Date: Friday, June 20, 2014
Time: 8:45 pm local time/2:45 pm EST Place: Bern, Switzerland Hey folks! I’m exhausted again, though maybe not as bone-weary was I was this time last night. We had to leave our hotel by 7:45 this morning, and breakfast began at 6:30. Joel and I thought that it would be good to wake up by about six so we could get showers before heading to breakfast before it got too full. I set the alarm on my phone for six o’clock, but kept waking up to see what time it was. About 11:55 or so I woke up, thinking that my phone hadn’t changed time zones and that it was 6 in the morning (we’re six hours ahead over here). After trying, unsuccessfully, to wake Joel, I grabbed clean clothes and trudged to the shower, leaving the light on which I thought might wake him up slowly. I went into the bathroom, and while preparing for my shower it dawned on me that I should go check my watch (which I knew was running the right time). So I went back to the room and checked it, and lo and behold it was just about midnight. I’m so glad that I didn’t take the shower at that point, because I would never have fallen asleep. Joel and I went down to breakfast a few minutes past 6:30 and were soon joined by Kathy Goddard. It was a very European breakfast: fresh croissants, corn flakes without milk but with yogurt, and I had some mint tea, too. Quite yummy, but not quite filling (or at least) not filling for any amount of time. After breakfast and packing up essentials (like an umbrella) for the day, we walked a few minutes (maybe 5-7) to a park by the Swiss Parliament. We had a brief worship talk from Dr. Wohlers. He read Psalm 117 to us, and then we had a quick prayer. After worship Dr. Diller took the floor and lectured to us about the history of Switzerland, its people, and their culture. If you look at a map of Switzerland you can see tall mountains and deep valleys, which has led them to being very isolated culturally, even from themselves. That isolation has even gone so far as to make their Swiss German language sound like a much more like Old German, and it’s difficult for a non-Swiss to learn Swiss German because there isn’t really a standard language. It’s even different enough between two towns 20 miles away that you can tell where people are from. The Swiss didn’t have before 1848 the Swiss really had no sort of allegiance to Switzerland, but to their canton. A canton is not quite a city state, but not quite a county either. A fairly small region that shared a common language and customs. Switzerland was the home of the Neanderthals (whatever we believe they actually were), and in more modern history it was the home of the Celts. Once Rome fell and became the various tribes, the tribes native to Switzerland were the Alemanni and the Helvetii, from which the Swiss get their official name, the Confoederatio Helvetica. This area was quite Christian by the year 200, but paganism had set in by around 500 when it needed to be reconverted by Celtic Christian missionaries. At some point I will try to write a post about the “White Martyrdom,” which really doesn’t have anything to do with Switzerland, but it also does. Google it for more information until I get around to it. I talked yesterday about Grossmünster Cathedral in Zurich. Dr. Diller told us today that on the side of the church is a statue of Charlemagne who was the Holy Roman Emperor who sent missionaries to the area in the 700s. Those missionaries founded the church that would eventually move into the Grossmünster. The Swiss Reformation began c. 1523, less than a decade after Luther’s 95 Theses were nailed to the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg. The two names most important in the Swiss Reformation are John Calvin (who focused his energies in Geneva) and Huldrych Zwingli who was stationed in Zurich’s Grossmünster church. There was no concept of Separation of Church and State during the Reformation, because it was thanks to the Holy Roman Princes that the Reformation was able to happen as effectively as it did. They allowed the publication of anti-Roman writings and protected the Reformers from the Church. It is hard for us living in these modern times to not look at the Princes’ involvement with the Reformation as anything but political, but Dr. Diller pointed out that it probably was, at least for the most part, a deep desire to follow the Bible. A generation or two after the Protestant reformation died down in Switzerland, the individual cantons were in a position where they could individually decide to accept Protestantism or Catholicism, and it depended on the region. It was about this time, however, when the Anabaptists (those who believed that baptism should be an adult decision and therefore were re-baptized as adults) were beginning to rise. These newcomers to the religious scene were dangerous to the fabric of the society. Up to that point, the main point of government was to raise money so they could go to war to get more land. The Anabaptists, however, were pacifists. In reality they weren’t even really citizens. In those days (the mid-to-late 1500s or so), birth and death records weren’t kept by the state. They were kept by the church. Your birth certificate was really your baptismal certificate. (This was true even with Bach in 1685 and Beethoven in 1770). If you weren’t baptized as a baby, you weren’t on any sort of books until you were baptized as an adult (not even a teenager). These strange new beliefs worried both the Protestants and Catholics, so they both began to persecute the Anabaptists. The center of this persecution was Bern. Eventually those Anabaptists who survived moved out of the area, many coming to Pennsylvania, eventually becoming the Amish or Mennonites. Switzerland was captured by Napoleon for a short time during the Napoleonic Wars (which were fought from the late 1700s through somewhere before 1820. After these wars were over the Council of Vienna met to re-sort Europe, reestablishing earlier borders. At this time the countries began to modernize their governments. The Swiss had problems, however, because they never had any particularly strong ties to a central government. Instead, they were loyal to their canton. In 1848 these cantons formed the Helvetic Confederation, which is basically the Switzerland we know now. In the late nineteenth century Switzerland decided that it should build up its infrastructure to allow for people to take their vacations here (which they already did). The country decided to stay neutral in World War I and II, though it was quite difficult to do so in WWII because they were completely surrounded by the Axis. Their neutrality was accepted by all, though, because they were the financial capital of the world. If a country is going to be invaded, they get as much of their movable capital out of the country and into a Swiss bank account. Because Switzerland was neutral during the war, however, there was nothing to force the issue of women having the right to vote. In much of the world the idea says that if women are working for the war effort (while their husbands are fighting) they should be allowed to vote. In Switzerland, the right to vote for all women wasn’t accomplished until the 1990s. After our lesson in the park we walked to the Haputbahnhoff to get on our train to Interlaken, which is a gorgeous part of Switzerland which is situated in the Alps. As we were on our train, we got to enjoy a lot of beautiful scenery, which I tried to take pictures of, but my pictures really don’t do justice to the absolute beauty of the area. We got off the train at the Interlaken Ost (East) station and bought tickets for a ride up and around some of the Alpine mountains. The views were absolutely breathtaking, but I had a quick thought: It’s a wound. Ellen White explains in pages 107 and 108 of Patriarchs and Prophets: "The entire surface of the earth was changed at the Flood. A third dreadful curse rested upon it in consequence of sin. As the water began to subside, the hills and mountains were surrounded by a vast, turbid sea, Everywhere were strewn the dead bodies of men and beasts. The Lord would not permit these to remain to decompose and pollute the air, therefore He made of the earth a vast burial ground. A violent wind which was caused to blow for the purpose of drying up the waters, moved them with great force, in some instances even carrying away the tops of the mountains and heaping up trees, rocks, and earth above the bodies of the dead. By the same means the silver and gold, the choice wood and precious stones, which had enriched and adorned the world before the Flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, were concealed from the sight and search of men, the violent action of the waters piling earth and rocks upon these treasures, and in some cases even forming mountains above them. God saw that the more He enriched and prospered sinful men, the more they would corrupt their ways before Him. The treasures that should have led them to glorify the bountiful Giver had been worshiped, while God had been dishonored and despised. The earth presented an appearance of confusion and desolation impossible to describe. The mountains, once so beautiful in their perfect symmetry, had become broken and irregular. