Cornfields blur in my periphery interrupted by red barns and groves of hulking windmills that could uproot and romp through the fields blasting lasers across the sky. My life is now split between living in a van and sleeping in a different bed every night playing concerts more days than not. After three weeks of training in Willmar, MN I am now on the road with Team 14:21. The rigid schedule of the first three weeks of training has been replaced by days lacking routine, something new everyday. We played our first concert at the United Methodist Church in Epworth, IA where we were warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated. We were rushed, full of anxiety and barely ready to play our first show, but somehow we held together. To our amazement Pastor Corby informed us that we were the best group she had seen in the past five years. Wow. Our first show. That’s some of the best encouragement we could get. We played morning worship at the church the next day.
Only a week into the tour and we’ve already experienced so much. Among different church venues we played at a homeless ministry in Chicago. The neighborhood we were in was rough. When we got back to our host home for the night and told our dad where we were he was dumbfounded. “You guys are really gonna learn a lot about the world this year….” I didn’t really know what to expect going into the homeless shelter. I wasn’t sure how receptive they would be to the music and to the message. I was blown away. They let us play 17 of the 18 songs in our repertoire, perform two short dramas and give two testimonies all the while getting more and more excited as the night went on. This is only one of the many great experiences. I am so blessed to be doing this. So many beautiful people, great places and awesome times. It has only been a week. Feels like at least three. I love these people. Too many stories for this blog to handle. I will archive them in the deep recesses of my brain to tell those I meet along the way and those at home when we meet again. I don't want to forget any of this. Don't want to miss a single moment.
I was talking to the chaplain, Jay, at the rescue mission we played for in Rockford about life and how we each got to be where we were today. He spoke of a life-long discipline that God had put him through so that he would be best suited for his job as a chaplain at this rescue mission.
"The closer I get to God the bigger He gets."
This thought of trying to gain understanding and losing it more and more. In the introduction of Timothy Keller's book The Prodigal God he writes: 'Nevertheless, one of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain you do.' Is that why it's called faith? Because the truth doesn't really make sense in our narrow-minded human understanding?
