Here I Go Again

 Well, I made it to Germany. It was a process but I’m excited for what God in store. 

Tricia and I drove from home to Boston with plenty of time to catch my flight. I would love to have family or friends with me, but I’m alone on this trip. When we arrived Tricia spotted that my flight was already delayed by almost one hour. I checked my baggage and when The clerk asked about how I was paying for my extra bag I told her I wasn’t able to pay online, I’d have to pay at the counter. With that she said she would waive the fee. That was a great sign. This flight with Condor Airlines was off to a good start. 

Then every hour after that the flight to Frankfurt was delayed again, but rest assured I had plenty of time to make my connection to Düsseldorf. After a couple of gate changes at 11:45 we finally started loading the plane. We took off 4 hours late. Now my connection would be tight, but doable. No problem. 

Upon boarding with my carry-on I had everything I needed. I found my assigned seat. It was next to the window, over the wing. Just the way I like. I was now glad that I didn’t pay the optional $50 to choose my seat. The seat back in front of me was fully equipped with a touchscreen, power ports and a remote control. It was a long delay, but things were looking good. No problem. 

After we took off and a few attempts had passed I realized that touchscreen was not going to turn on. It wasn’t just mine, but everyone’s. No inflight movie and no charging. That was fine, I was now glad I hadn’t paid the optional $25 to get the advanced movie selection. I had my phone and an extra battery to charge it with. I put my headphones in and fell asleep. No problem. 

I woke up when dinner was coming around. It smelled good and I was thirsty. I found out a vegetarian pasta dish was the only option. Since I am a vegetarian this worked out well. I was now sad I had paid the optional $10 to request a vegetarian meal. I ate my meal and watched some videos on my phone and fell back to sleep. No problem, I guess. 

We landed just before 1 and my connection to Düsseldorf was at 1:15 and had been delayed to 1:25. I could just run to the gate because my luggage was checked all the way through to Düsseldorf. No problem, except…

I soon learned that between me and my new gate was a passport checkpoint with a long line. I didn’t make it to my flight. I found a Condor service counter and she said they would give me a train ticket to Düsseldorf if I liked because that was quicker than waiting for the next available flight. I just needed to get my luggage and hop on the train next door. Two large bags and a carry-on on a train? No problem. 

Hallway B belt 16 was where my luggage would be. I found it easily and stood there for a while waiting for my two large bags. Then I sat there for a while waiting for my two large bags. Then I walked around there looking for my two large bags. The travelers in hallway B were polite and kind, but belt 16 was not polite nor was it kind. In an hour and a half it had vomited up 5 suitcases that endlessly circled its dark carousel taunting me and my well equipped carry-on. Problem. 

Those bags contained equipment that far exceeded the value Condor would likely refund me. So I made my way to the lost luggage counter. A kind German woman with halting English filled out the form to request my luggage be returned from where it was put. She told me I should have done that an hour ago.  She also informed me that because of staffing shortages that I will need to wait at least one more hour. Problem 

In total I afforded them 4 1/2 hours to bring me my luggage. They never did. Belt 16 is a dismal place. I went back a filled out a lost luggage form that would get my baggage delivered to the place I was staying. I took one more lap around hallway B and silently cursed belt 16 as I passed. Finding nothing, I was off to find a train. 

In all honesty I’m being a little dramatic here. At this point I was hopping on a high speed train in a country I had never been in with only my well stocked carry-on to worry about. I was excited by the experience and admittedly a bit nervous about the equipment in my bags. The biggest problem I had is that I don’t like to be pushy when I need to be, and Condor airlines put me in a position where I had to be. 

I made it safely to the church where the rest of the team was already. The next step was to meet a dozen new people and figure out how to communicate with Colombians in a Turkish neighborhood in Germany. No problem. 

I’m writing this 4 days later and am still waiting for my luggage. 

A Cop Out?

