Preparing to Lead

Part of the amazing opportunity we will have when we get to India is to be able to go into several of the schools there and, through a 30-minute student program, share the gospel with the students.  Our team of nine will be doing a skit for the kids, and then one of the team leaders will share the gospel, which will lead into a worship time, and then we'll end the program with a rap routine.  And just in case you're horrified at this moment, no, I am not part of the rap routine!  The rap routine will be put on by Rich, Anita and Jainy.  I'm hoping to be mostly the set up and clean up crew, which I happen to be really good at all that behind-the-scenes stuff.  I will be part of the game show skit along with Gilbert, Heather, Jacob, and Anita but, fortunately, I don't have to speak or else I would vomit!  Severe stage fright here!  Ashlee and I do get to throw shaving cream pies in the faces of the contestants who answer the questions wrong during the skit... and I get to make the pies.  I think I can handle that!

Ashlee, however, gets to lead worship!  Since she can play the piano, the team leader, Ben, asked her to learn a couple of praise songs and be prepared to segue from when he presents the message into a time of worship.  She will then sing and, hopefully, get the students to sing along.  The two songs she'll be playing are "How He Loves" and "I Exalt Thee."  Ben suggested that it would be great if we could get the chorus of "How He Loves" translated into Tamil (language in South India) so maybe we could get the students to sing along.  So what did we do?  We emailed Prabu who, of course, said he'd be glad to help.  He has been part of several mission group teams in the past and has led worship, so he offered to give Ashlee some tips as well as translate the chorus for us.  So I invited Prabu and his wife over for pizza and dessert so Prabu and Ashlee could work on the music here.

When they arrived, we ate dinner, did lots of talking, got lots more helpful tips for our trip, and then Ashlee and Prabu got to work.  We all wanted to watch and listen in, so I think we probably made them both a nervous wreck when we parked ourselves on the sofa by the piano!  Prabu had brought his guitar along, so it was great getting to watch the process of him singing, playing and translating.  By the end of their "session," Ashlee played the song from beginning to end and ended the song by singing the chorus in Tamil.  I could have cried, I was so proud!  And, of course, the praise from Prabu and Wendy went a long way toward boosting Ashlee's confidence.  Prabu also suggested she end with singing the chorus acapella, so she and Prabu tried that, and it was beautiful!

Of course I had to capture the moment on film, so here ya go.

I can't wait to see it all come together when we get there.  It may not all come together as perfect as I imagine it in my mind at this moment, but it will be perfect exactly how it turns out.  We're praying that along the way many seeds will be planted for Christ.