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks were now scattered upon the surface of the earth. In many places hills and mountains had disappeared, leaving no trace where they once stood; and plains had given place to mountain ranges. These changes were more marked in some places than in others. Where once had been earth's richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the heaviest marks of the curse. And upon countries that were not inhabited, and those where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more lightly." I didn’t rest on this idea for long, but I was reminded again how beautiful heaven will be if one of the most beautiful spots on earth is a wound upon the earth. The majority of our day was spent riding trains all around the Interlaken area, enjoying the scenery, some pictures of which I’ll put on Facebook. There was a castle we wanted to see, but it was schedule to close at 5 o’clock. Dr. Laughlin went and asked about it, and said that if we wanted even a chance to see it we had to get on the 4 o’clock train from Interlaken back toward Bern. We were to stop at the town of Thun (pronounced tune). We got off the train at about 4:35 and walked very, very quickly up the mountain to the castle. As we rounded each new corner to find yet another new corner, I was sweating buckets and sure that I would die right then and there, without even reaching the castle. We got there at 4:55, but it was already closed. They were celebrating their 750th anniversary (which is an amazingly long time, come to think about it), and had closed to decorate for a party sometime this weekend. All that way, all those pounds washed away, and for nothing. We walked (a shorter, much more direct way) back down to the main town of Thun, looking for food. It took us probably another 30 minutes before settling on an Italian restaurant. Mrs. Goddard and I shared a mushroom pizza (which I picked the mushrooms off of), and we chatted around the table for probably most of an hour. Earlier on in the day we had been discussing the four personality types (Sanguine, Melancholy, Choleric, and Phlegmatic). I couldn’t quite get them figured out, but Mrs. Goddard was helping me by giving me mnemonic her husband used. A man is sitting on a bench, with his hat next to him. Someone comes and sits down on his hat. The Sanguine laughs, the Melancholy cries, the Choleric hollers, and the Phlegmatic puts his hat on and walks away. After we finished eating we walked to the train station so that we could get back to our hotel and ask our receptionist/concierge where to find Apfelstrudel mit vanillesauce. We got to the station within a few minutes of getting on a train heading toward Bern. This train was of a different brand, however, and before our first stop Joel discovered that this brand wasn’t on our Eurorail pass. We got off at the next stop, which, it turned out, was not served by any other line. Our options were to get back on the next train heading to Thun, or get back on heading toward Bern. During this time we discovered that (we think) we were allowed to be on that train, so we decided to take the next train to Bern. During that time we chatted some more, Mrs. Goddard posing the question how would each of the personality types respond to this afternoons misadventures (missing the castle, getting on the wrong train, etc.), and that is where my title comes from. The Choleric would have yelled about it, the Melancholy would have broken down into tears, the Sanguine would have laughed, and the Phlegmatic would shrug his shoulders and wait patiently. The train finally came to get us, and we made our return trip to Bern, though we arrived at a different place. I would have been completely lost, but Joel and Kaiti knew exactly where we were going. They got us back to the hotel in one piece, but when we got there we found out that there were no restaurants open to sell Apfelstrudel. I’m back in the room now, and ready for bed. It’s almost 10:30, so good night. Love to all! Robby PS My walking estimate is a minimum of 3 miles today. I started a hunt for a pedometer today, but without luck.
0 Comments
Date: Thursday, June 19, 2014
Time: 8:55 pm local time/2:55 pm EST Place: Bern, Switzerland Dear Folks! I know the title is a little facetious, though at this point it really seems as if I have walked that far. My feet hurt and there’s nothing more that I want to do than to get in bed. That will come in a few minutes. Dad dropped me off at the airport yesterday at about noon, after we had some trouble finding the right place. We eventually got there and I went in and got registered. I ended up checking Dr. Laughlin’s bag (which was housing unexpected liquids and my peanut butter). We (Kaiti, Dr. Laughlin, Mrs. Goddard, and I) quickly made it through security and settled in at our gate (E-18). A few hours later we got on the plane (about 4:30) and were soon airborne! The flight was just over nine hours long, and it was quite miserable. I tried to fall asleep, but by the time I got tired enough to fall asleep, I got to fight with restless leg syndrome. I think I finally got about an hour of sleep. We got off the airport and went through customs, where I had no problems getting into the country. From the airport we walked a few blocks to the train station, where we were given our Eurorail passes. These passes are as important as our passports, so we were threatened not to lose them. We rode the train from the Zurich airport to the Zurich Hauptbahnhoff (train station, pronounced hopped-bon-hoff). We killed time there for a while, which included taking a walk down the Bahnhoffstrasse (or something like that) to the river, then walking around the other way. There is a piece of modern art hanging in the Hauptbahnhoff which I immediately christened the Winged Hippie (based on the statue called the Winged Victory). On our walk around Zurich we were shown the towers of the Grossmüster Cathedral, the church from which Huldrych Zwingli started the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland (in around 1523). We returned to the Hauptbahnhoff and had a little bit of time to kill before taking the 13:32 (1:32 pm) train from Zurich to Bern. In the meantime I needed to be alone, so I went into the station’s chapel and dozed. From there I was told about a waiting room which was supposed to be more comfortable. I went there and dozed a little while longer. The trip from Zurich to Bern is about an hour, and it was quite a nice little ride. We ride second class, but that’s still got plenty of room and a bathroom, so we’re all set. We arrived in Bern about 2:30 and made our way the few blocks to our hotel. We checked in, and went up to our rooms. I’m sharing a room with three other guys (Joel, who I knew about in advance, and then two other people (both animation majors) who I can’t remember their name. When Joel and I went up to the room, there were two twin beds in the room, pushed almost together, making something the size of a King. Joel and I were slightly alarmed, as we couldn’t figure out how to fit four people into one bed. Luckily, our room is a suite and there was another room with two more beds. We showered, and were back out to explore the city on our own by about 4 o’clock. Dr. Wohlers split us up into four groups, mine consists of both Laughlins, Joel, Kathy Goddard, and, once she joins us, Lisa Diller. It will be lots of fun and we’ll do lots of fun things. We started out just by walking around. We found a park, and decided to sing. Then we decided to sing in every park we encounter on this trip. We sang Be Still My Soul (which stunk, but maybe we’ll have better luck next time). We were hungry by this point, so we decided to go find something to eat. Joel had mentioned Indian food, but we couldn’t find the restaurant. Then we were going to eat Lebanese, but it wasn’t open in time. We finally decided on a place called Tibits, which is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant which was actually quite good. We were told about a funicular (like the incline railway) and so we walked a long ways to try to find it. We had been given a special card by our hotel which allows us to use the busses and trams for free. We found the funicular and rode it down, but it wasn’t very long, or breathtaking. People took it like they took a normal bus. After find and taking the funicular, we found ourselves looking for ring where they used to have bear fights. We spent about 3 hours hunting for it, in doing so we saw a lot of the city. We found our way to another park/beach/pool area and walked around for a little while. We walked by the river, which is quite calm and a beautiful green color. We walked a little further and came to a dam where we stopped to take pictures. Then it started to rain. We all crawled under a canopy where we chatted and waited for the rain to stop. From there we hiked up a hill (still looking for bears, mind you), but we didn’t find them. We did, however find the art museum. We didn’t go in, but we took a bus from that stop. Unfortunately we didn’t have a very good sense of direction (or got on the wrong train), because it was a couple more hours before we found the bears. In the meantime, however, we walked through a lot of Bern, saw flying buttresses live and in person, enjoyed clocks, fountains and chiming bells. We stopped at a chocolate shop and bought some chocolate (one which was milk chocolate with M&Ms, and one which was white chocolate raspberry). Out front of the chocolate shop were two girls (late teens or early 20s) who were playing violin (or violin/viola, I couldn’t tell) duets. It was quite nice. Finally, (and I do mean good grief) we found the bears and took lots of pictures. Then we came home and are in the process of crashing. I’m going to go brush my teeth, then get in bed. Love to all! Robby P. S. I estimate that I have walked at least 5 miles today. I need to see if I can find a pedometer. I was asked a question once to which I had no answer, and to which I still don't have a complete answer. The question was, "Why do you musick?" which is the academic way of asking "Why do you make music?" As a musician--and someone who hopes to teach the next generation of musicians--I need to find my answer.
