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