Japanese Jamboree

Wow. Truly, God never fails us.

This week, from Tuesday til tonight, a group of us has been practicing for the performances in Japan this Christmas. It was the first time we all played together. Some were new to each other, but God's fingerprints were all over this.

No.1:
God put a perfect team together. A month ago, Jachin and I were joking that if the trip is just the two of us, we'd be happy to do drums and piano set. Then through a KFC Zinger burger (ok I won't say ;P), we met Clarence, an old friend of Jachin's. Acoustic guitarist - check. Ben came along and said he'd go. Nice, a bassist. Justin's prayers were answered and ta-dah: electric guitar. Then Brian the Japanese scholar decided to come on board. Complete! A translator makes all the difference!

Now, it came along so effortlessly, and as I look back on the short month, it's clear that God hand-picked this team. This week, we all played together for the first time, and it was amazing. I'm amazed at the character and humility in all these guys. Something that Clarence prayed at tonight's closing was that we're all not perfect, but God would and could use us (something along those lines). And I amen that.... God's put a great team together, by His grace.

No.2:
The icing on the cake came in the form of Dan, a young man from Tokyo. I met Dan in his Tokyo church in August, and asked him if he'd like to sing for a ministry like ours. He was keen and we arranged to email songs and arrangements in prep for December. Never did I expect him to appear in Singapore this week, with the intention to check out YWAM, DTS and worship in Singapore.

We learnt J-pop songs, and honestly, I'm already brain-dead from deciphering those ever-modulating keys, extremely-sharped chords, and playing in B (Dan's favourite key). Yet, it was a rare learning experience. And when Dan belted out "Above All" in Japanese, it made sense why God chose him as our singer. The presence of God just brought us all together, united in worship. For me, my heart was stirring. This was a glimpse of the dream God's put in my heart to see the nations worship Him.

I'm in awe. And so thankful to God for His hand upon us. I thank God for this team and every individual's journey, destiny and purpose. There's much more practice to come, much more brain-numbing chord work to be done, finances to be raised, intercession to be made, but it's gonna be an interesting 3 months. Stay tuned!

Reg