The Road to Reggio Di Calabria

There are a few things that you learn quickly when touring:

• Don’t make your bags too heavy. The weight limit for most airlines – even for international flights – is 50 pounds. Even if your touring agency purchases your ticket, if your bag is overweight, you will have to pay for the extra weight out of your own pocket.
• Don’t forget the regulations for carry-on. There may be a situation wherein you have to carry a bag onto the plane that you were intending to check in. Well, the regulations for carry-on luggage will still apply. If you have liquids of more than 2-3 ounces, consider them GONE!
• The only things irreplaceable are time, life and God. If the airline says that something cannot board the plane with you, please remember that the item that you fight for is most likely replaceable. The time that you lost fighting for it – is not. While you may possibly win the argument, you might miss your flight because the plane will not wait.
• Maintain the 2-hour rule. Always plan for the unexpected delay at the airport. Especially when you are in another country. Because even when you do arrive 2-hours early, you can still find yourself doing the O. J. Simpson through the airport. Well, I mean the old O. J. Simpson – back when he had the rent-a-car endorsement… before the “see O. J. run from the law” days.
• Be nice and represent God the entire time. You never know when you are going to meet another artist management company representative – even in the airport ticket counter line – who may only decide to introduce themselves to you when the recognize the Jesus in you. Wow! What a testimony. (Go Diva!!)
• Having a grueling first day isn’t always a bad thing. It may cause your first full night to be a night of full sleep – thus resetting your body clock to operate according to the new time zone. Today, we are all wide-awake.

After all of that learning… God has a way of making things all worthwhile. Now, don’t get me wrong. We didn’t miss a flight or anything like that. We just had a somewhat stressful morning. But – OH MY GOD!!! – as our plane started descending over Sicily and preparing to land in Reggio Di Calabria, just the view was worth the efforts of the morning. It is so amazing!! Just seeing how God took his finger and dug out sculptures in the earth to create valleys… just seeing the fantastic cliffs and mountains… it was just so awe-inspiring. God is so awesome.

We hung out at the mall today. That was hilarious. Everyone kept looking at us like we were celebrities or something. Of course, we were the only “black” people in the mall. And, “The Well” could easily pass for Michael Jordan or someone like that. We found some cool stuff. I even bought a few things for my wife. That was so much fun.

When we got back to the rooms, I let everyone make calls to friends and family via my Skype account. If you are traveling internationally, it is THE way to go.

Tonight is the first show. It’s going to be a bit of a stretch for me… a bit interesting. This is not going to be a “gospel concert” or a “church service.” So, I can’t just go in there and have church. Tonight, I have to go in and perform great music and provide good, clean, wholesome entertainment. I know that if I go in there with my usual methods I will not be effective. This is one of those times when I will have to let the people see Jesus in me and be drawn to the light I shine. There won’t be a preaching moment. There won’t be any sermonizing. This is going to only be music. Thank God the music is loaded with a message.

Tune in tomorrow to find out how it went.