Tour Wrap Up

The end of each tour is always a mix of emotions. This tour is no exception.

Our final full show, meaning we set up the entire sound system and rocked the party, was in the center of Peja. We set up on a well traveled walking street and as soon as we got the sound system up and running people came over to see what was going on. Something about the system set up there just felt so good. The bass was shaking the ground and the highs were heard far and wide. Overall the performance was amazing, but every now and then I got bummed out that this was our last show of the tour.

The next day was another amazing day in Kosovo. We drove up through Rugova Canyon. I love any chance to get out into nature and especially if I can get up into the mountains. The mountains near Peja are beautiful and no picture can do justice for the feeling you get from being in the middle of them. The river was fresh and cold and the cliff faces were awe inspiring. It was an incredibly refreshing time and a perfect way to close out the tour of Kosovo. I was disappointed when we had to leave to do our follow-up event. Rest assured, however that God had more refreshing in store.

Our follow-up event was a backyard barbecue at a friend's house. This friend was from the US and his yard showed it. The ground was smooth and the grass was soft. It was the perfect place to lay and listen to the acoustic set we did that night. Our host was a great addition to the music with his cello. Combine that with the smell of the barbecue and top it off with people getting to talk to our new friends from the concert the night before, and you've got yourself a wonderful evening.

Goodbyes were said to our friends in Kosovo and I made the drive with two others back to Istanbul. As I write this I'm sitting in a friends apartment in Istanbul and having it confirmed in my mind that this is where my heart is. The sounds, the smells, the sights all combined with the needs here and my God granted ability to meet those needs convinces me time and time again that I love Turkey and the work I can do here. I'm not talking about the, “I just vacationed in Hampton beach and I loved it,” kind of love. This is the kind of love that is connected with God's heart for a people. This love cries out, “be reconciled to God” and is willing to get dirty to make sure people hear that message.

Time and Time Again

We've had four more performances since my last post. Each one has amazed me in new ways. The first one was in a town called Malisheve. I refer to our time in Malisheve as “surreal” because so many amazing things happened there. They have a new million dollar theater there that they had opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony two weeks before we got there. Guess who got to have the first performance on the new stage? We did! This came about because our contact in that town is good friends with the mayor. At the end of the night we decided that instead of a follow-up event we would perform in the park at a time when kids were usually around to catch a bus.

I never know what to expect when we do open air events. It's a lot of speculating about where crowds will be when and whether or not they'll stick around to listen to our music and talk with us. We're factoring in how rowdy or hostile the crowd will be as well. While we were setting up there were a few kids around trying to talk to me in Albanian even though I kept telling them that I don't understand them. There were also others who spoke English. Every one of these people asked me what was going on, and why were we doing this. When I explained that we are touring Kosovo to bring a message of love they were excited and told me how glad they were that we came to their town.

The performance was great and some people got to have good conversations with the people there. After the performance we had something else to deal with. Both of our vans were in the shop for oil changes and a once over and it appeared our passenger van was in need of some serious repair. It had been driving a bit funny, the steering was off, the idle was rough and it had no parking brake. It was possible that it needed a new front axle to the tune of 300 Euro just for the parts. We went back to our contact's house where he and his wife blessed us with their hospitality and encouraged us to trust God. We worshiped and prayed and got a call. The van was ready. All of the things I mentioned were fixed and the mechanics charged us for nothing more than the oil change. Because of their friendship with our contact the mechanics did all the extra work for nothing and we didn't need the axle. We left the town praising God. Even though the day left me emotionally worn-out.

The next town was Prizren. The forms to get permission to perform on a walking street in the middle of town had been filed a month prior to our scheduled time there, but no one had given us permission for a full show yet. We went planning to do an acoustic street show instead. Two songs into our acoustic set an official walked up and saw what we were doing and told us we could do the full show. While we're happy to do whatever we can, the full show tends to be more effective in communicating our message. So we were excited. Again people of every age were gathering around to find out what was going on and were excited to see the show. And again great conversations were had after the show.

The next day was a much needed day off.

