Just four days before we were scheduled to leave on our trip to Holland, our director informed us that he wasn't going to be going with us!  No explanation, no reason, just that he couldn't go.  We searched in vain for a possible replacement with no luck,  Our director finally did agree, however, to make us a CD with the piano accompaniment for all 12 songs in our repertoire.  We received the CD the day before we left!  We rehearsed using the CD while having one of our members direct our entries and cut offs.  It worked well enough for us to agree to go on the tour anyway and give it our best effort using the CD.  Our first concert was at a black church in Rotterdam.  The opening choir that preceded us was big and VERY good.  We were VERY concerned we would be poorly received...at best.  But the Lord came down and blessed our performance, and with the CD for accompaniment, we sang our hearts out, won the congregation's hearts, and received an enthusiastic standing ovation.  Our other two concerts were also successful in their own right, and the tour turned out to be an unqualified success.  We refer to the tour as the "BELIEVE" tour, since we believed we could make it through, even with the loss of our director.  While in Amsterdam, we passed a store window that simple read "Believe"...that said it all.

◄Back     Next►