19 December 2012

Flash Mob!  Wow!  An amazing experience.  It was the brainchild of Sister Douglas and she dreams big!  It was awesome.  Rehearsals were as fun as the short performance.  Sister Douglas directed us in her wonderful take-charge way...standing on chairs and swinging her hips to teach the elders how to move to the music.  Some scenes in the rehearsals reminded me of "Footloose" trying to teach the farm boy to dance.  Seeing the elders trying their best to stay together was so cute.  I'll download videos to my dropbox and send the link, asap.   And the actual flash mob video will be ready for uTube soon and we'll send that link as well.  They had several professional videographers there.  Should turn out great.  Can't wait to see it. 

We began in various positions on 3 levels of the mall's central plaza. The mall music was turned off but it was not quiet by any means. The noise of shoppers and weekend gatherers was at its normal level of frenzy.   

 

 Sister Douglas and I were perched at the top of the escalator with our violins hanging down nonchalantly at our sides awaiting the signal to start down.  One of the soloists directly below us picked up her cell phone and that was our cue.  Two soloists began singing in loud and lovely voices "Regocidad! Jesus Nacio."  (Joy to the World)  Little groups of missionaries from different levels joined on each phrase.  People stopped in their tracks to listen and watch.  Sister Douglas and I came down the escalator playing "And saints and angels sing"...and I was trying my hardest to concentrate on playing the right notes, keep my balance and not trip as we got off at the bottom.  So far so good!
 
We changed keys (Sister Douglas just said play this little run and end on this note and voila!  Easy for her but after mucho practicing I actually landed where I was supposed to!  Everyone joined in on the 2nd verse.  We had 2 violins, a viola and though we had a missionary who played the cello we could not lay our hands on a cello anywhere in this city, even to rent. There were several flute players (recorders actually... very few play what they call the "dulce" flute.  We had a trumpeter who realized at the practice that he was playing in the key of b flat when 2 of our numbers were in the keys of c and d...but no worries.  The guitarists just played in whatever key they wanted!  On our second number, the first group of elders came in singing "Far, far way on Judea's plains" and believe me, they were indeed far, far away from the pitch and way ahead of the pianist who was pounding out as loudly as he could.  But, you have to understand that these sweet Dominicans usually sing in their own pitches to their own tunes so to them I'm sure they thought they were hearing a choir of angels!

 

And really, they were!  The spirit was speaking loud and clear.  I had a hard time playing through my tears.  Sister Douglas was playing with the sound of 3 violinists and I was doing my best to keep up.  We did one verse of Silent Night and hearing everyone in the mall join in was just incredible.  Then we rocked out with drums and various other percussion instruments (Dad banged on a chime with a screwdriver, some had pot lids, others boxes and such) to Feliz Navidad with 100+ missionaries and 30 students and families dancing and singing, and letting their hair down.  You'll see all of that in the uTube video I'm sure!  

Afterwards no one wanted to leave...

 We talked to one of the students today who  was near the Jumbo store (a big grocery/department store that opens into the mall plaza) and she said when the music started, everyone in the checkout lines froze.  The cash registers all stopped at once.  They just dropped their jaws and stared.  It was 5 minutes of pure joy!    

We felt privileged to be part of it all.  On our way out to the car, we walked through a life-sized nativity scene in the mall, away from the hustle and bustle and I had a sweet aha moment about the Savior's birth and being here in the Dominican Republic.  I looked at the scene with the green palms around and thought, so much of Christmas to me has always been associated with snow and sleigh bells and chestnuts roasting on an open fire...joyful things that have added to the spirit of Christmas.  Here, with none of those favorite things...it's not chestnuts roasting, but pigs a toasting...instead of Jack Frost nipping, it's foreheads dripping.  :)

But in that quiet little oasis in the mall, I was deeply moved by the feeling that I'm living in a climate and place more like the Holy Land than any place I've lived so I can focus on the Savior more readily.  It's easy to imagine Jesus on some of the dirt roads and in the dusty unfinished corners of our city and  think of myself walking today where Jesus walked.  So, I made my wish and dropped my peso in the little pool.   

 And I'm filled with the wonder of Christ in Christmas in a whole new way.   An experience to be cherished and treasured up.  I'm so grateful for that!