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Our Schedule
Where we've been...
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Whats Happening?
 This past Sunday, we celebrated David Galkin's fourth birthday! We didn't have lots of time to party, as we celebrated between dinner and a camp service, but we made up for the lack of time with lots of excitement, an awesome cake, and cool presents! Christy outdid herself, once again, by making one of the coolest cakes I've ever seen--a dirt-biking motorcross cake, which fits in perfectly with the camp theme this year! We were able to say things we appreciated about David--some of the things mentioned were his sweet spirit, the way he plays so kindly with other children, and for being Ella's best friend. He got some awesome presents too--a new Nerf sword (can never have too many weapons! :), a scooter, some clothes, and a bunch of cars. The next day we were able to sing happy birthday to him in front of the whole camp staff! We are very thankful for little David, and excited about all God will do in his FOURTH year of life!
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 This past week, the pastoral staff took the whole team out to Shady Maple Smorgasbord. Talk about a buffet! This is not your average Golden Corral or Country Buffet.
This all you can eat experience is located in Lancaster, PA. It is so large, that it can seat up to 2,200 guests at one time.
This massive buffet features “all of the great tastes of Lancaster County”. From the salad bar to the desserts, the food was amazing. A definite must see if you are ever in the area. This lunch time meal became an all day event with the caravan leaving at 9:30 and returning at 3:15. The team enjoyed the change of pace, and the fellowship with the pastor staff and their families.
-Elise Lafferty
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Birthday and Farewell Party |
 Poodle cake, chips and salsa, “Pop it, Do it, Win it”; sounds like a Galkin Team party.
On Tuesday we celebrated the birth of the Galkin’s first born, Anna Grace, and gave a farewell party to Stephen Pettit.
The team played our famous “Pop it, Do it, Win it” game, which is always a recipe for embarrassment. If you had happened to walk in on our game you may have heard some howling, loud singing, and a lot of laughing.
Anna Grace opened lots of presents full of clothes and crafts, and the team went around and gave thanks for Anna and expressed how we’ve seen God change her this year.
We also said goodbye to Stephen who is headed to Israel to film another series of Stevie’s Treks. Stephen has meant so much to our team and we have all seen God change and use Stephen in a mighty way. Please keep him in your prayers as he sets out on a new and exciting chapter of his life.
-Laura Kennedy
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 The team had an amazing time going into the Nation’s Capital on Friday. It was a beautiful day for sight seeing. Ella’s favorite part of the day was the Metro. She kept on saying “All Aboard!” in her cute 2 year old voice. And with 16 tickets, we all boarded the Metro. We were also joined by some friends for the day: Carrie and Joe, and Kristen and Matt.
The Cherry Blossom Festival was going on, and the trees were in full bloom. It was beautiful. We ate lunch under the pink and white blossoms. We then headed over to see the WWII and Lincoln Memorials. The team enjoyed lying on the grass and eating frozen lemonade in the 85 degree weather. The families went to see the animals in the Museum of Natural History, while the singles went to the Art and Photography Museums.
While the families began to head home with sleepy children, the singles got on the Metro and went to Georgetown. There we ate at this amazing Indian restaurant. It was fabulous. We all headed home with full stomachs and a little more sun than when we arrived.
We want to thank Engleside Baptist Church for providing this relaxing day for the team. It was wonderful. Thank you.
-Elise Lafferty
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 What does it take to set up for a Cola War? Tubes, cones, and lots of dependable sticky tack. Jared Mitchell will take you through the ins and outs of a typical Thursday (Cola War day) with the Galkin Team.
Watch our latest Galkin Digital Short: Cola War Day to see our heartbeat behind Cola Wars.
-Laura Kennedy
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Birthday Bash - Elise and Josh |
 There are 4 things that make a great Birthday Bash on the Galkin Team: the wings, the crazy games, the appreciation time, and the Happy Birthday song.
The wings? Well, they can’t be just any wings. They must come from the one and only Buffalo Wild Wings. They were great! However, we did skip out on the Mango Habanero wings to save our taste buds. This time at least!
The game? Pictionary. The competition? girls vs. boys. The topic? team events from the past year. Who won? The boys. Enough said. ☺
The appreciation time? It is a time for the team members to vocalize their love and appreciation for the birthday people. We also testify of the grace of God in their lives. It is just a sweet time among the team.
The Happy Birthday song? Well, it must be sung at random times throughout the night, and it must be sung horribly off key.
Josh and I both got some amazing gifts. Josh got some new cloths and a workout program, while I got new jewelry and things for my wedding. And just incase you were wondering…. Josh is exactly 3 years and 4 days older than me (Elise). So we got to be Birthday buddies! Happiness!
-Elise Lafferty
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 Sitting directly across from the NCAA SEC tournament arena in Nashville, Tennessee, the six singles chomped down at Jack’s Barbeque on Broadway Street Friday afternoon. The entire street was covered with University of Kentucky fans pumped that their team won the tournament against Alabama. Amid the crowd, we were able to walk the streets and see the sights. A special shop in Nashville for our team and the Pettit Team is Gruhn Guitars. It’s one of the best shops in the US for guitars and mandolins, so it was exciting for us to browse through and play, and it was a great inspiration for us to dive into our Irish Concert for the night.
- Laura Kennedy
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A week in the eyes of Eliana Galkin |
 Saturday: Wow! The weather today was so nice—much warmer than when we were in Florida! The guys all got together in the parking lot where my trailer is parked to wash the vehicles. While they were doing that, Miss Reba and Miss Caroline picked up me, Anna Grace, Lilly, and Ella to take us shoe shopping. We started off with lunch at Panera—I loved getting my peanut butter and jelly sandwich all over Miss Reba. Then we hit about six stores looking for shoes I could wear with my flower girl dress for Uncle Josh’s wedding. It took so much out of us that we just HAD to stop at Miss Reba’s favorite place—Starbucks. Anna and Lilly ordered smoothies, and the nice man working there said there was some left over, so he gave me my own cup. It was a fun day!
