THE OLD GUY IN THE WORSHIP BAND

​OLD GUY IN THE WORSHIP BAND
                Back in 2011, I began a concerted effort to teach people to play musical instruments used in worship services. Many of those first students were young adults, and many are no longer in Haiti.
                Along the way, I began working with younger players. Some kids who began on trumpet showed enough talent and ability that I started them on guitar and/or bass. They are now playing better than I am able to play. One young boy who longed to play keyboard would sit beside me during services and watch me play. He’s currently getting ready to take his second keyboard exam.
                Last night I attended an evening worship service where I played trumpet. The drummer, the percussionist, the bassist, the guitarist, and the keyboardist were all students of ASAPH Teaching Ministry. They learned to play here. They got really good here. During the service, I had time to sit and watch. I listened to them playing, and I shared smiles with them from time to time.
                Imagine if no one had bothered to discover the talent that was right there under the surface of these kids! Imagine if they had grown up only dreaming about playing instruments! They could have spent their whole lives not knowing how to hold a guitar, let alone how to make it lead people in worship. They could have spent their whole lives not knowing how to get a bass line out of four strings. Their talents could have been dormant for a lifetime. That did not happen.
                Every church service at the MICEVA church is blessed with music because of the work ASAPH Teaching Ministry is doing here in Pasbwadòm. It is a blessing. To all who make it happen month after month, the old guy in the worship band says thank you.