Sold Out!

“In the 30 plus years I have lived here I have never seen it rain so hard”, said Marge, talking about the down pour just after we followed her to Howard Amon Park for our concert Friday night. Here in Richland, WA the rain is never torrential, but last night it was.

Howie has a way of praying. Our friend in Redwood, NY said on facebook,“ lol…God and Howie have this ‘Let’s see how we can wow them today’ club…” And yes, it happened again.

He prayed the God would allow us to minister there that night and the Lord opened the clouds.

As we arrived the rain stopped and Howie commenced to sweep the puddles out of the bandshell. Rain continued to hammer the entire tri-cities area, but above the Howard Amon Park there were blue skies.

By the second song a group of teens gathered and Howie testified that God hears and answers prayers. As it turned out the teens were Christians and we invited them up to sing some praise songs.

Even though there were not “huge” crowds, people milled about, we prayed and laid claim to the place for the upcoming weekend events, we met some cool folks and the sun shined for a while at “The Fingernail”

Ps: “The Fingernail” is what folks here call the bandshell!

Read exciting news for our Great Circle USA Missionary Journey by clicking on the image below! Your PDF will open in this window.

Traveling through what seemed to be “No Man’s Land” in Northern Arizona we wondered if God would open opportunities for us to witness for Him.

The Hopi reservation was rocky and harsh. This was quite the contrast to the people that live in the land. At the cultural center we met V***** a DJ from WYI Res Radio, who shared with us that Hopi means “Peaceful People”. We also began to realize that our “Wayfarin Strangers Amped” CD would be well liked here on the Reservation.

As the Great Circle USA 2010 takes us through Navajo Country the desert sun is hot and the nights are cold. This is perfect for sleeping in the van.

The roadway was dotted with venders selling their handwork. Howie wanted a leather and turquoise decoration to hang from his guitar neck and we hoped to find it Navajo made.
The Lord lead us to J*****a who was happily equipted for the challenge of designing a piece for Howie.

As she worked Howie suggested that he serenades the vendors. His suggestion was received with many smiles. As the Navajo woman put her finishing touch on the piece by tying her work to the guitar neck, he offered her and the nearby vendors copies his CDs: The Good News of Christmas, Colonial Meditations and Thank You.

R* said liked R&B, so Howie invited him to our van to listen to some of “Wayfarin Strangers Amped”. He loved it and we promised to send him a copy as soon as it is released.
The conversation segued nicely into Jesus as Howie shared his story, then R* shared his story. God has placed us in the right place at the right time to minister to a native man who has a great need. We were able to pray with R* and leave him with a Gospel of John. Soon he will have our new CD as well as a letter from us.

As the time approaches for the release of “W S Amped” my excitement grows. Wait ’till you see the artwork Seamus and Debbie just produced. Awesome!

This CD includes an old spiritual, some original songs, and a couple jam tunes. A 60s motif was definitely called for and that is exactly what we have. Seamus certainly was inspired to draw a really cool design, using elements from our current lifestyle: music/traveling. Then Debbie took his artwork and added the right color to bring out that ‘Woodstock’ era feel. The result? Well, you’ll be blown away. It’s more than groovy; it’s cool, man.

Peace, love, dove,

Howie

Shea's creative design with Debbie's Woodstock colors

Our new music CD is ministering already and it’s not even out yet! As amazing as that may sound, it’s true.

While in Memphis, Debbie and I were blessed to join Pastor Ronnie Johnson at Miracle Baptist for worship and testimony. After a wonderful time of music with Greg, Anthony and Eddie, we sat down for lunch. Across the table from me were two young men in their twenties. They were brothers and one had a Bible. We hit it off immediately and I was able to encourage them in the Lord. As we were loading out I played some of the new CD. They really liked it, playing air guitar and enjoying the message in the songs. One of the guys said: “Somebody is getting into it.” I looked over at a middle aged lady who was moving to the rhythm. I asked her later how she liked Wayfarin Stranger and she said she loved it.

It is truly a blessing to know that the music we were given by the Holy Spirit has the ability to reach across all sorts of man-made barriers and really minister. Not only do the words bear testimony of the Lord, many of them Scripture, but the music itself touches young and old. The music opened the doors for me to encourage and pray with these young men.

I can’t wait ‘till you hear this new CD, and we will certainly keep you posted as the release date draws near. I have put in a couple “all-nighters” recording and mixing it. This recording is the closest representation of what we sound like as we travel. So far I’ve recorded and mixed in three states, in five different locations, with headphones and speakers, and it’s getting very close to completion. Each mix brings it a little closer to what I’m hoping to end up with. Basically: it rocks! But better than that: it ministers!