Well, tomorrow morning in two hours, 23 wonderful missionaries are getting up to get ready to be picked up at 3am. They have practiced their hearts out and now....it is time.
When we arrived in Manila and went to the first mall, we had the impression that it would be wonderful if a missionary choir could sing there. As Christmas approached, we collected information about who could sing what part. We invited everyone who wanted to sing to join.
We now have a choir of 130 wonderful missionaries who sound incredible. It has been a joy to sing praises and rejoice through music with them. Through the help of a stake president, we were asked to sing on GMA7 which is the number one TV station in the Philippines! We weren't sure it would really come through, but everyone worked hard and prayed hard. We were told last week that we could only have 20 singers, so we have struggled and prayed and agonized over who to choose. It was an amazing process. We ended up choosing some we hadn't even thought about and not choosing some who are very talented. But I have to tell you that it is miraculous! They sound wonderful! And there are many personal triumphs and joys happening in their lives. It is so wonderful to see them so happy!
So, tomorrow morning, we put our total trust in the Lord and go forth with faith, confident that He has all wisdom, all power, and all compassion. He knows we are weak! He knows we don't know everything! He knows we are inexperienced! He knows none of us have ever done anything like this! The amazing thing is that he is willing to get in the other side of the yoke and help us pull this load. He has given us peace...despite many reasons not to feel it. There is a special feeling of unity and testimony that we all feel.
From 6am to 8:30am Manila time tomorrow morning (December 11), the Manila Mission Choir will be singing on GMA7 (which is available through some cox packages). We found out yesterday that they will be shown as the morning show goes to breaks, so we will be performing off and on throughout the 2 and 1/2 hours. We may only be seen for 10-15 seconds at a time....we don't know. But we pray that it will bring glory to our Father in Heaven and our beloved Brother, Jesus Christ. We pray that the people who see them and hear them will see and feel something different, something special...that they will feel the Spirit and that they will see the missionary name tags and associate the two. So when they see missionaries with their name tags, they will remember the feeling that they had while they heard them singing, and perhaps they will let them in their homes, or listen to them...or even look for them.
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true. May all the world come to know that!
We will try to record it if they will let us. The whole morning tv show may be posted on you tube afterwards. We will find out and let you know on this blog. Thank you for raising such wonderful, incredible children. They bring so much joy! We love them and we love you for sending them.
Pray for us!