|
| About Stephen Woo |
|
Stephen Woo is the TV Production Manager for the Canada-based Showers of Blessing Evangelistic Ministry. Over the last 16 years, he had traveled to different parts of the world filming “life” testimonies. He resides in Toronto, Canada with his wife and 2 daughters.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
JOY – Turning Hostility and Hatred into Wonderful Music
by Stephen G. Woo translated by Tim Chan
Mountain breezes brought forth echoes of worship and singing that floated from the hilltop gently into my ears, suddenly lightening the heavy load of the production equipment perched on the backs of our video crew at the bottom of the hill. We listened as we ascended the hill, our every footstep invigorated with rhythm and energy. I was then reminded of this beautifully moving verse:
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs;
Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings.
They go from strength to strength;
Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion.” (Psalm 84:5-7, ASV)
Coming here to Diphu in the hill areas of Northeast India, I didn’t expect I would gain new insights about worship. Thanks to the invitation and arrangement of joyful noise Xpress, our TV production crew from Showers of Blessing Evangelistic Ministry (SOBEM) had the rare opportunity to visit this remote and not easily accessible region. Years of tribal conflict and bloody violence had filled this desolate land with hostility and fear. The Indian government regarded this land as turbulent and highly insecure. As the light of the dawn shone quietly on those primitive straw huts, the homes behind each bamboo door held unforgettable stories of blood and tears.
This place yearned for peace, yet it continued to wait in prolonged darkness. Eventually, healing had to come from the love of God and the blood of Christ, who could turn this crisis into opportunity. This day, at the worship conference venue, we saw neither depressing looks nor bitter stares, but faces that were studious and attentive, and eyes that hungered and thirsted for righteousness. In place of fear, on this day, the hill people were full of serenity and love.
In this region, there are not enough resources;
But one thing is absolutely sufficient – God’s abundant grace
Starting five years ago, jnX teams have visited the hill areas of Northeast India once a year as volunteers to teach knowledge and skills in music and singing as well as playing instrument. They helped the people here to know the one true God and to acquire a genuine heart of worship, so that they could experience emotional and spiritual healings. This year’s “Heal Our Lands” worship and music conference was indeed an authentic and heartfelt celebration. There was no proper sound system, the bamboo-constructed stage was not very stable, and there was no guarantee that the electricity would hold up. In fact, worship was often interrupted by sudden power outages. But, in these moments of lighting and power failures, the unstoppable praises from the mouths of the hill people of Northeast India sounded even brighter and spread even further.
Passing through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs;
Going from strength to strength they appear before God in Zion.
– Amidst comfortable church halls and out of hectic living,
Could city dwellers worship with this simple purity and heartfelt passion?
My first meeting with a jnX team member was in 2001 at a SOBEM anniversary thanksgiving banquet in San Francisco. After getting to know them better, I discovered that, within their vision of proliferating praise and worship, they had a fervent heart for worldwide mission. They did not come to this backward hill area out of curiosity’s sake, but risking the danger of being attacked by local militants, they came to bring the good news of God’s healing for many to hear. All team members faced personal obstacles, such as Anthony and Isabella’s heavy financial burdens, Wendy’s homesickness, Tim’s suspension of his hourly wages for the duration of the trip, drummer Bobby’s motion sickness, and guitarist Sue’s difficulties in getting used to the Asian environment. Despite all this, the joy of experiencing God’s love motivated them to return again and again to the hills of Northeast India.
On this jnX mission trip, there were gatherings with over 1,000 people, but also meetings with as few as only just nine people in attendance (in Malaysia). What I admired most was that numbers did not change jnX’s servant attitude. I truly believe that jnX’s focus is not in attendance figures but in the hearts that desire and yearn for God. In the modest classrooms at the top of Diphu’s hills, jnX members were devoting themselves wholeheartedly to impart all of their knowledge to the local people. In order to understand more about worship, some locals had to walk a few hilly miles to be there, and some others endured days of traveling on the road to get there. In spite of their limited English abilities, their attentive gazes revealed their determination to imprint every little piece of musical knowledge upon their hearts. God’s desire is that, through seeing these genuine yearning hearts, the hearts of jnX members would be transformed to endure hardships and be freed to give selflessly.
7777 – A perfect moment captured on camera
I took many pictures during this trip, each of them recording a story worth thousands of words. During a ministry meeting in Malaysia, I shot the 7777th picture of my digital camera by coincidence. In front of the lens, Anthony was leading a worship sharing with just nine brothers and sisters in attendance. In the picture, there stood a water bottle at the corner of an electronic keyboard. This water bottle is an essential item of the jnX team when they travel, and hanging down from that bottle was a small ornament given by the hill people of Northeast India. Behind it was a wall with a wooden cross, and above the cross were these words: “A Pleasing Service.” “7” is a perfect number. Isn’t this “7777” picture a humorous way that God used to commend His servants?
Beautiful cloud in the hill areas
I saw how God brought healing to this wounded land with His amazing love and grace. I gained a greater empathy for the jnX members, who each shared this same thought in their hearts: “We received much more than what we have given out.” In Diphu, the many life testimonies we filmed were like a cloud of witnesses; and the lives of jnX members were like a sea of bright beautiful clouds. From their lives, we have come to understand how beautiful is this JOY that God has granted us. I can only say one thing: “The SOBEM crew has received much more than what we have given out.”
(The SOBEM program on jnX will be aired in the second half of 2005. We will post the air date and time on our website once the date is set.)
Some of the photos used in this issue of Joyful Note were provided by Stephen Woo
|