Recently, I was shown my answer. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Southeastern Division Conference of the American Choral Director's Association a few weeks ago, and heard many, many beautiful concerts and choirs. They, almost without exception, sang with technical proficiency and skill, but not always with feeling. On Sabbath morning there was one more concert, with an all sacred repertoire, so I decided to attend. It was held at a church, which already led to a more worshipful experience, but there was also feeling and meaning behind what the choirs sang. They were worshipping God through their music. They were no less skilled than the other choirs from the week, but there was added beauty in their music because it was not a performance. It was an act of worship to the Creator of music. So, why do I musick? I musick because I have a gift from God that I want to share with others. I musick because I have been given a message about God's love that I must share with the world. But most importantly, I musick because God has done so much for me, and I want to say "thank you" to Him. I want to praise His name for the rest of my life. ~~~ There is singing up in Heaven such as we have never known, Where the angels sing the praises of the Lamb upon the throne, Their sweet harps are ever tuneful, and their voices always clear, O that we might be more like them while we serve the Master here! Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. But I hear another anthem, blending voices clear and strong, “Unto Him Who hath redeemed us and hath bought us,” is the song; We have come through tribulation to this land so fair and bright, In the fountain freely flowing He hath made our garments white. Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. Then the angels stand and listen, for they cannot join the song, Like the sound of many waters, by that happy, blood washed throng, For they sing about great trials, battles fought and vict’ries won, And they praise their great Redeemer, who hath said to them, “Well done.” Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. So, although I’m not an angel, yet I know that over there I will join a blessèd chorus that the angels cannot share; I will sing about my Savior, who upon dark Calvary Freely pardoned my transgressions, died to set a sinner free. Holy, holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings, For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. I found out last night that actor Ralph Waite has passed away. He was 85 years old. I wish I would mourn for him, but I never really knew him.
By default, I found out of the death of a man I greatly admired. His name was John Walton--he was the father of seven children, a very hard worker, honest, and shrewd. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. And yes, I know that John Walton is not a real person. Only a character. But that doesn't make my sadness any less real. John Walton--and his parents, his wife and children--has been a neighbor to my family for three generations. Every Thursday evening--or more correctly, every evening--we felt invited into the Walton home. We got to know these television characters and it was almost as if they were our next door neighbors. Anyone who is reading this knows--or should know--that I am not lacking for a good father figure. My own dad is absolutely amazing and has helped me to grow into the man that I am today. I didn't attach myself to the Waltons out of lack of a good home life. I attached myself to them because they felt real. Anymore on television programs we have characters who are caricatures of real people, but on The Waltons we had real people. We had a grandfather who loved nature. He loved life and wanted to share those feelings with his family. He was devoted to his family and to his friends We had a grandmother who was very practical and hardworking. She wouldn't so much say that she loved you, but by her actions you would know it. She once said that all she had to give were old stories--but she really gave so much more. We had a father who worked terribly long hours to provide for his loved ones. He had a short temper at times--but he was never cruel. He was frustrated by the Depression. His skills were great, but he still struggled to make ends meet. We had a mother who worked tirelessly to keep the house in order. She cooked, cleaned, washed and ironed, helped with homework, listened to dreams and stories, helped with homework, mended socks, and so much more. But she wasn't superwoman. She was just someone dedicated to her family. And we had seven brothers and sisters. They all were special in their own way. We had the budding author, the musician, the tomboy nurse who grew to be a wonderful young lady. We had the hotheaded son who was so much like his father, the middle girl who didn't know what she wanted to do with her life, but she found her niche and was so successful. We had the tinkerer (who also provided comic relief) and we had the youngest who grew to be more like her grandfather every day. I could go on and on about these people, but I think I have said what I intended. The Walton family has been real to my family--and probably to yours--since it went on the air. They have been more than just pure entertainment. They were the ones who invited us over every week. And we got to know them and we found them to be dear friends. Goodnight, Mr. Walton. Goodnight, Grandpa and Grandma. Goodnight Ike. Goodnight, Sheriff. Goodnight Mrs. Brimmer. Goodnight, Miss Mamie and Miss Emily. For your lives the world has been a little brighter. The orchestra starts. Strings and a few winds and brass. It sounds like a great multitude is walking--almost marching. Then the choir comes in:
The men and altos sing above Philipp Nicolai's chorale tune: Wachet auf! Wachet auf! Wake up! Wake up! It's the story of the ten wise virgins from Matthew 25. They all had their lamps, but fell asleep when the Bridgroom failed to come when expected. When the Bridegroom finally did appear, only 5 of the virgins had enough oil. I write this on October 22nd, a day that will mean a lot to my Seventh-day Adventist friends and readers, but not a lot to anyone else. The short version of the story says that William Miller, a Deist turned Baptist preacher studied the Bible extensively and came to the conclusion that Jesus would return to this earth to cleanse the sanctuary (see Daniel 8:14) somewhere around 1843, finally settling on Samuel Snow's date of October 22, 1844. That day, Yom Kippur, was the fulfillment of the 2300 day prophecy. But Jesus didn't come. Later revelations showed that Jesus wasn't supposed to come that day, but instead moved on to the heavenly judgment, actively proving to the universe that God is just and that sinners who ask for his cleansing blood will receive it. Bach to Bach... We're in the middle movement now of the cantata no. 140. It's the very familiar "Sleepers Awake."
William Miller was the watchman. He said that Jesus was coming! With the best light he had, he even tried to set a date. But most importantly he shared the love of Jesus. That was his main point. He said "Jesus is coming," but also, more importantly, shared the love of Christ and the importance of having a saving relationship with him.
Adventists learned not to set dates. We learned that setting the date isn't important. It's just important to be ready, to have our lamps trimmed and burning. After the Great Disappointment, William Miller didn't give up hope! He wrote in "The Midnight Cry" on December 5, 1855 the following note, "Although I have been twice disappointed, I am not yet cast down or discouraged... I have fixed my mind upon another time, and here I mean to stand until God gives me more light--and that is Today, TODAY, and TODAY until He comes, and I see Him for whom my soul yearns." I think my favorite (or at least one of my favorite) old Advent songs is "We Know Not the Hour" (SDAH 604), especially the refrain. The women and men split several times, though only for a few notes each time. The women sing "He will come" with a dotted crunch of a full step and the men sing quarter notes in octaves "He will come." To me those quarter notes are as effective as any Baroque motor rhythm to keep the assurance of Christ's soon coming. The Adventist pionners had faith in Jesus coming, even when their hearts had been broken by his failure to appear on October 22, 1844. But their faith never wavered. "He will come" was their eternal song. The Advent movement should never have lasted. William Miller was wrong. He was wrong in 1843 and he was wrong again in 1844. All of his followers should have given up and lost their faith. So why didn't they?
