We're Here For People, Not Peanuts

My team and I at training camp
who are going on the World Race in January

This past week I was in training for the World Race while Sarah was hanging out in the Atlanta area for the week.  For me it was a week filled with worship, learning, preparation, and getting to know my teammates…who I'll be traveling with and doing ministry with for the next year in Latin America starting in January!

We haven't had a show in almost 2 weeks but the ministry has not ceased! We drove 7 hours from Atlanta to Memphis, TN on Wednesday.  A friend from Colombia, Felipe (Pipe) Avila, is living there for several months and had a place for us to stay. It was with a Colombian family but the wife was American. However, she grew up in Colombia and was one of the first students to graduate from El Camino Academy (the school I worked at last year) back in the 90s. The family has two precious kids and one on the way and the husband is a musician. They were so welcoming and it was a wonderful time.  Also, a girl named Jacqui lives with them. She's our age and she'll be moving to Colombia in January as a missionary for two years!! I love Colombia. :-) 

Pipe!

Pipe was an awesome tour guide and showed us around Memphis.  One day we went to the coffee shop where Jacqui works at.  While we were there we had a conversation with a guy who works there. He too is a musician.  He said he had a show that night, but we were going to have a campfire and play music in the backyard so we weren't going to be able to make it.  We chatted a bit, and then we went downtown.  We rode a loop on the trolly and then decided to go to the infamous Peanut Shop. As we were walking down the street we saw a man singing his heart out.  Then we looked a little closer and Sarah exclaimed, "Hey! We know him!" We made our way over and saw the same guy that worked at the coffee shop.  He told us how he just got a permit to sing on the streets of Memphis and wanted to try it out.  It was just him, his girlfriend's bike, and his voice.  That takes guts.  He sounded really good and we asked if he'd sing us another song.  He started singing about how he's a mess and how he's messed up but how he has been forgiven.  He then went

Sarah and I in front of Gibson Guitar Factory
in Memphis, TN

on telling us that he feels best and feels like he sings best when he's singing to/about the Lord.  I asked him if he was a Christian and he said no but the Lord is after him. Then he said it's so weird and like one of the Sufjan Stevens songs that says, "He will take you if you run, He will chase you He will take you if you run, He will chase you 'cause He is the Lord"
He was very open and shared that he knows God is after him but he's afraid that if he opens his heart to it that things will fall apart or will be taken from him such as relationships and other things he loves.  I said "Oh, but it's so much better!" We were then able to share with him our story and our "Fearful Tour" message and how we have things we are afraid of but in the midst of those scary things we have hope and an awesome God who will carry us through.  Then we talked about Sarah's song, "Be Still," and I remembered I had it on my phone so right there on the street he knelt down and put the phone up to his ear to listen to it and these are lyrics he heard that day, "Be still, my soul, and know He is God. Render your heart to the Lord. He's swift to rescue, slow to anger, mighty to save, He will deliver." 

Afterwards Pipe got his phone number and will hopefully be able to keep in contact with him.  Then the guy said, "Oh hey I'm so sorry if you don't make it to the peanut shop. It might be closed by now." Which then Sarah replied, "We're here for people, not peanuts." 

Soli Deo Gloria