Pnar Church Service

I went to church with a friend in Jowai on Sunday, the Presbyterian Church there - it was pretty cool. I definitely didn't bring the right clothes to India for going to church - all the men wore suits and ties if they had them, but I didn't mind that too much. Although when you stand up to sing hymns and you're a head taller than the tallest person in the room, it can be a bit uncomfortable. Fortunately I'm used to being stared at from growing up one of the only white people in an all-black country. I think my friend was a bit more nervous to be sitting next to me, since she lives there and knows how little excuse people need to gossip.

The service was all in Khasi, which is the dominant language spoken in this area. The hymns were in Khasi and there was no percussion to keep time so the singing slowed down to an almost inexorable pace. It was neat to be able to pick out some words here and there, and my friend translated some of the verses for me so I could understand what I was singing. The orthography is relatively systematic.

In the evening we went to their cousin's home, which is up on a hill above the river on the outskirts of town (where the picture on the right was taken). We stayed for a home church service led by some of the church elders, which is where the real meat of the Christian culture in Jowai seems to be. Pretty much the whole service, except for a few songs and prayers, were in Pnar, including the sermon. Traditional instruments - a mandolin and tambourine - as well as clapping and harmonies kept the songs upbeat and lively.

Baltimore and Xenia

Saturday afternoon, after packing my things in the car, I drove from Lancaster to Baltimore - an uneventful, hour or so drive on a beautiful day. I played at The Patterson, a renovated historic movie theater that is now home to The Creative Alliance of Baltimore. I was one of the artists/bands performing for Grace International Church's website release party, which was tons of fun. Also performing were Parris Bowens, Prayz1 and The Underdogz, and Failure to Excel. Here's a video tour of the building:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvxIt1G0hp8
Sunday morning I got up really early and drove to Xenia, Ohio (near Dayton) where I played at my friend Hannah's church, GracePoint. They meet in what used to be an apple restaurant, and there was a decent crowd - I was really blessed to be there, and the sound was some of the best I've experienced. It also happens to be near Yellow Springs, where my mom's cousin Bruce lives, so I got to spend Labor Day with family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfb4bbXnLAQ

Germany Installment #4 - Eltz Castle, Worms

The weekend after the second English camp, we traveled around Germany for a couple days, visiting some beautiful cities and other places. The very first place we went was Eltz Castle, a pretty little castle in a valley that served as the home of three noble families who shared ownership. One of the families has since taken over the whole castle and still lives in part of the castle. The other part is a tourist attraction very well-worth seeing. In this video you can see the castle as we walked down the hill toward it, and also some of the inside - the treasure chamber and the courtyard. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
After visiting Eltz castle, we went to Worms, where Martin Luther defended his 95 Theses. Our friend Marius lives there and we walked around the town with him and a friend who gave us a tour. We visited the cathedral of St. Peter where the Diet of Worms was held (rebuilt since being bombed out in WWII), wandered through a Jewish cemetery, and had some Italian ice. Back at the church where we were staying, Joella and James raced little karts around the halls. I got to race too, but Joella won. She must be built for this kind of thing! =) Joella, you missed your true calling...

Vlog Day 55 - IHOP Kansas City

I'm staying with my friends the Samuels south of Kansas City. They are part of the International House of Prayer, which is dedicated to praying for the nations and teaching the gifts of the Spirit to the younger generations. It is a really neat place full of people here to seek God and to learn from the scriptures. They had a guest speaker this Sunday, Bill Wiese, who shared his experience of a vision he received about hell. It was really interesting to hear about his vision, and to hear the scriptural references he found to back up the experience. He's a really good storyteller.
I went with the Samuels to their home group in the evening, and we sang some praise songs together, and I also played 'I Am Not A Thief'. It's a great community they are part of, and I was blessed to be able to spend time with all of them.

Vlog Day 48 - Church

I visited my brother and sister-in-law's church today for the 11am service. It's quite a large church, and they have a scan-in system for the kids, which is pretty cool and necessary, I'm sure.
The church is named Fellowship Bible Church of Northwest Arkansas, and they unveiled a new song that one of the members has written - it's actually a decent song, and here's a piece of it.

Vlog Day 41 - Easter Song

I hung out with my friend Andrea at her church (Stonebridge) this morning, and then we had brunch with friends of hers nearby. Brunch was fabulous (I remained stuffed for several hours) and we also had fun hunting for easter eggs and sat in the sun talking about spiritual things. I played 'I Am Not a Thief' as well. Playing songs for friends is probably my favorite thing to do - totally unplugged and relaxed. Isn't GRACE amazing? I could go on, but read the Gospels for yourself.

Vlog Day 27 - Micanopy Fellowship

It rained a bunch last night, which folks around here say is needed - they've been waiting for rain a long time. Woke up to damp surroundings, but with the sun up it was a gorgeous day. I went to church with Warren, Mike and co. at Micanopy Fellowship - today was sharing Sunday, so I shared a couple of my songs (The Problem and I Am Not a Thief) and was blessed by other people's testimonies. Particularly Lenora's - she has an incredible story of how God brought her out of abuse and drugs, and is now working with Teen Challenge in Lakeland, helping others find hope and joy in Christ. Other people's stories were also powerful, with one family in the church having lost two children in a recent car accident, their third is now in the hospital slowly recovering.
We then shared lunch together - potluck and conversation, and afterwards Warren and I visited Hunter in the hospital. I was able to sing one of my parents scripture songs to encourage Hunter and her family, sans guitar. We went back to Mike's and rested, and then set up at the fellowship in the evening for the concert. You can see/hear Chasing Shadows in the video below. People were really responsive and encouraging, and as they prayed for me afterwards I could sense the Spirit of God in this place, among these people.