The only reason I can give is that they felt God's leading. Even though their hearts kept being broken, they knew that He was leading them. The Adventist church has a mission: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His Heavenly Ministry and His Soon Return. But we weren't given a mission without something to strengthen us. We were given a rich history of God's care and leading. About a week ago I had the chance to present an Evensong program at the Collegedale SDA church. We closed the Sabbath by reviewing some of the ways that the Holy Spirit has led our church. We didn't just hear stories, though. We sang. Music is a language unto itself. It can say what a sermon simply can't. So we sang. And the congregation sang. One thing I dislike is how we don't encourage everyone to open their hymnals. But I made them. And they sang. Well. We have a past, we have hope and a future! No matter how bad our life may (and will) get, we have proof from our history that God cares and that he will provide for us. Always! I had the chance to go up to the sites of our Adventist heritage this past weekend and kept a journal. I'll share portions of it in the next few days. As I wrote this post I am sitting in Brock Hall, watching a CBC production of Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of The Shrew. It's really quite funny, but I'm having a problem. I'm just sitting here!
I don't do very well at just sitting. It's the Bolton in me that keeps me from just sitting still. All the Boltons that I know (or know about) never were good at sitting. Part of my issue is that I've got a lot of things to do today. I went to work this morning (and managed to accomplish little) and am now feeling cooped up when I have homework that needs to be done. I need to read for Christian Beliefs, send the final for program for Evensong, make my final edits for the program, write several scripts, and many other things. Dr. French (my Developmental Psychology teacher) was reading to us from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and he read something that took away a lot of joy. He said that there will always be something on our to-do lists. There will always be something that needs to be done. [I need to pause because I thought of something I need to add to my to-do list] One wouldn't think that it would be too hard to cross things off a to-do list. The majority of things would take but minutes. Of course some would take hours, but it shouldn't be that hard to accomplish things from my list. Am I just a procrastinator? Am I just too busy? I don't think I do that much extra. Just worship committee and teaching computers. That's not unreasonable. I don't dare ask for an extra hour in the day. I would end up with that filled, too! But I don't think I'd be the only one to fill it! In all honesty, the last two days stunk! The short version of the story (that doesn't give away information you don't need) is that I got in some minor trouble for something that shouldn't be an issue at all. And I was mad! I was livid! I was trying to vent out my anger, and my poor old piano could barely take it! I was playing out of my favorite spread in the hymnal--nos. 509 and 510. I started with 510, which is probably my favorite minor-key German chorale, "If You But Trust in God to Guide You" (Wer nur den lieben Gott lasst walten). This is just fiery enough that I was hoping that it would help me vent some of the annoyance that I was feeling. Then I turned to 509, "How Firm a Foundation," which has two of my favorite verses in all hymnody: When thro' the deep waters I call thee to go, Then I remembered that Emily said that the words to How Firm a Foundation worked really well to Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (ST. DENIO). So I turned to no. 21 in my hymnal and began to play, trying to sing: The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, And is still didn't help. I was still angry. I was still wanting vindication! That was Thursday. Friday was no better, in fact it was probably even more frustrating: I got into more of the same trouble about the thing that I didn't talk about, I had to work longer hours that I wanted and I was frankly tired and frustrated. I often start singing Choir music when I'm at home, and oftentimes I don't notice what I'm doing. But I did yesterday. I started singing Felix Mendelssohn's German setting of Psalm 43, "Richte mich, Gott."
And that shut me up. I had been yelling so all could hear, "Vindicate me, O God!" and I was ignoring the Holy Spirit telling me, "Hope in God!" Another translation says, "Wait for God!" The Holy Spirit had to splash me with cold water in order for me to shut up long enough to hear what I needed to hear. I needed to hear that God will work it out, I just need to give it to him to fix! Take it, Father. It's yours. I don't want it anymore.
And that's how I was shut up by Mendelssohn and Psalm 43. Scripture taken from the New King James Version (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Johann Sebastian Bach: Cantata no. 21, “Ich hatte veil Bekümmernis,” BWV 21
Choir/Orchestra: Concentus musicus Wien | Wiener Sängerknaben | Chorus Viennensis Conductor: Nikolaus Harnoncourt Soloists: Soprano: Anonymous Boy from Vienna Boys' Choir | Tenor: Kurt Equiluz | Bass: Walker Wyatt CD Label/#: TELDEC 2564 69943-7 On Friday night (7.19.2013) I was scheduled to work Inspirational Classics on WSMC. The previous Friday we had gotten a box set of the complete sacred cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, and I wanted to be sure to use them in Sabbath programming. They're wonderful music, and have a great message to them! I've been on a journey listening to the complete cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, but am only on 21 (of approximately 200). I listen to them while studying the score, complete with translation. This cantata was written to go with the readings from the third Sunday after Trinity 1713, but it wasn't performed until 17 June 1714. This cantata was for that week, but it was also written as a farewell to one of Bach's students, Prince Johann Ernst of Sachsen-Weimar. The Prince was sick, and going to a spa where he later died. It's based on a favorite Vivaldi concerto of the Prince, and the text is very comforting. The cantata is in two parts, and the first of them is, frankly, very dreary! It starts off with the choir singing from Psalm 94:19. "I had much trouble in my heart..." They do finish the verse ("but your consolations revive my soul."), but the rest of that half almost accuses God: "What? [H]ave You therefore, my God, in my trouble, in my fear and despair, turned completely away from me? Ah! [D]o you not know Your child? ... Once You were my delight and now have become grim towards me; I seek You in all places... yet my woe and ah! appears now, as though completely unknown to you. In the tenor aria in the first part, Bach's librettist uses the metaphor of a boat on the ocean and compares it to how the character believes to have been abandoned by God. That half of the cantata ends with a chorale movement with text taken from Psalm 42:12. "Why do you trouble yourself, my soul, and are so restless in me? Wait for God; for I will yet thank Him, since He is the help of my countenance and my God." The second part of the cantata opens with a dialogue (in both a Recitative and Aria) between Jesus and the soul of the singer: (Recitative) Soul: Ah, Jesus, my peace, my light, where are you? Jesus: O soul behold! I am with you. Soul: With me? Here is only darkest night. Jesus: I am Your faithful Friend, that also watches in the darkness, that might harbor dire mischief. Soul: Dawn then with Your radiance and light of comfort. Jesus: The hour approaches already, when your crown of battle will become a sweet refreshment. (Aria) Soul: Come, my Jesus, and revive, Jesus: Yes, I come and revive Soul: And delight with Your glance. Jesus: You with my glance of grace. Then they really get into a dialogue, and almost even an argument. These two lines parts are beings sung together, as a sort of call and response: Soul: This soul, shall die and not live and in its pit of unhappiness completely perish? I must constantly over in anguish. Jesus: Your soul, shall live, and not die here out of this cave of injury you shall inherit Salvation! Through this juice of the vine. Soul: Yes, ah yes, I am lost! No, ah no, You hate me! Ah, Jesus, thoroughly sweeten my soul and heart! Jesus: No, ah no, you are chosen! Yes, ah yes, I love you! Fade, you troubles, disappear, you pains! There is a tenor aria (movement 10), and it shows the absolute joy experienced by a person after they experience salvation through Jesus Christ: Rejoice, soul! Rejoice, heart! Fade now, troubles! Disappear, pains! Change, weeping, into pure wine, my aching now becomes a celebration for me! Burning and flaming is the purest candle of love and of comfort in my soul and breast, since Jesus comforts me with heavenly delight. The final chorus is exuberant! That's the best word I have for it. The choir and orchestra are joined by the trumpet singing words from Revelation 5: 12-13: The Lamb, that was slain, is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honor and glory and praise. Praise and honor and glory and power be to our God for ever and ever. Amen, Alleluia! In the summer of 2011 I had the chance to go on a mission trip to Madagascar. I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the updates I wrote from there.
