The Wild Girls Go to the WILDS

It was supposed to be a break from the regular routine of life. When the Marshall girls reserved their spots at the 2007 Wilds Music Conference, their schedule was pretty flexible. November and December were looking open, apart from a few scattered meetings. Then the phone calls started coming. "I had been praying that the Lord would fill our schedule. He did." Joanna, who has booked their meetings for years, told us how the Lord answered her prayers. "You look at the date book one day. Hm...things are looking good. The next day you turn around and wow! Before you know it your days are filled to the brim", Jessica says. "That's life in the fast lane around here." The trio drove to Ohio with Dad and Mom for a meeting at the Calvary Baptist Church in Marion. The trip took five hours, and needless to say, they were pretty wiped out by the time they arrived. The following day was full of activities. Besides the regular morning services, there was a six-hour service that night, complete with preaching, singing, Bible quizzes and contests, a meal, testimonies, and the Lord's Supper. "We tried to get to bed early enough, but it was still after 1am by the time we hit the sack." Jessica said they had to get up at about 5:30am to leave for Brevard, NC, and the Wilds camp. This set them off on the wrong foot for the entire week. Naps were taken as frequently as possible, but they mostly operated on auto-pilot. "There was just this feeling of hanging on as long as you could", Jessica said. "Monica and I missed a session one morning, just trying to get back to normal." In spite of the setbacks, they said they did enjoy being at the Music Conference once again. Among those they fellowshipped with were Dave and Ginger Smith with Al Smith Ministries, Gary Emory from Brightwater Digital in Greenville, SC, (the recording studio they have used in recent years), and Ken and Beth Renfrow. The Marshalls had their own table this year with the other exhibitors. "We had invited a few other friends for the Conference, as well. My favorite parts were the Sacred Concert by Ken Renfrow and the Fun Time with the Wilds staff. And we can't forget the 'Cool Beans Coffee Shop'!" And, Jessica adds, of course "the sessions were all good. I learned a lot from the session with Dave Warren on Hymnplaying. He can sightread like nobody I've ever seen!" The girls don't know if they will attend next year's Conference. But they say they probably will make sure they get a good week's worth of rest before trying to head to Brevard again!