Sunday: We went to church with Miss Caroline at Hampton Park. I really only got to see the nursery. Mom and Dad said they really enjoyed the preaching and seeing all their friends there! We went back on Sunday night too. That night, we had all the team members, current and future, fiancés, and even Grandma!, come to a pizza party. We prayed through the texts of the songs and heard some of the instrumentals that we’ve never heard before. I got to play with Ella and David in the room next door—we had a screaming competition cause the room echoed so nicely, until Daddy came and said we had to be quieter.
Monday: Today Mom and Dad have started something called “recording. . ."
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 After driving from Pensacola to Greenville, South Carolina, the team was more than ready for a week of relaxation. The Galkin and Coffey families parked their trailers at Faith Baptist Church where there is plenty of room for the kids to play. The singles all dispersed to different locations, to stay with friends and family in the Greenville area. Elise and Josh especially enjoyed the extra time in Greenville, as they got to see their fiancés.
The team also did some shopping, but Reba came away with the big purchase of the week. She bought the team a double bass! It arrived just in time to begin rehearsals for the new recording.
The team is thankful for the week off, and will be rested and ready to go after our new recording.
-Elise Lafferty
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Have you noticed our new comment section for articles and videos? This is a new feature we created so you can add a comment to the content you read and watch. You will notice the "Add new comment" section on the bottom left of articles and videos.
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Try it out on our latest Galkin Digital Short
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 It was Friday, and we were going on a boat ride.
The morning started off amazing. Why? Because we all got to sleep in. ☺ So with bright faces, we met at church to start our adventure. Our first stop was Subway. You see, we needed sustenance for our adventure. I was so excited! We were going to an island to have a picnic.
We arrived at the beach, and the first group piled into the boat, while the rest of us stayed behind. About 20 minutes later, Pastor Gotcher and Jared were back to pick us up. It was cloudy and windy, but the ride to the island was smooth and quite enjoyable. Upon arrival, we noticed something very different about the rest of the team that had been on the first boat ride. They were soaking wet! Apparently, they had taken a different course to the island that had involved a few more waves. But luckily, we had brought extra towels and jackets.
We had a great time on the island making a fire, playing bocci ball, getting our feet wet, and enjoying our picnic lunch. We also did some exploring. It was great to get some Florida sand under our toes.
As the afternoon wore on, the wind started picking up, and it starting sprinkling. We decided that we should probably start heading back to shore. As we all piled into the boat, the rain began to come. When we stepped foot on the pier, we were all a little wet. Happily, there was time to get ready before the service.
Our day was packed full of adventure and fun, and it will never be forgotten under the Florida sun.
-Elise Lafferty
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Josh and Caroline Engagement |
 It all started on the road, as most good love stories do. I was
traveling for the '08-'09 school year with Bro. Will and his team. I
took a year off of school at Bob Jones University, packed up my cello
and (rather large) suitcases, and headed on the road with the Galkins,
Coffeys, and two other "singles", Reba Snyder and Josh Roland.
I learned so much on the road--but second semester, something scary
started to happen: I found myself falling for one of the guys that I
travelled with. As you can quickly deduce, that person was Josh
Roland.
I don't know if it was the smile, the guitar playing, or his
great impression of Naaman in the children's program--but I was in
love! I was able to keep my feelings to myself...well, mostly. The
Lord taught me SO much during that time--that He alone can be my hope
and satisfaction. By the time May rolled around, I was thankful that
God had kindly kept me from spilling my feelings to Josh, and I was
definitely ready for a break before camp, if only to get control of my
feelings! It took a few days at camp before Josh informed me of a most
pleasant surprise! He had also been falling in love with someone on
the team over the whole semester--and that person was me!!
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 With team travels being finished for the holidays, I was looking forward to spending time with my family and my boyfriend. I went home for a week, and then was flying out to Chicago for Thanksgiving (Kristopher was going to be there visiting with relatives.). I finally told Kristopher of my plans a week before I was supposed to meet him in Chicago. I knew something was up. There were little things that were not quite making sense. Like my Mom offering to go get a manicure/pedicure with me the day I was leaving for Chicago, or how Kristopher's phone died Tuesday morning and could not talk to me (and he has 2 phones!!!). I was pretty sure that Kristopher knew about my journey to the Windy City long before I told him. I was excited/anxious of what would take place. Tuesday morning, the day of my flight, I received a bouquet of 11 red roses at my door. Eleven..... strange. Something was really up. About 4:30 p.m., Kristopher showed up on my doorstep with a single red rose. I was not going to Chicago after all.
I was thrilled to see him. It had been 3 months! He told me to get dressed up because we were going out. After getting ready, we got into the car and drove to the Hyatt in downtown Denver. We ate at a restaurant on the 27th floor. Kristopher had dropped off pictures and a candle earlier in the day, and the view was gorgeous! We enjoyed some amazing food that night! But there was another stop to be made. We started driving to Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder. On the way, Kristopher popped in a CD of some of our favorite songs. By the time we reached our viewpoint on the mountain, our favorite song began to play. It was the John Rutter arrangement of For the Beauty of the Earth. After the song was finished, Kristopher began his "engagement speech". Soon afterwards he got on one knee and pulled out a beautiful engagement ring. The rest is history.
Kristopher and I are planning to be married in my hometown of Fort Collins, CO on June 4th.
-Elise Lafferty
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