Hello, everyone, I leave for Madagascar on my mission trip this morning at about 9:00 EDT, and I wanted to let those of you who have not asked to be put on this list that you have, indeed, been put on my updates list. I hope to send an email about every day, which you will probably receive in the early afternoon. My flight leaves Atlanta at 3:30 this afternoon, heading to Chicago. We then go from there to London, leaving at 7:00 PM. We get there at about 3:00 AM EDT (8 AM, London) and have a 12 hour layover which we will get to use to go sightseeing. We leave London at 3:00 PM EDT and arrive in Nairobi at 11:30 PM. We arrive (finally) in Antananarivo, Madagascar at 4:40 AM, still in Eastern time. As the trip progresses, I hope to transpose any important times for you to make life easier to understand... I would request that you pray specifically for safe travels for the next few days. I will be sending updates as often as possible, and hopefully including pictures to go with them. I will also be publishing these on Facebook notes. If you want a more well-rounded version of the trip you can visit our Shutterfly account at ww.missionmadagascar.shutterfly.com. Robby -- Hello all, I finally made it to Madagascar! After something like 24 hours in an airplane, plus numerous hours running frantically from one gate to another, all the while lugging carry-ons, we finally made it. We are staying at Hotel La Residence, "une village dans le ville" (a village in the middle of the city). It's set up with several different buildings, and Dustin Johnson and I are sharing a really nice suite on the top floor of building no. 3. Let's start at the beginning, though, before I get too carried away. The last you heard, I was leaving for Atlanta. We got there, and it was no big deal. Security went quickly, and we had a fair amount of time to just sit and do nothing before we boarded our "Puddle Jumper" (it's a Sci-Fi reference, if you don't understand the term) for Chicago. We had some time to kill, so we ate. Dr. Colon gave us $10 with strict orders to bring back the change and a receipt. It was wonderful, because we all found that Dominoes gives a special for $9.03, so she got a lot of change back. We loaded onto our Puddle Jumper and arrived at O'Hare Airport in Chicago a few hours later. We had about a 3 hour layover, so we opened up our ShareHim laptops, hoping to find Wifi, but unfortunately there wasn't any free that we could find. So we put them away and some of us tried their hands at playing hackey sack, with hilarious results. They kept randomly hitting people with the ball while they were asleep. If I had been hit, I think I would have kept the ball, but they were all very nice about it. Our plane had been delayed 45 minutes, so we loaded at about 8, but didn't leave for probably an hour. This distressed me quite a bit because they were cutting precious hours off our London Excursion. We got to London at about 10:15 local time, but didn't manage to get out of the airport until about 1. This gave us a precious 2 or 3 hours to take over the world. We found the tube, and some very nice people helped us know where to go. We got off at St. James's stop (the yellow on in Monopoly) and walked about 12 blocks to Buckingham Palace. The flag was up, so I had high hopes of seeing the Queen, but she must have been indisposed at the moment, because I know she wouldn't want to snub such an important radio personality (ha ha). After Buckingham, we walked a little further and found Parliament square (?) where Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the British Supreme Court is located. London has the feel of a large city like New York, but when you cross the streets and can see ornately beautiful carvings on such a historical as Westminster, it feels very old-world. We left that night for Nairobi, Kenya and had a good, if unremarkable, trip. It was a long flight, something like 8 hours and 30 minutes, and for all the time we spent in Nairobi, it was quite useless. The one good thing was that we got to go to Madagascar. I'm not sure if there are flights through any other airport. While we were sitting in the waiting room, the television was on, and there was some very odd amalgamation of Tellitubbies and Thomas the Tank Engine. As much as we all professed to have distain for it, we were all bored and tired enough that we could sit and enjoy it. We loaded onto a very empty flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar, and I was able to move over to a window seat with no one sitting directly next to me. The seat went back quite far, and before I knew it, I was being poked awake by the flight attendant. I didn't even get to eat my croissant for breakfast. It took a little while to get through customs and immigration, but there were no major hitches. We changed our dollars for Airy, which makes you feel rich. $1 equals roughly 1900 Airy. We passed an open-air farmer's market this evening and tomatoes were going for around 200 Airy (about 10 cents). We got to the hotel at about 3:00 this afternoon, and had a little bit of time to put our things away. Then we went to the Union Office (Indian Ocean Union) to have our supper. I'm sure it was healthy, but it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. We had pasta with salsa on top, not "sauce," and our vegetable was shredded carrots and shredded cucumbers mixed. I love carrots, but cucumbers are something that I will need to work on. Thanks so much for your prayers, and also for the notes that you've sent back to me. It means a lot to know that people are thinking of me. Don't worry (Mom) that I haven't been taking pictures. I've taken quite a number of really nice pictures, but our internet isn't good enough to load them. If it speeds up, though, I'll surely send them. Robby -- Hello all, I didn't write yesterday because I didn't feel that enough happened to warrant a nice newsy letter... I would like to begin with a formal and public apology to all those Monopoly fanatics who sent me corrections regarding the color of St. James's Place. I said that it was yellow, and I was duly corrected that it is orange. To all those who were hurt and offended, and who may never trust me again, I am deeply sorry and I hope that someday I can once again be in your good graces. Anyway... back to the nice newsy email... Tuesday night I went to be at around 8 o'clock local time (1 pm EDT) and fell asleep almost before my head hit the pillow, but unfortunately I work up at 2 o'clock the next morning (7 pm EDT). So basically I had a nice afternoon nap... I lay awake for several hours, tossing and turning, trying to fall back asleep while listening to the King's Heralds on my iPod. I didn't fall asleep until 6:15 (15 minutes before I decided I would get up and ready) then I woke up at 7:40, with 20 minutes to get dressed, eat breakfast and be ready to go to the Union office of our ShareHim orientation meetings. I made it! We got to the Union office by way of a 15-18 passenger van that had a minimum of 22 people riding in it. It reminds me a little bit of the "Tassel Bus" from Panama. We were greeted by Pathfinders and other local kids who did three very neat dances. The first two were 5-7 minutes total, but the third lasted almost 20 minutes. It was very nice, and it worked very nicely with my music-major-ness, but I was taken aback when people started to go up and drop money on the floor in front of them. I would have, but I didn't bring my wallet. The orientation meetings were done much shorter, even though they were translated into Malagasy which is a very long winded language. Normally, when working with a translator, I expect that they will take 1/2-2/3 of the time, but Malagasy takes about 4/5. Their word for "Our God" is Amin'Andriamanitrao. Seriously. I met my translators (I thought that I was to have three, but it sounds like I'm going to have at least four...) yesterday at the meetings. The girl's name is Sitraka and one of the guys name starts with V, but I didn't write it down. The pastor's name is Andre (avec accent, thank you very much). So many names to catch onto. That evening we went on an excursion to their equivalent of Bi-Lo (it wasn't Walmart quality.) Dr. Colon said that it was supposed to be about 10 minutes away. Over an hour later, the van had exhausted every Sabbath School/Pathfinder song we knew, including 19+ verses of We Are Soldiers. Fun times! Again, I went bed early, and slept wonderfully, until about 2 am, again dozing on and off until the alarm clock that we thought to set went off. Then both Dustin and I promptly fell asleep until 7:40. Thankfully, we didn't have anywhere to be at 8, but, in theory they stop serving breakfast at 8. At 9 we went up to a little chapel where we had a morning meeting, complete with song song service, a very nice devitional about the A, B, C's of Prayer by Dr. Colon, and the first two sermons of our series. We were to edit as we went along, hopefully taking as little time as possible. I figured that all the editing