Our concert last night was in an old theater. Any time we get to a new venue I'm always concerned about what kind of situation we'll have to deal with for the power. This venue was sketchy at best. Outlets were dangling out of the walls and light switches were warm if you left them on too long. But we made it through. We got all set up and were ready to start a few minutes after our scheduled 5:00 start time, the only problem was there was no one there to watch us. A few of us went out and hit the streets to let the neighborhood know what was going on and by 6:00 the theater was mostly full of what can conservatively be called a very lively crowd. They were clapping, shouting and dancing. There were some times that I thought a riot might break out, but they were just having a good time. Many of us thought that there was no way the crowd was hearing our message because they were so rowdy, but we were all proven wrong. Today we're going back to the same town to sit a talk over a cup of coffee

Nuk Flas Shqip

The cultural situation here in Kosovo is fascinating. Basically the majority of the people in Kosovo consider themselves ethnically Albanian and Kosovar simultaneously. It was only 3 years ago that they declared their independence from Serbia. This independence isn't recognized by Serbia, Russia or China (among others) and it was far from being a peaceful event. This means that a vast majority of the population has close, personal experience with the hardships of war. Yet despite this potential for emotional devastation the Kosovar people are generally happy and friendly. Every one of them love Americans for the help they gave during the war. There's even a street here in the capital named after Bill Clinton, who was the president at the time. I have yet do discover whether it intersects with Mother Theresa boulevard. These aspects of the Kosovar culture are the backdrop of the conversations we get to have after our concerts here.

We've had 3 performances so far. One was our full set-up with enough power to run sound and lights. It was a great chance to experience positioning everything we have and work out all of our kinks. About 300 – 400 people showed up in the park to watch, including a number of people from a local Church. At this point I've learned enough Albanian language to get the people here excited that I know some. From there I need to rely on their understanding of English or a translator. So after this first concert I stuck to taking care of the equipment while the translators we had worked with people on our team that were on stage and had more people coming to them to talk. There were some good conversations and we invited a few to a follow-up event where we'll be able to share more openly.

The second day we were supposed to perform near a park that has a pool bigger than some ponds. The weather turned cold however, and they decided not to open for the day. We'll go back there later in the tour. We decided that since the concert was canceled we should do some street performance. So with 2 acoustic guitars, a snare drum, a viola and a harmonica in hand, we hit the streets. The results were some amazing conversations and a chance to invite people to the follow-up event.

The third performance was the follow-up event in a controlled venue. Having a concert in a controlled venue means we can be completely open with our message and not have to be thinking about being kicked out. We had a small crowd for this performance. This was good because it allowed for more intimate conversations about deep spiritual matters. The people from the Church who came are now in a great position to carry on these new relationships.

Preparation and Anticipation

The last 2 days have been spent getting reacquainted with old friends, meeting new friends learning new songs, learning a new language, learning a new culture, and discovering God's heart for Kosovo.

Getting reacquainted with Old friends is the easy part. Three of the people I'm touring with I've met before. I get to hear about new children, new adventures, new opportunities and life lessons in the midst of relationships that are picking up right where they left off even though time and thousands of miles have separated us.

The other 8 are all people I met for the first time on this tour. Most of these people I've talked to over e-mail, but now those names have faces and beautiful personalities. Usually I tend to be reserved when meeting new people, unless I'm in a pretty comfortable situation. In this case everyone has been so warm and friendly that I've been able to feed off of that and be myself. This may also have to do with the fact that many of them are part of the group in Istanbul that counts me as one of them and prays for my family on a regular basis, even though we live half way around the world.

So we have 12 people on this tour and we've just gotten done with our second and last day of rehearsal. A rehearsal day was 9am-6pm of band practice in a local church. It is rather tiring and rewarding at the same time. All the band members are great musicians and they've made great progress on a large amount of music. We also have members of the tour doing dance, drama, and fire poi during the performances. Again each one of these people are very skilled at what they do. It's a pleasure to work with them all, not because they're good at what they do (even though they are), not because I get to work with them in Kosovo (which is beautiful), and not because I'm being paid well for this, (because I'm not), but because each one of them is using their God given talents to serve Him.

Kosovo is amazing. I've got a few words of Albanian down. I can now say “yes” “no” “Thank you” and “I don't speak Albanian.” While I love Turkey I will say that the people there tend to be rather stern. One of the first things I noticed on the streets in Kosovo was two men who looked like farmers. The remarkable part about it was that they were smiling as they looked out at the fields. My first impression is that people from Kosovo are generally pleasant and friendly. This is relieving, because if they were grumpy I would think that this would be a waste of an amazing landscape.

Just and interesting note that Kosovo is a young country. They declared their independence from Serbia all of 3 years ago. In fact, I just added Kosovo to my spell check dictionary. More on that later.

Our first concert is tomorrow night and already one of the men on our team has had a chance to pray with someone he met on the streets here. I'm very excited to see what happens when we get to get out there and get loud for God. There is so much more I want to tell you all, but some stories are best told in person.

Yeni Kayıt

I've arrived in Turkey and I thought I'd take a moment to tack on a new post.  When I got to the site all the links were in Turkish!  It shouldn't have been a surprise to me, but it was.  It took me a moment to figure out, but in case you're wondering "Yeni Kayıt" means "new post." 

This was good for me.  I've spent the day getting around Istanbul on my own.  I did reasonably well and was getting a little too sure of myself.  This is my 5th time coming to Istanbul, so it's reasonable to expect that I should be able to get to church and visit a friend's house on my own.  Still, I'm pretty proud of it.

I've heard it said many times and again today, "Take lots pictures when you first arrive in a new country because before you know it none of the things that you're amazed by then will be remarkable as you get used to being there."  The difference today was that I had a vivid illustration in my mind as to why.  To get to church I had to hop on a dolmus.  This is a bus that in Turkish is literally called, "full" and they usually are.  After getting off the dolmus I walked along the Bosphorus river and up a small street.  It wasn't until 4 hours later that I walked back down to the river that I realized, I never looked up.  A view that once was a reason in itself to walk down to the river  was something I took for granted. 



I love feeling comfortable here, but I don't like taking the beauty and mystery of Turkey for granted.  



Tomorrow morning we start the drive to Kosovo.  Please pray that the border crossings go well.  We think we have everything in order, but you never can tell when someone may be having a bad day.  If everything goes well we can make the trip in one day.   



I've always enjoyed traveling like this, especially with people I want to know better.  Sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination.  I'm excited to learn more about the 2 other men that I will be traveling with.  We'll arrive in Kosovo tired, stinky, and closer.

You're crazy!

Some people wonder how I can do this.  What's going through my head during one of these trips?  A-lot!  Mostly all I can do is concentrate on what's in front of me at the moment.  Anything more would drive me crazy.  Right now I've got 15 different directions I've got to run in because I fly out tomorrow afternoon.  In the midst of this I think I know what my priorities are and so I'm here, thinking about this with dozens of obligations lurking at the back of my mind. 

For you gear heads out there looking at this one of the things in the back of my mind is the sound board that I found out yesterday I'm going to be using for the tour, the Presonus 24.4.2.  I haven't used this soundboard yet and if I were the type to get anxious this would be a source of stress.  However God's blessed me with the ability to figure things out and roll with it when it comes to production gear.  So I'll be busy when I can get my hands on that board, but it's a fun kind of busy.

I'm also thinking about all the stuff I'm supposed to get in the mail today.  Anyone planning on going overseas regularly should be comfortable with being a "mule."  In the past week I've gotten numerous e-mails from people I'll be seeing when I get there.  They've all got different things that are easier or cheaper to get in the US that they want me to bring over.  The last trip I took the precious cargo was peanut butter.  (FYI the TSA won't let you put peanut butter in your carry-on.)  I really enjoy this part of the trip because when I see that person for the first time it's like Christmas morning and they paid for it.

Then there's packing, but I don't want to think about that right now.

The last thing that I want to mention here that I have on my mind is the biggest thing; friends and family.  Any interactions I have now are the last impression these people will have of me for quite a while.  This isn't easy for me to be mindful of.  I tend to get distracted by the stuff I need to do.  The bottom line is I'm leaving my family while I go almost half-way around the world.  It doesn't matter how often I go, that's never an easy thing to do.  I have a strong wife, good friends and a large church family that I know will be looking out for my kids.  When things slow down on the tour enough for my mind to stop racing, this is where my mind goes.

I really couldn't deal with all this myself.  If I weren't "on a mission from God"  I would be a complete mess right now.  It's only because I know I am God's and that He will care for me and my family that I can do this.

First Time Out

I never thought I'd do it, but here I am.  I've created a blog.  I was thinking about my upcoming trip to Kosovo next week and realized I needed a forum for getting news out that wasn't Facebook.  By creating a blog now anyone, with or without a Facebook account can read updates without receiving a glut of e-mails. 

So for those of you out there praying for me, here are some important dates.  June 17th I fly out of Albany, NY.  June 18th I arrive in Istanbul.  The 19th will be spent preparing the truck and equipment for the drive to Kosovo.  I'm always interested to see how my body will react to the time change.  It's rarely the same thing twice.  The 18th and 19th will be the days I have for my body to adjust.  On June 20th I will be getting in our equipment truck to drive 12hours to Kosovo.  We're planning on the border crossings taking a while and have scheduled an overnight into the drive.  This means that the truck will arrive the same day as the band members and dancers do in Pristina, Kosovo, the 21st.  The 22nd starts our rehearsals and we're off!

I will take any opportunity I get to keep this updated, but I'm sure you can imagine everything in those 5 days that needs to be prayed for.  The logistics alone can get mind boggling.  I do want to mention specifically that much of the team will be meeting each other for the first time on the 21st in the midst of what is an exciting and stressful situation.