A music tour on Elida never turns out the way you planned, thta's more of a rule than exception and something you learn after many years in the Elida Music Crew. My name is Eddie, I'm a sound technician and have been part of most music tours in the past five years. But you also learn that regardless of what happens – or don't happen – God always has a finger in the play, something you need to remind yourself of again and again during a tour.
Our first plan this tour along the Costa del Sol in Spain was to go to Puerto Banús in Marbella. Our only chance to get a spot in this port – and most of all, the most optimal spot for singing - is thanks to our good friend Göran, who once built the port.
Unfortunately, there had been som kinks in the communication and Göran was in Sweden just this weekend, when we had planned to be there among luxurious boats and bars to spread the Gospel through our music and presence. We hadn't even begun our tour before we had to turn to God for His guidance and plan.
It's easy to expect letters of fire on the wall, because then you'd know exactly what to do. But most times that's not how God works. He knows how we work and think and uses us through that. Therefore, it's often just to make the best of the situation, and in hindsight you realize everything went very well.
So we stayed in Malaga, where the music team had signed on, and had some dock meetings there every day (in between enormous downpours!). And there were lots of people! Way more than we had expected.
The first Sunday of the tour we spent in the English-speaking church The Wave in Puerto Banús, where we got by taxi, train, bus and car (as we hadn't gotten a mooring place in the port). As usual we were met by super happy people, who regard Elida a highlight every year we arrive and visit this church, who fight hard in this area so much in need of the Good News about forgiveness of sins and a love greater than anything else.
After this weekend, which thus really didn't turn out the way we planned, we could still make out God's thought and finger in everything that happened. For when I look back at the dock meetings in Malaga, which from the beginning weren't even part of the plan, I remember some conversations with other Christians who have moved to Malaga to work for the Lord. We made connections and were able to encourage them in their work by showing ours and that they aren't alone in spreading the Gospel in Malaga.
And in addition, the opportunity once again to be part of the Sunday service in Puerto Banús and encourage them in their work. And there I, myself, got the chance, for the first time, to share my testimony in front of a larger group of people from a stage – a new experience that I gladly do again, for the response I received afterwards made me grow as a Christian and realize that this is something I want to do more often.
Unless Göran had been in Sweden that weekend, we wouldn't have spent all those days in Malaga and met all those people. And we actually did make it to Puerto Banús to show our support, even without the boat. God doesn't always work in the way we expect, but if we turn around we see that He really did have a plan all along.
If you ask me about my testimony and life story, you'd hear just that – that God has had a finger in the play from the very start and that it isn't until lately that I've realized it. Even now, as I write this, I'm just as amazed and touched over the fact that He really is with me. He's there even when things don't turn out as planned, He's there in the situations when we don't know what to do, and He has planned that, for He knows what we will do.
Finally, Göran did get back from Sweden and we got the chance to enter the port on Wednesday evening and spread some music and Gospel, before we late that night began sailing to Cartagena, our dear winter port.
Cartagena is a city with a divided Church, with many, small churches who often don't even know of one another. It's also a town where confusion of languages might be an issue as many don't speak English, which makes it difficult to tell about Jesus, forgiveness or just how fast we can sail.
But everyone seems to know the song Oh Happy Day, as well as "coffee for free", and along with some smiles and many gestures, you can actually invite people onboard after some music, and just by pointing and nodding you can actually show around a large boat and offer coffee to someone who who doesn't know a word of English – even I can do that, who can't say more in Spanish than "Que Dios te bendiga" (May God bless you).
May God bless you. And never forget that God is ALWAYS with you and guides you beacuse He loves you and wants what's best for you.