that needed to be done woudl be changing a few words here and there. I spent HOURS working with Mrs. Glassford to get these sermons shorted and improved, and people were wanting to change things left and right. I told them to be very careful, but before I knew it, people had gotten their presentations out of sync and had deleted necessary sildes from the presentations. I was about ready to pull my hair out! This afternoon was fraught (Lou) with sermon practice. I practiced the sermon on Daniel 2 (the Man of Mud and Metal) twice. This sermon is the first in the series which starts on Friday night. I don't remember if I told you, but the meetings start at 6:00 EAT (11 am EDT), so please pray for me then. It should be over by 7:30. At 3:00 my pastor and Sitraka (translator) came to get me to take me to my church for a "dry run." Set everything up, make sure that the speakers, projector and everything else works. I figured that it would take about 2 hours. I got home at 8. My translators wanted to practice sermons with me for a little while to get the sound of my voice in their ear. I was agreeable to that, then there were subcommittes saying where all of my stuff should be. They were all speaking rocket fast Malagasy, which I don't understand at all, so I felt very lost and overwhelmed. But it gets better! There had been about a half-dozen church members in the back of the church the whole time. I figured that they were deacons or just church-members with nothing to do (school board meeting was cancelled?) so they were just sitting. Then at about 6 there came a flood of people! There was to be a service welcoming me and honoring me, etc. I was petrified. My translator and pastor asked me if I would preach a sermon, but I told them that they werent' supposed to talk. Instead, they had me get up and give my testimony! I have never really had to give one, but I quickly came up with something that sounded pretty good. I tried to be sincere, but I have heard enough testimonies I'm afraid I used all the right words without the right heart. The bright spot (which was also terrifying) of the meeting was the singing of hymns. They were all "international" hymns, but they were sung in Malagasy. The vowels in Malagasy are not at all like the Romance languages that I'm used to faking on the radio, but are English vowel sounds put with the wrong vowel. Very hard to follow. The first hymn was We Have This Hope, which I tried (!) to sing with the Malagasy hymnal, but it was a train wreck. I don't remember the second, but the final song was Under His Wings. The final two I didn't have a hymnal, so I sang all the verses I knew by heart of the English versions. I loved it, though. Now I'm back at the hotel, waiting for Dustin. I managed to fix the shower head on the bathtub in my room, so I've been able to stay clean. Thank you in advance for your prayers. I truly appreciate them. Robby -- Oy... That about sums up my day. This morning we got together for our morning meeting like we have been doing, and we had a wonderful devotional time, sang some nice songs and had a very productive time. Then came the time when I told people about any problems I had found with the sermons, and asked people for any that they found. That's when I found out that sermon no. 7 is corrupted, so I will probably end up needing to edit it again. But that's fine. We also discovered that sermons 19 and 26 were not in Malagasy at all, but in (what I am guessing to be) Swahili. I was going into panic mode, and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I got on Facebook, and was able to vent to Faith Laughlin, the lady who taught my Intro to Elementary Education class, and she prayed with me through Facebook chatting. That's amazing that she would take the time to do that, and I really admire her for it. I was picked up to go to my site at 4:00, with the first meeting beginning at 6. We got there in pleanty of time. I got everything set up, then we decided to add the Malagasy version of We Have This Hope as the theme song. Typing in Malagasy isn't fun, because it's a lot like Polish: a lot of senseless consonnants stuck together. I never got really nervous, and I attribute it to the fact that 1) I had scores and legions of friends and family members praying for me during that time, and that had been praying for me almost non-stop. I also (2) wasn't nervous, because I knew my sermon, and 3) I placed it in God's hands and asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I was kinda hoping for tongues of fire, but to no avail, but I felt that I was very connected with my audience. At the end of my sermon, I asked them to close their eyes, then I asked, "If you would like to spend eternity with Jesus, I want you to raise your hand. I had you close your eyes so that you wouldn't do it out of peer pressure, but because you see that the Bible is reliable and that 'If it's in the Bible, I believe it, but if it's not in the Bible, I throw it away,' and if Jesus says he will come back, he will come back, and that you want to be with Him forever." I was so happy, because almost every single person raised their hands. I didn't see any specifically that didn't, but I would bet there were one or two. By the way, my sermon was over the Statue Prophecy in Daniel 2. After that, I shook the hand of almost every single person that was in the church, and then, as I was trying to go in, I was asked for an interview for a local radio station (professional courtesy?) (ha ha). He asked me how I thought it had went, then he asked me to sum up the sermon in a word. I told him that I couldn't, but that I could in a sentence or two. I said that the sermon showed that the Bible tells the truth and is reliable. What is in the Bible is trustworthy. There are Bible prophecies that show history before it happened, and so that when Jesus said, "I waill come again," it adds weight to the statement. He then asked if tomorrow morning's sermon could be broadcast live. I said sure. I'm used to talking to the mythical people who supposidly listen to the radio, and they don't bother me. When I got home tonight I had a little time before we had to report to Pastor Luis's room for worship. I decide to write to you, but when I got into my email, I saw a whole series of emails from Stephanie Sheehan, the ERC coordinator, who was working on fixing my Swahili slides. It took three letters, but she managed to tell me where I could download them. I've already gotten the first one dowloaded, and am just waiting for the next. Most everyone seemed to have a good experience. There were a few people whose experiences were rough, but that's to be expected. I was very happy with the first night, and am almost looking forward to waking up early enough to leave by 8. I would like to ask you to pray that the Holy Spirit keeps working in my church (and I suppose the rest of them, too...). I really felt that people were tracking with me tonight, but tomorrow's sermon starts right off saying that I have 15 points to cover. That's code for "Get out the Jr. Guide... It's gonna be a long one..." And on less of an important note, I left my Bible at the church tonight, and I want to be sure to get it back. Thanks so much for listening and for praying! Robby P. S. I accidently volunteered to sing the closing hymn for Sunday night, so please pray especially for that (J.B-P.). I am going to sing Amazing Grace (which is the perfect ending for that sermon) in English, and Sitraka, my translator, is going to write a translation to go on the screen. Amazing Grace doesn't exist in Malagasy. Keep praying! Robby -- Hello everyone! Am I allowed two emails in a row that end in Oy? That’s how I feel as I sit down to write this for the second time. My laptop wasn’t connected to the internet when I tried to save the draft, and there was no draft saved. Hopefully you will enjoy this email anyway, though. Sabbath morning I got picked up at 8 am, and didn’t get brought home until 8 pm. It was a very long day, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Sabbath school started at 9, and they broke with tradition and didn’t switch us out to classes, which was very nice because I was afraid that they would think I knew everything about their topic and they would always be asking me questions. The sermon went well, but I don’t think it was one of the best. There are far too many signs of Christ’s coming, and the pastor tells us how many there are at the beginning. If I was in Collegedale church and the pastor told me that there were 15 points in his sermon, I would immediately pull out my Guide magazine, and begin reading. I made a call at the end for all those who believed that Jesus was coming soon and wanted to be with him, and most all of my church stood, and those who didn’t were the kids who just might have been asleep… For lunch, I was given shredded carrots and another vegetable that I couldn’t quite identify, and was also given a deviled egg and a stuffed tomato. I got scared, because I don’t eat any of that