Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I'm Not Saying That God Will Always Bless Last Minute Work ( What A Long Title )

It was a wonderful weekend. Saturday was our Easter programme. Friday itself was the full dress rehearsal. Everything was so last minute that I didn't really believe God would bless such seemingly effortless effort. Here's what happened.

19/3/2008 Wednesday, 8.30 p.m. - First Practice

The mime, potrayed to its fullest by our mime crew, had its first practice on Wednesday night. We didn't even have the complete cast and storyline then, which was just 3 days before Easter. And so, practice went on, was okay - many thanks to Andrew's undisputable miming/acting/monkeying/whatever-you-call-it skills. Not to forget, Michael's as well. The night ended with a small ping-pong ball fight. Lightened things up.

20/3/2008 Thursday, 4.00 p.m. - Second Practice

Just one day before the full dress rehearsal, we managed to recruit two members, both not in our list of potential actors. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, to Fat Kit and Vincent, for their willingness to take up the respective roles in such short notice. Practice was okay, even though we had some problems with Kit because he kept almost laughing ( what stupid English is this? ). Everything went well, especially for the songs part. Every song that I threw in from my computer fitted perfectly for the different scenes in the mime. Somebody's at work here. Somebody so mighty, that I would not claim credit for myself. Practice ended with an evening meal in Salim.

20/3/2008 Thursday, 8.30 p.m. - Musician Practice

The practice sucked. Everything was bad. Every song, was out of coordination. The guitar, the bass, drums - everything was just as bad. We were making more noise than music. Even the easiest and most familiar song to us ( One Way ), sounded horrible. Really disheartened by the practice on Thursday. Yet, we ended the day on a happy note, pigging out at Nasmir's.

21/3/2008 Friday, 7 + p.m. - Full Dress Rehearsal

Supposedly, mime crew were to meet earlier for a short practice before full dress. Well, I was late. When I came, some went makan, some were not there yet. But we managed to squeeze a run through before the so-called full dress started at 9. The mime was satisfactory, considering how late we started. Everyone played their part well, as I think most of us realised the urgency of things. Yet, the worship part was still not good. Our so-called theme song, Unfailing Love, was the worst of the lot. Well, again, another happy night out at Nasmir's.

22/3/2008 Saturday, 4.00 p.m. - Last Chance

Came at 4 for a different practice altogether. Kian Aun's practice for Sunday morning. Oh well, not much to say concerning that, but things were okay. And then near 5, we practiced a little of For All You've Done, and of course Unfailing Love, which needed a lot of polishing. Everything and everyone was so tensed, emotions ran high ( am I exaggerating? ). And with un-confidence still within us, we went home to get ready and return for the night itself.

22/3/2008 Saturday, 8 + p.m. - Easter Event

People began pouring in near 8. It was a sign, a sign to me that, yes, it is going to be good after all. Around 8.30, hall was quite packed. We delayed about 5 mins and then proceeded with the event. For the first time, or so, I hear music that we're making instead of noise. Apart from little mistakes here and there, the music was good that night. For the first time, I see people acting, instead of fooling around. The mime was just, beautiful, to put it in simple words. From the timing and coordination to the crew's own acting abilities, it was near perfect. The dance was really well done too. Uncle Jimmy was excellent in linking everything up, putting the pieces of jigsaw together to form a whole picture of that night.

And easter ended, with many good feedbacks I heard. Personally, I've never been more involved in an outreach than this, considering I was part of the organising team. And I've never felt more joyful than this, after an outreach. The point is, God blesses the work where you put your heart in it. Yes, it was bad that we left everything till the very last minute. Children's Holiday Club is little excuse for the little time we had left. But nevertheless, God looked at the heart(s), saw it right, and blessed the work that was carried out.

Thank you, Lord, for the people You've brought. For the many wonders You've shown us, for the many things You did that we were not able to do it by ourselves. Thank You, Lord, for all You've done.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

great job guys! for us who were not involved, we haven't a clue what it was like. learn the lesson and do things different next time. really thankful for you guys. sometimes i wonder how the church will function without the youth! keep up the great work. praise the LORD. -the saint-