singing diary
This week I sang in three places (Oct.28/ 29/ 30). The first & third occasion were at places where I’ve been before (Savannah Court/ Hawthorne Village), several times; 2 wonderful hours of joy & singing in the spirit.
The second occasion was plain hard work in difficult circumstances. I had been to this place once before, and at that time it was very much the same. Lots of movement, people walking & talking, including staff; one disturbed lady kind of screaming every 3 minutes. Gladly about 15 minutes into my presentation, she stopped and sat there staring at me. Afterwards she thanked me profusely.
This last place was such a struggle; a labor of love. It pushed me into that uncomfortable place, where you don’t want to go. The hardest thing I found was members of staff making so much noise, and constantly walking around and interacting with my little audience. I kept loosing their attention because of the staff. They treat me like I’m the radio (or a CD player); I’m having to work hard, not to get angry, not to get offended. Then I discover that I can get more eye contact with my audience, and as a result the staff begin to sit back or walk away (even better).
During His ministry years Jesus confronted the religious authorities many times, but always at moments of His choosing. Most of the time, Jesus simply ignored them and focussed on the ordinary people.
Once the concert/ presentation is finished the activities director tells me how much the people have loved it, and would I come & sing here once a month (she offers me pay). My, here’s another challenge; I was hoping to sneak out of this place, to never return. Now I realize, that I need to speak to the staff about their behavior and that, if they respond well, I should be prepared to return, even on a regular basis.
Singing at the other 2 places this week, is a total joy & privilege. It just keeps getting better, how the spirit uses my singing & telling (and playing the sax). I would like to have opportunities to do a longer presentation; 90 minutes for instance, or even longer. It would also be great to start using projection during some of the songs, projecting paintings of the (Biblical) characters & situations that I’m singing about. I trust it will all be happening, before soon.
