Lip Synching a Duet

Hello, friends! 

A funny story to share with you from the land of BCM! 

One of the ways that I have been trying to get myself plugged into the Black Christian community on campus is to join the Legion of Black Collegians Gospel Choir (LBCGC).  I talked to my old supervisor and he said that there really is no better way to get the pulse of the Black Christians on campus then being a part of the Gospel Choir.  As someone who is trying to plant cross culturally, this is extra important since I do not have an automatic in into that community.

So I've been a part of the Gospel Choir and it has been a blast.  The voices that I am around are amazing and the songs that we do are complex, simple, and beautiful at the same time.  The only downside is that I'm not a very good singer.  I can sing when I need to but a two hour rehearsal puts a strain on my pipes.  Also, I can't hear the notes I'm supposed to sing really well so singing those notes back is usually an adventure. 

I can get around that by sometimes taking a few notes off.  If I don't hear a phrase really well, I can lip synch the words and focus on my listening instead of on my singing.  Eventually I hear what I'm supposed to sing and I can come back in. 

Last Tuesday I was freaking out at the beginning of rehearsal.  Why?  THERE WAS ONLY ONE OTHER GUY PRESENT!  My whole plan was ruined!  How would I be able to lip synch when I was supposed to be providing half of the vocals?  There was no way around it; I was just going to have to try my best and hope that I don't get called out. 

Thankfully, two things happened that eased my fear a bit.  The first is that the first song we did was a review song.  I remembered most of the notes from that song and instead of going through section by section we just ran through the song, which meant I could hide a little bit if I needed to.  The second thing that worked in my favor is that other guys started showing up.  Thank you, Jesus!  =0). 

All said and done, I'm really enjoying my time in the LBCGC and I think I'm starting to make inroads.  On Tuesday it felt like I actually a part of the community and I wasn't getting nearly as many "What is the Asian guy doing here" looks.  Jesus is working and I am excited! 

A few prayer points:
- Pray for the choir.  Much like most of the student groups here on campus, they are starting to feel the stress of the midterm season.  Please pray that students will receive a peace that surpasses all understanding when it comes to their studies. 
- Pray for my throat.  Like I said, 2 hours of rehearsal wreaks havoc on the throat of a guy who isn't a very good singer to start.  Pray that I will be able to continue to sing so I can be a part of the community. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam