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| UniShow Team North Africa 2015 |
After our first two school shows in North Africa, we drove south for a pleasant surprise. We were told to expect rustic conditions and even the occasional water buffalo. Instead, when we arrived in this "village" of 300,000 people, we were greeted by priests who had organized a four day festival at a small theme park.
Though our stage was directly in front of a swimming pool, the shows became quite a production with lights on rigging, a huge camera boom, a big screen and huge posters of Jesus as our backdrop.
The theme was Shababeek which means "window" and came from Song of Solomon 2:9-10 which says, "My lover looks through the window...arise my beautiful one and come away with me." The goal was to communicate to students that God is seeking them and wants them to follow Him.
Our first festival show started off well and the students obviously loved the rock style music, dancing and unicycling.
However, mid show we were told not to do anymore music or dancing, only unicycling since apparently some of the older priests were offended by our music and dancing and had left. We are the first foreigners they have welcomed into their circles and the priests were a bit wary of the way we were praising God.
Even in the midst of these challenges, we know God was at work. After our first show, a girl said she heard a word from the Lord and really wanted to talk to “the guy in the green glasses”. When she finally made her way through the aggressive picture taking crowd, she told Rob, “Jesus spoke to me and wants you to know that He is proud of you and the music you are playing is touching the hearts of the people here.” This was especially meaningful in the context of what happened that night with our show nearly being shut down.
A long meeting followed that first performance as we reevaluated our show content and humbly submitted to the wishes of our local partners so as not to burn bridges. The band was very gracious and for the remaining 4 festival shows replaced half of their songs with slower, older worship songs that the priests knew in Arabic and we eliminated some of the dancing. This went a long way in uniting us to our local partners.
Throughout the festival, God’s presence was felt and He did something special in many kid’s lives. A girl’s high end smart phone had gone missing during one of the shows and she was sobbing, absolutely devastated, certain to face a beating as a result of this loss. Turns out a boy had stolen it, but after the show realized how much God loved him and had been convicted so he returned it! Also, four boys had snuck into the show without paying the entrance fee. Afterward they said they had felt God’s love, confessed to the leaders and paid their fee. The incredulous locals told us these acts of repentance are unheard of and were a sign that God was at work.
The owner of the production company that provided lights and video for the festival was from a different religious background. He came one night and was very affected. He said he'd never seen this kind of event and this much joy before. He asked our organizer, "How did you get these people so happy?"
At the end of the final show, not only did we not get complaints, but the priests presented each of us with a special plaque with our names and Shababeek inscribed, nested in a red velvet box.
Then we were whisked away to the manager's office to prevent mobbing from the enthusiastic audience. Some of the kids were really disappointed that they were not allowed to take photos with us so they asked the manager to give us a message: "We are so sad you are leaving. You have left your fingerprint on our hearts. You have shown us Jesus in a new way. You have taught us about Christ in a new language."
In our 5 festival shows, we presented to 11,000 people, posed for almost as many selfies and know that God impacted the entire community. Not only did several of the servers shave their facial hair to match David the dancer, but the economy was boosted by people from the villages coming and eating, paying for transportation and food. But what really matters is that the Spiritual climate was impacted. Each student who came to these events received a book with 101 Bible Stories to take with them so they can continue to grow. New Bible studies have also begun for students in the area. The organizers are hoping this will be the first of an annual festival, even replicating it in other parts of the country.
One afternoon we had a special opportunity to share at a drug rehabilitation center. We joined 30 guys in a circle of chairs on the lawn. Some of the men shared their amazing testimonies of how God is changing them and giving them a fresh start. A few of our team shared how God has turned their lives around as well. Dustin did a unicycle demo in the rough grass and David danced some hip hop. Over cake and sodas, each resident gave feedback about how our visit had ministered to them. One guy said that he was so blessed that we would even come meet them. Another said they usually think Westerners are spoiled and fancy, but when we shared from our hearts he saw that we have struggles like they do.
We were so blessed by the hospitality and partnership we experienced with those whose hearts were unified with ours during this exciting tour. We thank God for his protection and blessing on our events and for the privilege of sharing His love with so many receptive people. We look forward to more outreach tours in North Africa in the future.
