Thursday 4 April 2013

reflections on Easter and looking forward

Happy reports are coming in from our church here in Nassau.  It seems people, both members and visitors, were greatly blessed in our presentation of "Jesus, Rock of Ages" this past weekend.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for helping us in the writing, arranging, and producing of this piece.  Here are some of the emails we've been getting:

"God surely answered our prayers...Praise Him!"

"My mom, sister, 2 nieces and a friend were in the audience...they said, "Man, that was just excellent!!!"  .....(niece) said her husband had to convince her the music was not a soundtrack...Yay to the band!"

"Keith, they say you are 'turning us into professionals!'....Thanks for patiently serving us."

"Hear, hear!...My family also sang praises of this production.  To God be the glory great things he hath done."

"I praise and thank God for you and your wife, Keith.  You both are allowing Him to use your gift, talents, and abilites mightily in our church.  With his strength continue to do so..."

Overwhelmed!!!  When we first conceived of doing something "in house" (aka, not buying a score from a publishing house), we knew it could be alot of work, or turn out goofy, or simply not be good.  Yet God overcame all those possibilities and answered our prayers far above what we could ask or imagine.  In this little church of under 100 people, many of whom were IN the program, we were able to have a choir, worship band and singers, narrators, and tech crew.  

What's next?  Well next up on our agenda is.....drumroll....a Music Camp/VBS in August.  We are going to host a day camp (very big on this island) where local children must pre-register, but freely come to learn musical skills, hear the gospel, and then perform in concert for their parents and the community at the end of the week (with another gospel message being given).  Currently, Metro Life Church in Orlando is arranging a mission team to come and serve alongside us in this.   How can you be praying?

1) Pray for the children who God will bring.  Most likely, they will come from the immediate community around our church, which is a low-income fairly "at-risk" area.  Pray that their hearts will even now begin to soften toward the things of God and that many would receive Christ.

2)Pray for the parents of the children God will bring.  Pray that they too will hear and receive the gospel through their contact with our church and that many true disciples will be born of this.

3)Pray for funds, strength, creativity, rapport with the incoming kids, ideas, safety, no sickness in the workers, travelling mercies, import/customs issues as the Florida team attempts to bring things into the country for this endeavor. 

4)Pray for long-term fruit from this.  We would love to see a children's community choir develop out of this music camp.  Our heart would be to see at-risk kids given a place to do something worthwhile (singing) that will give them a sense of ownership and productivity, and ultimately to hear the gospel. Along with the children themselves, we pray that parents and families will then be affected too.

None of these requests is beyond our Heavenly Father, who gives generously to all without reproach.  He is the giver of all good things.  He cares for children.  He cares for families.  He cares for His own people who seek to make His name great in all the earth.  Pray with us!

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