This tour has kept me very busy so far.  Too busy to write a post here, unfortunately.  David Pierce, the leader and lead singer of the band, No Longer Music, that I'm touring with, writes a blog and currently has two posts up that tell about their arrival in Istanbul and the two concerts we've had so far.  Please take a look.  He has better pictures than I do.

http://steiger.org/nlm-blog-14/316-a-fight-from-the-start-first-concert-in-turkey

http://steiger.org/nlm-blog-14/317-the-holy-spirt-moves-in-a-conservative-muslim-neighborhood

Going Home and Leaving Home

Arriving in Istanbul has definitely changed for me.  The first time I showed up here, I was full of wonder and suspicion.  My eyes were huge as I tried to take everything in.  My curiosity was overwhelming.  I also had some fear of the unknown.  Over the next few trips my suspicion and fear subsided.  My wonder remained.  In preparing to return I got excited, like a kid on Christmas morning.  I couldn't sleep well before the flight.  Every new experience was like a gift to unwrap.   But now... now the experience is like walking into a different room in my own house.  It's still home, but it's just different. 

I arrived on Friday, got settled in a picked up a few things, like cookies, that I needed to get back into the house when I return to New York.  Saturday was a little more of the same until the band showed up.  This tour is with a band called "No Longer Music."  I've heard about them because they come to Turkey quite often, but this is my first chance to work with them.  I've used a few different term to try to describe what kind of music they perform, but until I hear more of it over the next 9 days I can't really describe it well.  It's edgy, intense and comes with quite a stage show. It's been good getting to know them.

Our first concert was scheduled to be here in Istanbul, but as with all things in Turkey it wasn't definite.  Since Sunday was election day, getting permission to do a large event was difficult.  Sometimes riots break out.  The people here are actively passionate about politics in a way Americans can only dream about.  As of Half an hour ago our concert is back on after having been cancelled.  This is a result of perseverance and prayer, lots of prayer.

So we're about to go into our first concert with a band of people I don't know well, and a bunch of gear that the band doesn't know well.  A lot is going to depend on grace, patience and professionalism, and everything is going to depend on God.

So, How Was Your Trip?

This is a question I love, and dread.  I love chances to talk about what's happened.  I love letting people who are interested get a glimpse into what I've seen and how God was working.  I dread the awkwardness of going into details and then realizing someone was asking to be polite.  In either case there's never enough time to go into all the details and I have to guess what that person is interested in.  It's like me saying, "What's in this picture?"

Some people will say, "It looks like some sort of shop."  Others might be drawn to speculate about what the men are talking about.  Even still others may have their eyes drawn to the lamps,  or tea sets.  No matter what you do though, unless you're talking for an hour, you will miss a detail.  If it takes that long to just describe one picture, how can I describe over two weeks worth of experiences?  Nevertheless, I try.  I try to guess what gets people excited, or at least what keeps people interested. Someone once said, "When you speak be inspirational.  If you can't be inspirational, be funny.  If you can't be funny, keep it short."

"1, 2, 5." "Three, sir."

Last time I told you we were going into the "home stretch" with 5 concerts left to go.  Well, we did 3 and that was enough.  Saturday afternoon, around 3, we went to set up our late night performance.  To get there we walked 10 minutes to a ferry, from the ferry it was another 5 minute walk to a train in a tunnel, then on to a trolley.  A short walk down the street and up a flight of stairs that took us to and elevator.  Up the elevator, then up another flight of stair and ta-da!  There you are.  Easy peasy.  So we set up and sound checked.  Once we were ready there we raced out the door at about 7pm to go perform at a dinner that was 50 minutes away by car.  We get to that diner with 5 minutes to sound check before we get on stage.  All goes well we get to eat and head back to the first venue via a car ride that would be an entire post unto itself.  10:30pm comes and we are ready to start our second performance of the day.  When the day was all said and done it was 3am that I went to bed knowing that I needed to get up in 3 1/2 hours to repack the truck and drive 7 hours the next day.

I don't lay all of this out there to complain, but just to let you know the realities of what I've signed up for.  If this were just for work, there's no way I would keep that schedule, but because of the eternal motivation that I have, I press on.

Our final concert was in the city that was historically known as Troy.  My mixing board was set up right under the nose of the Trojan Horse they used in the 2004 movie.  By the time we had finished our sound check we had over 100 people watching us.  We made announcements about the upcoming concert that night, and a few people connected with individuals who had gathered.  We had a couple hours before the concert, so we just played recorded music for a while.  In that down time more people connected with kids, tourists, and anyone passing by who wondered what was going on.  We even had an Indian family stop by with some Bollywood music they wanted us to play so they could dance to it.  By concert time we had a crowd of over 400 people ready to see what this crew from Chicago had to offer.

