The Final Show!

After dinner, we went to the theatre for our final concert of the tour. We were excited, relieved, tired, drained, energetic, jittery, hoarse and grateful all at once. The place was packed. This grand theatre has four balcony levels. It was built in the early 1800s. Everything had been preserved except the wood has been replaced. The acoustics are incredible. The artwork and drawings just take your breath away to see. You’ll just have to see the photos.

We stepped onto stage to find that our last night had the rowdiest, most energetic, most excited crowd that we’ve had all tour. Before the first song even started I heard someone shout out, “We love you, Michael.” Did they think I was Michael Jackson… or Michael Jordan… or Michael W. Smith? That was an interesting feeling.

We went through our set. We opened with “Dance In My Feet,” involving the crowd on the vamp. They were on top of it. We went into “Holy Is The Lord,” singing the chorus in Italian. We took it to church with “We’ve Come This Far By Faith,” including personal testimony of how we’ve had to learn to rest in the peace of God. From there, we went to “In Your Blood” which set a powerful tone. We closed the first part of the set with “Join In This Praise.” Then we went into the Christmas set. We opened it with “Oh Holy Night” which always goes over very well. Then we went into “The First Noel” wherein “The Well,” “The Diva,” and “Red Bird” get to handle the lead by singing the verses. That consistently gets screams and cheers. We moved into “O Little Town Of Bethlehem.” Although Christmas Day has passed, these people celebrate the entire Holiday Season just like Americans. We concluded this part of the set with “Amen,” which is another crowd favorite. I love the fact that singing that song allows me to minister the Kyrygma… the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We moved into the final set, starting with our African remix of “Fight For Me.” It pulls the crowd in and allows them to sing with us even if they don’t know a drop of English. From there, we got personal with “You Are Lord – Agnus Dei.” By the time we got to the end, worship was in the house. I knew that if we didn’t stop quickly, we were going to completely lose it. We were all considering the times when the van skidded on ice in the mountains and the hand of God kept us from going over the cliff. We were considering the times we were emotionally spent and God revived and restored us. We were considering the many times we were terrified by Italian driving but quickly found ourselves falling asleep because God wrapped us in a blanket of His peace. Yeah… we were getting caught up… and wouldn’t have been able to finish the tour. So, we cut it kinda quickly and went to the closer… “I’m Saved.” By the time we were done with it, the crowd was on their feet singing, “Oh – Oh – Oh – Oh!” It was a blast.

Typically, that’s where we close the show, and then come out for an encore with “Oh Happy Day.” But I felt the need to do a teaser. So, we stopped, went back to the mics and did, “Down By The River Side.” It’s so funny watching my wonderful Italian friends try to clap and move and sing at the same time. Somebody say, “Rhythm, Lord! Oh, oh, oh, rhythm, Lord!” (Sorry… I had to whoop that one.) We left the stage and was called back out by the crowd for an encore. Now, we were all shouting the victory because it was the last time we were singing “Happy Days!” You should have seen us literally running back on the stage like it was Christmas. Then we all started dancing. The crowd was in stitches! It was a very funny moment. “Oh Happy Day” was very special this time. We took it to church! We even stopped the music and rocked out a little. Wow! What a blast.

After the concert, we went back to the hotel and packed. We had to pull out at 2:00 AM to head to Milan Airport – a six-hour drive. Our flight leaves at 10:15 but, of course, you need to arrive very early. We were supposed to take a nap and get some rest during the 1.5 hours we had before load and departure time. But, the only one of us that could sleep was “Red Bird” and she was like really dead to the world. “Mad Max” however was required to sleep. He had to do all the driving.

We sat around and tried to figure out what we were feeling. It was “bittersweet.” We were so glad that it was over and that we were headed home. But, we had so much fun and hated to see it come to a close. This was a special moment.

The drive to Milan was grueling! I took the first leg of staying awake with “Mad Max” to keep him alert. By about 5:30 AM, I was totally spent. “The Well” switched and took on the last shift while I got in the back to get some shut-eye. Of course, I woke up later and saw that “Mad Max” had no help. “The Well” was wide-awake, listening to my iPod the entire time I was awake. I guess we were on the same schedule.

We arrived at Milan safely. Even more of a surreal moment was observed. We were actually leaving Italy and heading home. We are tired. As much as we loved Italian food, we want some fried chicken… collard greens… potato salad… macaroni & cheese… hmm, on second thought… skip the mac & cheese… we’ve had enough pasta to hold us for the next six months. Oh… we want pancakes and sausage… scrambled eggs… a waffle…

We’re on the plane!

Thank you, God, for the opportunity to do what many people only dream of. I am so grateful for the chance to spread the message of the Gospel to people of another culture. Thank you for the chance to spend two weeks living out a witness to “Mad Max.” I pray that the life that we lived before him will draw him to you. Thank you for opening his heart to the point that he would ask questions about you as we rode to Treia. Thank you for giving me an understanding of your word so that I could have something to share with him that would make sense. Thank you for being so gracious to me. Thank you for all of the people that prayed for us through this journey. Thank you for the amazing singers that took this journey with me and worshipped, wept and prayed with me. Thank you for healing me from the virus that attacked my body the first week I was there. Thank you for traveling mercies. Thank you for the revival in Naples. Thank you for the artists that went before me that I was able to draw from. Thank you for EVERYTHING!!