stuff. I’m too picky, and I’ve been trying very hard to not get sick! I decided to man up and finish my plate and bit into the egg. It wasn’t bad, but it won’t go on my favorites list. When I bit into the tomato, however, I knew that something wasn’t right. The dairy here isn’t as pasteurized as I would like, so I decided to swallow, but then become full. I didn’t eat anything else except for some vegetables and their vege-meat, Soya. Very good. Sabbath afternoon, my translators and I went into the preparation room of the church (which is no larger than a bathroom) and we did our best to work on the evening’s sermon. It got quite frustrated very quickly because I was hot, and tired, and all three of them were speaking rapid-fire Malagasy, which I can’t pick words out of. I’m too nosy for that to happen. After they finally left me to pray and go over my sermon once more, one of the translators came in and asked me if I had anything prepared to say or sing during the afternoon program. That church seems to think that I’m a pastor and that I can pull sermons out of thin air. I could have sung something, I suppose, but I really felt that I just needed to take time to pray and read words of encouragement from the Bible. I was looking for the place where it talks about getting your lips burned by a coal, and about getting new clothes, but I could never find them. Saturday night’s sermon went very well. I had been praying for the Holy Spirit to speak through me, because my heart didn’t feel right to be talking about the plan of salvation, and I knew that He (it?) was. The sermons are scripted out fairly well, but you’re allowed and expected to do some ad libbing. Normally I do as little as possible, but I actually was doing quite bit. When the sermon was finished, I felt drained, like all the power had left me. I think that’s because the Holy Spirit toned himself down. I made a call to have everyone come up front if they were suffering from pain, or disease or heartache or addictions, or if they wanted to give their lives to Jesus. I had at least 85% of the church come up. I had them put their hands on someone else’s shoulder, then I prayed as specifically for all the categories. It was a wonderful feeling! This morning it was my turn to give the night’s sermon during morning worship. It’s not as nerve-racking as you might think, because everyone is too busy to pay any attention to what’s actually going on. They spend their time editing their own sermons. After worship, we went shopping to the Jumbo, their equivalent of Bi-Lo. I helped Dr. Colon do the grocery shopping for the group which was a lot of fun because I got to translate signs and titles and ingredients. (Do you know how many kinds of mustard there are in the world?) I even got to speak to the natives in French to try to find things that we needed. J’ai dit “Je voudrais du lait qui n’est pas d’un bœuf” when I was looking for soymilk. It’s the long way around, but I did get pointed in the right direction. When we got back from our shopping excursion, we ate lunch, then were released to practice our sermons. Since I had preached already today, I wasn’t too concerned. I practiced once more, but I kept falling asleep while I was doing it. Four o’clock came too quickly, and I got picked up to go to my church. Normally the computer stays in the back, but today I needed it up front so that I could have Sitrika translate the rest of Amazing Grace into Malagasy (story to come), then I had to re-edit my re-edited appeal (story also to come later). But Oy! Last night I deviated from the script a little bit, but stayed with it for the most part. Tonight, though, I was adding all sorts of things to my sermon. I really think that it was the Holy Spirit. We were supposed to use decision cards, but when I asked the translator what was on them, they didn’t match my sermon. During the whole sermon I was praying, should I use them or not, and I got a very strong impression that I shouldn’t use them. So when it got to the place in my sermon to make the call, I went off my notes, and most all of the church came up again. I again had them put a hand on someone else’s shoulders, and I prayed for their forgiveness, and their peace, and that God would send his grace down on all of us. I am a Raney: I cried. After the prayer had been said, I invited them to all go their seats, because I was going to sing Amazing Grace. It doesn’t exist in Malagasy, but I had a Malagasy translation on the PowerPoint. I sang, and it felt so right. Sorry, Dr. Penner, but I don’t think that the perfect support was happening, but I could feel something in the air when I did it. I don’t think that I have ever been used by the Holy Spirit this much in my whole life, but I’ve had three Oy’s right in a row. I want to clarify something. Oy is a Yiddish word that is used in many ways, like when you don’t quite know what to say, or you are overwhelmed or dumbfounded. This is how I feel. I equate it to Isaiah saying Woe is me for I am undone. I think Oy vey! I am undone. My sermon for Friday night was put on the radio (106.4 FM the Oasis) at noon and at 6 on Sabbath, and Saturday night’s sermon was simulcast at noon and 6 today, and tonight’s will be tomorrow at noon and 6. I know that that’s technically a conflict of interest, because The Three B’s broadcasts at the equivalent time of 6 pm EAT (11 am EDT). Sorry Emily and Scott… If I cost WSMC any listeners, I duly apologize. The kids here are so cute! Yesterday the kids sang (the same song) twice for church, and they were so adorable! I took pictures, but I think you’ll have to wait till I get to the states before I can upload them. Thanks so much for your prayers, and for your support. It means so much to me. Robby -- Hello all! Sorry that it’s been so long since I last wrote to you. I am slowly but surely getting into a routine, and there hasn’t been a whole lot to tell you about. On Monday we all walked to the Union Office (which is about a 25 minute walk). We were to be evaluated by our Pastors over the first weekend, and we also had the opportunity to tell them what we wanted changed. I had glowing reports and there was really nothing that I wanted to change. The trip to and from the Union was fraught with danger. In most less developed countries, the roads are a mess. People dart in and out, barely being missed by the drivers. We didn’t lose anyone and we didn’t have any injuries, which was a blessing. We walk back next Tuesday for another round of evaluations. While we were walking, a car pulled over and a guy about my age jumped out. He was wearing a shirt with the Southern logo on it, and he called Dustin by name. Evidently he works in AV services, and his parents are missionaries here. When we got back to the hotel we ate, then we went over our sermon for that night, the 2300 day prophecy. I had never really learned it, but I had read the sermon the night before. It made perfect sense to me, so when people weren’t getting it after the sermon was finished, I could help them. They say that the best way to learn something and to really understand it is to teach it. I think I really understand it, because I had to teach it all afternoon, then preach about it that night. The sermon didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I didn’t feel the spirit as much as I had the previous nights, and it was a little but of a downer, but I think people understood. On Tuesday, it was my day to give the worship thought. I used one that I had used before, referencing Bach and how he always signed his cantatas SDG, which stands for Soli Deo Gloria: The glory only goes to God. Since I started to learn about Bach, I have loved that story, and have thought that it’s such a good example of how we should be. The sermon for Tuesday night was Your Day in Court, about the Judgment. Again, I didn’t feel as much during it, but as Litch would say, “Feelings come and feelings go…” For the most part the sermon went well, except that I was basically hoarse when it was over. I have been fighting a cold for the past couple of days. Before the meeting started, we were at the site, and there were some ladies from a different church in the district who came to sweep out the church and get it airing out. They all came in and sat in the pews, and we talked (thanks to Sitraka). They told me how much they liked my song, then they invited me to come back next year to preach in the new church that will be finished then. I told them I would love to, but that I didn’t think I could afford it. The ladies made my day, though, when they asked me to smile so they could see my dimples. I think I saw a couple of them swoon… (It’s hard to be beautiful). Today is, of course, Wednesday, and this morning in worship we did 2 sermons: on the 10 Commandments and the Sabbath. We got done quickly, though, because it only took an hour. Malagasy translations are awful… I actually practiced the right amount of time today, 3 times, and I thought that it went quite well tonight. Today was the first