Vlog Day 26 - Micanopy and Wedding

Today was a bit of a sabbath for me - just rested and hung out at Mike's house near Micanopy. It was a beautiful day and Warren spent most of it re-connecting with folks by phone. I took a nap and did some computer stuff. Then we went off to McIntosh, where the daughter of some friends of Warren got married in the Presbyterian church. So here's some short video of my day.

Vlog Day 20 - Church and Josh Garrels

It was truly a sabbath today - I slept in a bit, attended Waxhaw Bible Church with my friends (where I said hi to a bunch of the kids from the JAARS youth group) and then relaxed the rest of the day. I read up on the book my friend Joshua in Harrisonburg gave me, called "Three Cups of Tea" about Greg Mortensen, a TCK from Tanzania who became a climber and then built schools all over the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. Quite a good read.
Around 4pm I called Josh Garrels' house, since he lives in the area. Josh is a soft-spoken singer-songwriter who has played at Cornerstone a few times and has a decently large following for an independent musician. I met him when he played up in Lancaster, PA with my friend Katie Becker and know him as a solid believer. He invited me over, and our subsequent conversation confirmed my perceptions.
I rode my bike over and had coffee with Josh and his wife while their little daughter climbed around - Josh's wife grew up as a Wycliffe MK as well, and it turns out that I share a birthday with both her mom and Josh's mom. I wanted to hear the story of Josh's musical journey, and he obliged - telling me about his start and what his journey has been like. It was super-encouraging to hear about his path and his passion for the Gospel to extend from his songs. It turned into a great conversation about purpose and vocation, dreams and aspirations, and ultimately submitting to God's will and holding all of life with an open hand.
Afterwards Josh showed me his studio and guest room which was built into the top of the garage, in a separate building from the house. JG spent last week recording an EP for his friend Josh Rosen, and so they sequestered themselves in this space to get it done. I didn't do a great job with the camera work - it's kind of hard to see everything, but partly because I was so busy drinking it all in myself. The picture of Jerusalem on his desktop sparked a conversation about missions and I mentioned that I have the opportunity to help engineer a worship album for musicians in Spain in May-June. It turns out Josh knows a friend of mine from Indiana who is an MK from Spain but was with me in Tanzania with a Houghton College program. The world is a small place.

Vlog Day 13 - Greensboro

This morning it was still raining. We went to City Church and connected with the group of folks that meet in a theater downtown. A really neat service - Charlie preached and I played 'I Am Not a Thief'. We went out for Vietnamese food and then home for naps. I made a few phone calls and then went off to my next appointment.
Harvey Robinson is a really talented videographer in Greensboro. He does with video what I try to do with songs - tell stories. His framing and techniques are really good, and when I saw his work on monkeywhale.com I knew I wanted to be part of his latest (ongoing) project 'Harvey's Kitchen'.
What is Harvey's Kitchen? Exactly what it sounds like - he films (among other things) musicians playing music in his kitchen. So I brought my guitar, sat down in a chair in the middle of his kitchen, he set up his equipment and filmed as I played a song. It was really cool to meet him and Carolyn, and I can't wait to see what they do with the film!
For dinner I met up with Philip and Miriam - their family was with us in Ghana, and they both happen to be attending UNC Greensboro, so we had dinner and then they showed me around the campus. Tomorrow I head out to Charlotte.

Vlog Day 11 - Greensboro Grub

If you come to Greensboro, get in touch with Charlie Jones of Peculiar People. You will not regret it, particularly if you can manage to time your visit with his and his wife Ruth's regular 'family meal' for 50+ people. I call it a meal - it's more like a feast!
Like any feast, it takes a lot of preparation. Charlie and Ruth spend quite a bit of time thinking through recipes and making food selections. Every 'Grub' has its own theme, and this time the theme was St. Patrick's Day (which also happens to be my birthday) - so Irish food reigned supreme.

Charlie starts cooking the day before, and when I got up in the morning I jumped into the fray, hardly stopping until guests arrive at 6:30pm. Charlie never stops hosting, nor does he sit down to taste the meal. His meal is the event itself.

After a scrumptious meal and dessert, entertainment begins. Everyone has the opportunity to share their creativity, to read or recite something that has touched them, or simply to sit and watch and listen. What a wonderful mixture it is! In the video below is just a sampling of the gifts expressed - jokes, a bluegrass band, and poetry by one Josephus.

And last but not least, my song about Spring - 'Breathe Deep'.

Vlog Day 6 - Leesburg, VA

Another wonderful day today - church with the Kucks, then lunch, a nap, and the concert in Leesburg. On the way to the concert we visited Fireworks Pizza in Leesburg, which makes some excellent pizza in wood-fired ovens. And I have some of the coolest friends.
The youth group I played for were really into the music, and we had a lot of fun. Especially afterwards - they were trying to teach me some line-dancing steps, and you can see me trying to do the moves in the video below. I was cracking up while editing - so much fun making a fool of yourself among friends! =)

Video Blog Installment 6 (pre-tour)

Today I helped lead worship at Wheatland PCA here in Lancaster, where I'm a member. It was pretty rockin' the second service if I do say so myself. As a musician of course I'm always picky, but second service was pretty tight. I only got 5 hours of sleep last night (packing for the trip), so I have to admit that first service was a bit rough (one of the tunes I couldn't remember how it went, so getting started was difficult - luckily other people remembered). Such is life, I guess. But here's some video from the second service, leading the congregation in "Come Thou Fount".

I was planning on taking off for the first leg of my tour today at 2pm, but around 1pm I got a call from Trip Beans at Severna Park EPC in MD, where I was going to play tonight, letting me know that the weather down there is pretty rough and so they canceled the event. He made some calls though, and we rescheduled for Wednesday night, which I think is going to work out better all around - God is really good!