No Pressure...

Ok, here's what I know.

Yesterday a student in the elementary school fell and broke his arm. Due to the ripple-effect of this happening, the high school needed someone to come in a lead worship for the first chapel of the year. I got a knock on my classroom door during 6th period Bible class and was asked if I could take over as worship music leader for the service. The practice with the rest of the worship band was that afternoon for two hours, and then the chapel service was Wednesday morning. I agreed to help out...

I got to practice on time but didn't have my guitar with me at school because this was spur of the moment. So I sat down with the four other bands members (all high school students) and we picked the four songs we would play for chapel the next day. After that, I had to find a ride back to my condo to pick up my guitar and then get a ride back to the school. The high school Chaplain took care of my transportation. By the time we started practicing, we were only left with about an hour to run through the set of songs.

It's quite difficult to throw together a set that quickly, let alone learn how the other musicians in the band play. The practice went fine but we ended up having to spend the majority of our time on one song.

Wednesday rolls around. I rewrote the music for the songs we were going to play so that they were in the correct key. I also put notes on each copy so that we would all know the song structure and who was supposed to come in and at what time. As soon as I was done teaching my 3rd period Bible class, I rushed down to the auditorium to practice with the rest of the band before chapel started. By the time I tuned my guitar and went through sound-check, we had enough time to run through half of one song before the high school students started filing in.

The time came for us to lead the students and faculty in song and all of a sudden our entire band meshed. It was like we had been playing together for a year, when in reality I hadn't even known the band members for 24 hours. The four-song set was filled with energy, consistency, humility and joy. Our lack of opportunity to plan and rehearse did not get in the way of people worshiping through music.

As I reflect, it brings much joy to my soul to know the way God chose to use me and the students. There was nothing that was going to hinder the message God had for His children. Not unfortunate circumstances, not a lack of practice, not technical difficulties. What an amazing God I serve. He chooses to use His people as a blessing for others so that in the end, He would receive all the glory, honor, and praise!

Hello from Manila!

Today it will have been exactly 2 weeks since I arrived in the Philippines.

This being my first blog post, I figured I'd share some photos and introduce you to my life for the next couple years. Below is a picture of one of my 8th grade Bible classes. I told them to say hello to all my friends and family back in the States!

Here you can see my condo from my classroom! It's the little white building in the background.

Here are a couple pictures from inside my apartment. It's a perfect space for me, and close by to the school.

I'm excited to see what is in store for me. It has been amazing so far! I'll be updating my blog as often as possible and I'll try keep things a bit less formal than my support letters.