blankets with Morgan in the back of the van praying that this crazy storm would go away. How would I explain to her that she would not get to see her favorite musician and we had to turn around and go home?
Finally the rain let up although the sky still looked ominous. I parked down with the volunteers and started drying chairs and resecuring canopies while Morgan sat in the van and watched DVD’s. As the hours went by, everyone was nervous about the weather and also whether or not the soggy equipment would work. Staff drove into Kelowna to buy hairdryers which they used to painstakingly dry each little component. During that time, I had the pleasure of meeting Matt, Michael W. Smith’s bass player. What a nice guy – he walked down to the van to meet Morgan and chat with her for a while. About ½ hour later I saw Matt walking back to the van with Jim, Michael, and Ben, the rest of the band members, so that she could meet them as well. All I can say is what a great group of guys! They were so nice to Morgan and me. Closer to the start of the show it was time for our “meet and greet” with Michael W. Smith. The time of our “meet and greet” was uncertain due to all of the crazy circumstances. I was told to expect it to happen at about 7:45, but at 7:00 I walked over to the van and as I was headed back I noticed that Michael W. Smith was already out and meeting other people. In my haste to get Morgan back to meet him, I tripped over my flip-flop and broke it. (Note to self – never travel with just one pair of flip-flops on your feet and no back-up shoes!) Needless to say I met Michael W. Smith with muddy bare feet. He didn’t seem to notice though, or if he did he chose not to comment on it. Didn’t really matter anyways – this was about Morgan. (Later, with help from a couple of ladies who thought that all of this was pretty funny, I did manage to repair my flip-flop with a paper clip and packing tape. MacGyver ain’t got nothing on me!) Morgan was so happy to be able to see Michael again, and you can actually watch a bit of video from when she met him on michaelwsmith.com and click on the news article “Almost Rained Out in Kelowna, B.C.” Miss Morgan is now a star! As we got closer and closer to showtime, the sky was dark grey and lightning was visible over the mountain. However, God must have been listening to our prayers and the storm stayed far enough away. Finally, the crew was able to get most things working and the show began about 1 ½ hours late. I was so thankful! Steven Curtis Chapman opened and put on a great show. But of course, Morgan was there to see “Michael W. Smith, with his blue eyes and white teeth” as she likes to say. As soon as he came on, that kid was up and dancing in front of the stage. Then just as he was starting his second song, he invited everyone up to the front to dance. All that did was push Morgan even closer to the stage and she ended up at the very front, close enough to reach out and touch the stage (or Michael’s feet for that matter!) She was in Morgan heaven! What a great night of dancing right in front of the stage and watching the band members (our new friends) make their magic on the stage. Matt even looked down at me and Morgan while he was playing and give us a smile and a wink. When the show was over he untaped the song list from the stage and gave it to Morgan as a keepsake. I love going to Christian events because you get to meet so many nice people. Morgan and I were going to crash in the back of the van on blankets and pillows at a campground but a nice couple named Susan & Jim invited us to stay in a spare bedroom at their house in Kelowna. So, we slept in cozy beds and started the long drive home the next morning. This was one of those memorable trips where so many things happened that you just had to shake your head and laugh or you might get frustrated. But it was all worthwhile when I got to dance with Morgan in front of the stage and see the joy both on her face and in her dancing and singing. I love it that there are still people in this world who have amazing hearts and want to do something special for a special kid like Morgan. They are truly being the lights that Christ told us to be in this world.