09.20.10/09.27.10: Watusi

Sorry everyone for this hyper delayed post.

There's a dance called Watusi it's out of sight / First you slide to the left, then to the right / Two steps forward; keep the rhythm tight / There's a dance called Watusi, and it's a sight.


"You got it?  You got??  Come on, Krystal...let's try it...you're our leader!!"  My brothers urged me.

I'll be honest.  I was really tired, from not having been able to sleep, and with the excitement and anxiousness of the beginning of the semester, a thousand things were on my mind.  I love singing, but I did not feel like singing that evening.  My brothers at the park kept urging me to join them.  I wasn't confident.  Although their smiles and the emotions conveyed and displayed on their faces when they sang showed me nothing but pure joy, I was taken back to my early days of voice lessons when I was too shy to sing with all that my being held.

Leonard and the other guys were as encouraging as anyone could have ever been.  Teaching me the notes, modeling and singing for me where so I would know where my voice would place, and constantly being positive, I could not have asked for anything more.

When we were all done, I talked with Leonard and Ben for a little while more while Dupree went back to the bench to talk with one of the other brothers at the park.  I told them that I hadn't sung a capella in so long, and during my simple conversation with Leonard about singing earlier, I had not anticipated having to sing with them, and really did not know that they would even want me to sing with them.  It wasn't until Leonard quickly hobbled with his walking stick over to Ben when I realized he was serious.  Seeing Ben's face completely light up when he heard I sang was even more confirmation.  They called Dupree to join in later, and by then, there was no doubt in my mind that these brothers really meant business: they loved singing, they sing together, and they wanted me to sing with them.

I wish words could describe just how great they were.  Their harmonies were tight and their energy simply exuded with every syllable they sang.  Looking them in the eyes while they sang, I saw all the hurt, despair, discomfort, loneliness, and brokenness etched in their faces slowly disappearing.  Their eyes glistened and shone with a light that I had never seen in a long time.  All baggage had been put aside, all for the sake of creating good music, and all for the sake of love.  I realized, I needed to do that, too.  Christ's love was simply poured out, and the roles were reversed: there I stood, empty-handed, intent on showing them Christ's love, and there they were pouring it out onto me.

I saw Dupree the following week in the underground area, and he was nothing but joyful.  His face lit up when he saw me approach him and the first thing he said was, "Hey, Krystal!!! You ready??  You got your part down??!  Let's give it a shot!!  Let's go!!!"  There was that smile, that unmistakable smile.  He kept reminding me that before they met me, they would always sing together, but none of the other guys that they had met had the range or capability to sing the highest part, until they met me.  I wanted to say to him that until I met him and the other guys, I had never felt the Holy Spirit moving so strongly in the midst of music making.  Instead, I just smiled and asked if he were serious about us singing right at that moment.  He was only half-kidding; he added that he didn't want to show disrespect for the guy who was playing the guitar, but his joy and his love was so strong, I could not help but be joyful and praise God for such a great brother.

These events, though not entirely extensive, will be memories that I will store away forever.  The unmistakable presence of the Holy Spirit being in the center of our tight circle at the park, and the unmistakable presence of the Holy Spirit conversing with Dupree and I, and even as we prayed was so surreal, yet so real.  God was there.  He's working in their lives...I could see it and I could feel it.  Music making, as powerful as it is, is nothing without the sovereignty of the Holy One.  Use me, Lord, to be a light in the darkest night.  I have seen this in action, and seek even more to live this out.