standing in the gap

Recent report from a project I've been working on...

Mindanao, Philippines in 2009
When Operation Mobilization’s Philippines mission director first dreamed of Heart Sounds International coming to his home country, he was coordinating HSI's Mongolia project in 2003. Finally, that vision became a reality. This month, HSI's Southeast Asia coordinator, Erica Logan, partnered with multiple organizations to host and lead a songwriting event in Mindanao, the southernmost island of the Philippines. Twenty six people from a range of backgrounds gathered to test the waters of creating new songs for the first time. Among the group were pastors and musicians from three tribes in the southern Philippines.

Anticipation surrounded the event as believers who risk persecution in their home communities gathered together in a safe environment to pray, share, and create something new for the Lord. Over the course of three days, teaching on biblical worship and redeeming culture were shared along with ideas for indigenous songwriting. Because the religious situation in this area is delicate, the participants brainstormed ways to infuse their native melodies and song styles with Christian truths in a way that would be acceptable to their communities. Among the corpus of new songs were songs to encourage “the least of these” such as evacuees and street children, songs to address cultural issues such as revenge and loss of identity, songs to accompany everyday activities like shelling coconuts, and songs to give glory to God in the midst of community wedding celebrations.

Geoff Logan was able to record all fourteen songs, mix them, and burn them to CDs in one afternoon. The excitement mounted as participants waited anxiously for their CD. They were so delighted to receive it! During the last session of the day, one man who had been quiet during the entire seminar stood up and talked at length about the encouragement he felt not only for his own people but also his desire to take this idea up a nearby mountain to a neighboring tribe. We celebrated how the Holy Spirit was inspiring such an immediate response to take the Good News in song!

With Erica and Geoff living in the area, it is possible to follow up on the foundations laid this week with yearly gatherings in the provincial areas. Our desire and theirs is that the seeds planted to express God’s truth in the heart languages of the participants will grow and multiply.

Punjabi Psalms

it's official

I just got back from teaching a class on Ethnomusicology for the very first time. I was excited to get the experience and also a little nervous because I'm not usually the one in front of people. I'm the one in back with the two year old. So, I traveled 4 hours to a place called Nasuli, a training facility owned by SIL where decades of work has gone on to translate the Bible into local languages. It was a beautiful and peaceful place and I felt honored to be on ground representing the legacy of sacrifice so many people had made so that the Gospel could be understood. It was the first time I was officially introduced to a crowd of people as an Ethnomusicologist. When I got up there to teach, I actually had something to say and knew somewhat what I was talking about. (For some reason this surprised me!) It was really encouraging because I was also able to meet with small groups of translators who had questions about how they could encourage indigenous music in their areas, and I was excited to be able to help them with ideas. Anyway, as someone just starting out in the field, it was a good feeling to be finally away from the books and into my "official" role.

A lot of people were concerned about me taking on this part time "job" while raising Ariel, but honestly, it has been the best thing for our family. It has given me the opportunity to make an impact outside my home as well as inside, and neither one has suffered. In fact, both are healthier because of the balance. Geoff is a willing tag team partner in caring for Ariel, and Ariel has blossomed under the guidance from both parents on a daily basis.

So, its been good.

Here's a pic of some of my students (they were from all over SE Asia, USA, and Switzerland):

The view along the way:

And finally, me at 2am before class day still trying to fit 2 years worth of course work into 4 hours of teaching!


In the coming year, I'm coordinating 3 projects, one as a co-leader in Thailand, one in Mongolia, and one right here in my city. I'm blessed to be only 30 years old and doing exactly what I dream of. God is good.

kaleidoscope

This week I took Ariel to see the Kadayawan street dancers. Kadayawan is a festival that showcases the arts, crafts, and foods of the tribes living on our island. The street dancing featured dance troupes from each of the tribes competing on a parade route through the city. It was a whirlwind of color, movement, and sound. Absolutely mesmerizing.



You can see more pictures on our photo page at "www.flickr.com/photos/theloganfamily" or just click on the LIFE MOMENTS slideshow on the left of this page.

Today, I had my first lesson on the Kulintang. As an effort to get involved in the local traditional arts (and to meet the very last credit requirement of my degree!) I am learning to play this instrument. It took me a month just to find a teacher, but I met many interesting musicians along the way, so it was worth it. My teacher now is a young guy in university. The instrument is part of a larger ensemble of gongs and drums. The cool part is that these musicians and the tribes they are a part of understand whole conversations through this music. The pitches and rhythms match their language. Of course, I've only had one lesson, so I'm not able to say much yet :)

Milestone Day

Today is a milestone day. After four years of working through graduate classes, one year of background preparation, and three trips to the ends of the Earth (i.e. Mongolia), I have come to the day where I begin writing something new. Something that has never been written before. What I mean is, I’m in my last month of Thesis writing and the chapter I’m beginning today describes a unique section of Mongolian music culture that has never been analyzed this way before. You would think that turning in my final copy of the Thesis would be my milestone day. But it’s not because I’ve never wanted to do this just so I could complete it. I’ve wanted to do this so that I could contribute something meaningful to the world. Is it a great invention that changes someone’s life? Will the average person watching television in their living room ever feel the effects? No. But this is the way I see it…It is a new addition to science, a way of honoring an un-thought-of people (unless you’re the kid who was just told you’ll be shipped to Mongolia if you don’t finish your broccoli), a preservation of a moment in the history of Mongol culture, and hopefully, a catalyst for a true and accurate representation of Christ to nomadic peoples that honors them rather than strips them of their cultural heritage. I’m excited today because this is what I’m passionate about. To some, this may seem a little idealistic and a lot to expect from a little paper that few people may actually read. But, I’ve always been a dreamer. And I never want to lose that slightly naïve belief that I can change the world.

The Journey

I'm in the middle of writing my Master's thesis on the music of nomadic cultures. Today's been a hard day because after months of work, I've realized that I took a wrong turn somewhere and am heading the wrong direction from where my subject was originally supposed to take me. That means I've spent hundreds of hours reading and reviewing articles that will have little influence on my writing. And what really makes my brain shut down is that I have a major deadline THIS Friday. So, I'll be honest, I've spent a lot of time sleeping today. Much like your computer does when it doesn't want to do what you've asked of it.

When I finally mustered the courage to return to my desk, I found a little book about Ethnography ("writing about cultures") that gave me some encouragement. I had to share this with you because it so obviously reminded me not only where I'm at in my writing, but where we're all at in life. So, I'm going to give a few quotes and insert the obvious…. I open the book and the first thing it talks about is that ethnography [LIFE] is like a journey with many paths. The book claims its purpose to be "to enable other researchers [SOJOURNERS] to enjoy their journeys and to reach their destinations." Two sentences later it says, "Ironically, reaching a destination in ethnography [LIFE] often means taking false paths, coming up against dead ends or detours, and sometimes losing the way altogether."

Hmmm…that sounds familiar. What encourages me about these little statements is not that they give me some revolutionary idea, but they remind me that it's going to be okay.

With that, I'll take a deep breath, hit reboot on my brain, and return to work. …And the journey.