time that I have been able to take a nap, and it was wonderful. I lay down, and turned on some Christmas music on my iPod, and took a nap for about an hour. Heavenly. As I said before, the sermon went quite well this evening, and everyone stood at the end. They seem to understand the importance of following God’s law. Before the sermon, I actually had the chance to play the piano (keyboard). I hadn’t “tickled the ivories” in over a week, so it was a blessin! I am going to buy a hymnal here, but I will need to have someone help me figure out how to read it. Thanks for praying for me! Please especially pray for the Holy Spirit and that I get better. Robby -- Hello all! I see that it’s 3:38 your time, which means that it’s almost 11 my time. I just got out of the bath tub, and would like to go straight to bed, but I realized that I haven’t written you since last Wednesday. Far too long, so here it goes. Thursday was our morning off, and we spent it souvenir shopping. Madagascar does it very oddly (from all of my other gift shop experience). They lined up over a hundred little shops, and you basically walk past them and point at things you want. They will get it out, and say a price, and you are immediately supposed to haggle by offering about half of the price. I was awful at it, but I got a lot of nice loot! I came armed with two translators, and had a fun time trying to get people’s prices down. I hope I didn’t get taken advantage of, and I hope I didn’t take advantage of anyone. The sermon for that night was about the Sabbath, originally called Memory Lapse and Monkey Business, though we went by the title So That You Won’t Forget. It wasn’t a hard sermon to preach, but a lovely wrinkle is that Madagascar uses the French calendar, which has the week start on Monday, not Sunday. I said that if you look Saturday in the dictionary, it will say “the seventh day of the week” and Sunday would say “the first day of the week.” I actually had one guy immediately look it up in two dictionaries (one old and one new) and he said that Sunday was the first day in the older one, but the seventh in the newer. We used Holy Week as an example, counting before and after the Resurrection to find when the Sabbath actually was, and the same little stinker asked me how I know that what we call Sunday was the same day that Jesus rose. I told him to talk to the pastor, because truthfully, I would never have thought of that particular question. Friday morning we all got together in our “upper room” to study the sermon about Daniel 7 (how Saturday was switched to Sunday and who did it). As I have been writing this note, I’ve been realizing how much wisdom God is giving me for these sermons. Again, I managed to never learn this topic in school, so I was basically starting from scratch that morning. Growing up an Adventist, people will talk about the Little Horn and all sorts of beasts, and I think I could have told you what the beasts looked like, but I couldn’t have told you what they meant, but I never really understood, until Friday night. Maybe it’s the sermons. They might work perfectly enough for me that I am able to understand, but I think that it is mostly God. He wants me to understand, so he has put me in the situation where I have to understand, and then he gives me the ability to understand. He’s amazing! Friday night I got to meet Sitraka’s mother, Tina, who works for ADRA. She is a wonderful lady, and she immediately adopted me. She taught me that Nini (nee-nee) is Malagasy for mother, and I started calling her that. Sabbath was another long day. Two sermons, with no afternoon nap in between. I discovered that Malagasy Adventists don’t necessarily go home on Sabbath. I wish I could enjoy staying at church all day, but I like to get home, change into something comfortable, and do my own thing. The sermon for church was about tithe and health, and that’s probably the best place for it in the series. I don’t really like that it’s in the series, but we need to let them know what lifestyle changes are expected of them if they want to become Adventist. I preached about being a vegetarian, then at lunch, my table (not I) was served fish (with the head and tail still on and everything… Yummy!) For the record, I could really go for a nice lasagna about now. Pray that we will be able to find an oven so that DJ can make us a lasagna for our end-of-campaign party next Sunday night. In the evening we talked about starting life over again with baptism. It was a very nice sermon, and was quite interesting. The story was told during it that a Greek restaurant owner was asked what the word baptizo (Greek for baptism) meant. He pulled off his wedding ring and dumped it in a glass of water and said that the ring had just been baptized. I really liked that story because it was clever, and because I have Greek family who owns a restaurant. The food is pretty good, too! Nini came again on Sabbath, and we had a nice chat in the afternoon. I was invited to join the choir during their practice Sabbath afternoon. I went and sat with the basses. I had seen their music before, so I wasn’t completely lost, but they don’t use notes! I’ll try to recreate a little bit of it, then explain: Do dia C Soprano: !d-r-m-f- !d-r-m-f- !l-d-t-f- !d’-s,-r-f! Alto: !m-d-f-s- !d-t-s-m- !t-r-d-s- !d-m-f-d! Tenor: !d-r-m-f- !d-r-m-f- !l-d-t-f- !d’-s,-r-f! Bass: !m-d-f-s- !d-t-s-m- !t-r-d-s- !d-m-f-d! Each line is a different “instrument” and each section (set apart with a tab for clarity, though they use exclamation marks or the § mark to separate the measures, without tab. The Malagasy all are wonderful at playing by intervals because the d-r-m-f-s-l-t equals do, re, mi, fa, so, la, si, which is the solfèdge (solfa in Malagasy) way to read notes. Do in this case is C. The lyrics are down at the very bottom of the whole set of music. I’m going to try to by a hymnal and bring it back. I want to see if Mrs. Glass can sit and read it at the organ. I bet she can. That weekend was Madagascar’s Independence day bash, with the actual day falling on Sunday. Sabbath, we started our meeting about half-an-hour early so that we could get done in time to watch the fireworks. It was so nice to be able to watch them here, because I won’t be in the States for ours on the 4th. Speaking of fireworks, would someone please video/audio record the concert in the park. I want to hear Ethan’s premiere and the whole rest of it. Thanks! Sunday morning we went over three sermons: Where Do We Go When We Die? A Thousand Years in Jail and Who Framed God. The meeting took about an hour and a half, which wasn’t bad at all. Most of the afternoon was spent practicing the sermons, then I got picked up by my pastor alone. Usually I have a translator with me, but not today. Pastor speaks a little English, but his French and Malagasy are better. I speak a little French, but my English is leagues ahead. Are you starting to sense the communication problem? We did communicate, but not as much as we normally do. It was getting far too late, so I saved this letter and went to bed. It’s now about 8:15 my time, which is 1:15 yours. Sunday night we preached about death, and I talked about Grandpa Raney, who died the Tuesday before I came here to Madagascar. I had people laughing in the audience, and then I had myself crying when I talked about Grandpa. I am definitely a Raney. Like I said before, Sunday was Independence Day, and I brought a Malagasy flag to church. They loved it. I was hoping for a round of applause, but I ended up getting happy murmuring and laughter. I definitely felt the Holy Spirit that night, which was very nice because I hadn’t really felt it in a few days. After the sermon, my translator (M. Velsona) told me that his brother was so sick that he was about to die. We had a prayer for him, and I’m still waiting to hear more. Last I heard was no change. Please keep him in your prayers. On Monday we went to the Zoo and we saw Lemurs!!! That’s what most all of us had been waiting for. It was a lot of fun. We did see King Julius (from the movie Madagascar), but we didn’t see Zaboomafoo from PBS. I was disappointed. We also saw crocodiles, African eagles, camels, peacocks and a 900 year old turtle that ended up being only about 100 years old. What a rip-off. And, like it’s cousin the Tennessee Aquarium, there were ducks. They looked like any duck you would see floating around somewhere. That night’s sermon was a Thousand Years in Jail, which deals with the millennium. Basically, the most important part of that sermon is that there are two choices, two kinds of people: those who follow God and those who reject him. I asked for people to stand if that wanted to follow God, and everyone stood! Amen! I’m off to walk to the Union again today. We have another meeting with the pastors. Robby |
AuthorI'm a Classical musician, a growing Christian, and a world traveler. I'm learning, exploring, and trying to understand this wonderful world I live in. Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|