They're Off! VOU heads to China

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Voices of Unity youth choir is finally on its way to Shaoxing, China. About one third of the group left Sunday morning around 1am.

The emotions were mixed as some members were too excited to find the right words. Kadejuianne Brooks is one of the younger members going. She had a hard time even standing still while she told NewsChannel 15 what she was looking forward to the most.

“It’s going to be fun for me because I’m learning very, a lot, much,” she said.

While Brooks has quite a few family members going with her, 9-year-old Lennon Herron, is going it alone. She said her mom has given her a lot of good tips to get through airports smoothly.

“I’ve never been out of the country so it’s kind of different for me,” she said.

Some of the older members know the 23 hour trek will be only the first of many challenges, but singers like Rebecca Soto told NewsChannel 15 once she and her team hit the stage, the rest will come easily.

“When we start competing, we're going to show what we've got, we're going to show all our talent that we have and just give it all our best,” she said.

With a few final words of support from Director and Life Coach, Marshall White, the bus pulled away from the IPFW parking lot. Janice Gipson, the tour manager, breathed a little sign of relief knowing the first group was off to a smooth start. She said that she thinks the rest of the choir’s fundraising will go smoothly, too.

“We didn't start fundraising until February and from February until today we're around 90% of our goal which is around $460,000 and for me that is awesome,” she said. “God has been with us throughout this journey so I believe that even though we're leaving tonight, I believe the other 10% is going to follow us right on into the organization. I believe we'll be all right.”

The Voices of Unity competition schedule has not been released yet, but the choir director believes these kids have already won.

“That's the gold. They achieved it,” said White. “They raised more than $100,000. That's the gold medal to me. We are going to China. That's the gold medal.”

The second group will leave from the IPFW parking lot at 1AM, Monday.