The crowd grew over the course of the performance and was very receptive of our music and message.  At the end of the concert I did all I could to restrain my urge to pack up and leave.  It's always the practice to pack it up and get out at my normal gigs.  In fact I pride myself at timing the truck pack and setting new records.  But these shows are different.  I needed to remind myself that we are here for conversations and relationships.  I am so glad I did.

I got to see a believer that I had met 3 years ago on a previous tour.  I got to meet some members of the local church and I got to meet some believers who were seeking refuge in Turkey.  I won't go into too many details about these men here, for the sake of their privacy.  Suffice it to say they had good reason not to return to their home countries.  They were overjoyed to be at such and openly Christian event out in public.  They were thrilled that we were there, and I was honored that we could serve these men in any way.  If the whole trip was just to set up and sing just for these men, I would have made the journey ten times over.

Pushing Through

Since my last post we've performed twice.  Once in Antalya and once in Manavgat.  Our Antalya performance had some "glitches" that we as a team had to work out.  The result of us working things out was a much better performance the next day.  each day we received dozens of survey forms that were filled out and a lot of good contacts.  Yesterday we drove from Manavgat to Istanbul, a 15 hour drive after all of our stops.

We are now in what I feel is the home stretch.  I have to take that perspective because I need to know when I will get to rest.  The next five days are scheduled with late nights, early mornings, five performances (some are not full 90 minute concerts) two 7 hour drives, debriefing, last minute souvenir shopping (because you can never have enough scarves), an early morning drive to the airport and a 13 hour flight home.  Hopefully you'll understand if I don't get a chance to write another post soon.  As it is I expected to be asleep now, but I woke up early.

"...[W]e rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope."  There comes a time in most tours where I think, "I'm exhausted, but it's only a few more days.  I can make it."  I haven't hit the point of exhaustion yet, and hopefully I won't have to.  My "sufferings" are nothing compared to what Paul was referring to when he wrote that quote in Romans.  This just means the development of my endurance, character, and hope are also nothing when compared to Paul's.  But, even so, I cherish it.  I'm praying that God will help me not just to endure, but to finish well.  It's not enough to just survive through these next few days.  I need to flourish.  I came here to serve this team, and there have been times when I haven't done that well.  My patience has worn thin on occasion, or a request comes up and I'm just feeling lazy.  Granted it's 100degrees and 80% humidity, but that's no excuse to slouch when you've come halfway around the world to tell people how much God loves them.

All this to say pray for us.  Pray for our endurance, character, and hope, Pray for the effectiveness of our communication in word and works, Pray that we will finish well, and Pray that nothing else gets cancelled.

Did Paul ever pray for things to go smoothly?

At this point we've performed 2 nights on the street and once on a stage.  All of this was in Istanbul.  The times on the street were both really good.  The musicians performed for about 15 minutes and by the time they were done there was a pretty decent crowd (15-50 people) clapping and interacting with the songs.  When they are done with the 15 minute set, then we get to interact on a personal level with the people who've come to see who this group of foreigners is and why we are here and ask them to fill out surveys.

The stage performance was for a hip-hop festival.  We walked into a mall, went down 3 flights of stairs and there before us was a theater with a couple hundred people all up against the stage.  They were all enjoying themselves while a Turkish rapper was going to town on the stage.  The short version of the rest of the story is that our first full stage, full set-list performance went off without a hitch.  Of course we had our surveys with us and we got many back from our newest fans.  It went smoothly.

Now, after two days on the road, we are in Antalya.  I just woke up and went for a walk along the rocky shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea and prayed.  I praised God for what He's done and prayed for things to go smoothly.  Then I stopped.  I realized that is a selfish prayer.  What if something needs to go "wrong"  for the sake of God's plan?

How often do we pray for the easy way out?  We pray for nice weather for an outdoor activity.  We pray for a sickness or pain to go away.  We pray for "travel mercies" and expect that God will protect us from flat tires and accidents.  We pray for a concert to go smoothly. But God....

God works in the things we see as inconvenience.  When there is an obstacle in our way God is glorified in the solution or the strength to persevere.  It's in those times that we can respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  So how should we pray?  I decided to pray that God would keep me aware of His plan.  That no matter what happens, whether I think it's good or not, that I will have His perspective to see the opportunities He is placing before us.