Recording – colombiatotheworld

La Viña conference: people and moments part 1

One of the things I love most about a conference is that you get to meet all kinds of people you haven’t met before, and spend quality time with people you want to know better.

One of the most amazing people I met at the conference is Evangelista. I first met him at Remberto’s house the day before the conference. He greeted me with the biggest smile, a strong hug and took a few minutes to let me know how happy he was that we were there. Joy just absolutely radiated from him!

During the conference, he exemplified “everyone gets to play” by literally playing his guitar from wherever he was standing. He sometimes was in the correct key, sometimes not, but as he danced sang and played along with us, there was a childlikeness about it. And, the first time I heard him play and sing during a break, I felt strongly that he had original songs in him.

It wasn’t until Saturday that I got to share a meal with him and get to hear his heart. We talked about his call for campesinos (farmers) and people on the streets. His disarming demeanor and simplicity (and incredible story-telling ability) made it easy to picture him sitting with people and sharing about Jesus.

During our worship circle testimony time that night, Evangelista shared that the Lord had given him a song for us. It was beautiful. We let him know that we would sing it for worship the next morning. He wrote out the words, and wanted to find a way to make copies so that everyone could take it home with them.

The next morning, he led us in worship, from the stage this time. His song gave everyone so much joy, that they started dancing– spinning in a large circle and singing along!

Words just can’t convey what was in the room that morning. Seeing everyone completely given to joy and unity was a picture of heaven.

When you fall, sometimes it takes a village to pick you back up.

The past few months in the Morales house have been a testament to community, faith and the strength that only comes from Jesus.

We didn’t post much of what had been going on, but now that things are finally looking up, I thought I’d share.

May 13th: Leo took a brave and valiant move (after much prayer) and quit his job at Guitar Center in order to focus more on ministry and his business. (shameless plug: http://www.leonardo-morales.com)

May 16th: Leo was working on our basement remodel, fell off of a step-ladder and fractured his right elbow.

May 18th: Our dog, Canela, gave birth to 5 puppies

May 19th: Leo had extensive surgery on his elbow to repair the damage

The rest of May: an absolute blur.

Most of June and July: a blur

August 10th: Leo’s US citizenship ceremony

Now, here we are at the end of August!

We have now called the summer of 2016 “The summer of recovery, citizenship and puppies”.

Here’s the deal:

There is absolutely no way that we would’ve made it through the first 2 weeks, let alone the months afterwards without friends and family.

We’ve had people bring us meals (it didn’t hurt that Canela had such cute puppies to visit/hold), bring us urgent medicine or food, help finish the recording studio, do yard work, organize our basement, and just be emotional/spiritual support all throughout this process.

As Leo walked in for his 3-month appointment, the doctors were astonished. They have NEVER seen anyone heal so quickly after such an intense fracture.

Leo jokes around that he plays guitar even better now than he did before, and proudly shows his “ironman” picture of the screws that were put in his elbow. We know we are blessed and fortunate that it turned out this way!

We didn’t post anything about it on Facebook because we didn’t want his family in Colombia to worry. They were dealing with their own hard situations, and didn’t need to know that Leo was having such a hard time.

But, right before his mom came for his citizenship ceremony, he told her over the phone. She said she felt that there was something going on, and just prayed for us.

What is amazing to me is that we would’ve probably never had this many conversations with people in our lives without this accident. Life here in the US is so rushed, so compartmentalized, and so shallow at times. When people would come over, it seemed that conversations lingered. Testimonies about hard times were shared, and our faith was strengthened.

When we let people into our mess (and there was a whole lot of it!), we realized that we really weren’t alone. This world, as much as it feels like it’s “every man for himself”, is much better lived in community… when one falls, we all rally around to pick him/her up off the ground.

We are so grateful!

Guitar Center

When we first moved back to the US 3 1/2 years ago, we had absolutely no idea what the next steps were. We just knew that we needed to be here.

So, we moved into my parent’s basement, and watched God provide everything we needed in His timing.

One of the most important things was for Leo to find a job. Unfortunately, his degree in Jazz Composition and Improvisation doesn’t really count for much here, so his desire to teach music wasn’t going to be an option.

He decided to fast. He knew that God had brought us here, and that He had a plan for us that we couldn’t see.

Through those days of job-searching and prayer, the Lord kept bringing him back to Guitar Center’s website; but there were never any job postings listed. So, Leo decided to just go to the store and check out the situation. As he walked around the store he realized that they didn’t have anyone who spoke Spanish, let alone any other international diversity on their staff.

So, he found the manager and introduced himself.

The manager posted a job opening that day, just so Leo could apply.

And, just like that, my kind, humble, ESL, pastor’s heart man was thrown into the world of retail.

I suppose there were some good days thrown in those first few months, but most days were grueling.

In Colombia, it is terribly rude to not introduce yourself and say hello before starting a conversation. In the US, it’s common.

It’s also, apparently, common to say “No, I want to talk to someone who speaks English” when someone with an accent answers the phone.

There were so many times Leo would come home absolutely mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted.

And that was before winter hit, and he had to drive 30 minutes from my parent’s farm to the store in the freezing cold, snowy and icy roads. (something he had never done before).

But, every once in a while he’d come home with a story from the day that didn’t include people being rude, and those were precious.

There was one day when a widow came in and wanted something that would help her read music, as she was almost blind. Leo took his time showing her different things, talking with her and making her laugh. By the time they were done, she had tears in her eyes and told him that he reminded her of her husband who had passed. She was so grateful that he had taken time with her.

There was another day that a man came in and started talking with Leo about all different kinds of things related to sound, and then the man just paused, put his hand on Leo’s shoulder and said “Brother, are you a Christ-follower?”. Leo lit up, so grateful that the man noticed! As it turns out, that man was a pastor, and Leo has continued to help their church out with sound over the years.

Eventually, the Lord provided a place for us to live, just 2 miles from the store. And, it seemed like every time we went out for a date around the area, there were people who knew Leo.

Then, as we built our recording studio, people he had made a good connection with in the store started coming over to the house and recording beautiful music. In the last 2 years, he has recorded and produced songs and albums for people from the Bahamas, Kenya, Peru, Colombia, the Congo, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and good ole’ USA.

He started finding purpose beyond just selling stuff and making commission (2%, if you were wondering). He started connecting with immigrant pastors, and offered his help to install their sound systems and train up their media teams.

I think he has been to every immigrant church in the city… African, Asian, Latino… and even one of the new Lesbian churches downtown. That is a story for another post. 🙂

He has taken such good care of people, that now, even on Sundays, he’ll facetime with a church or two when they are in crisis, in-between his own worship practice.

He is one of the hardest workers I know, taking advantage of all the different opportunities that the Lord has given him.

And now, we are stepping out on a new adventure: He quit Guitar Center on Friday. It is time for him to start doing more of what he loves, and the time he was putting in at the store just didn’t allow for him to do that.

So, spread the word! Leo is available for installing sound and training up media teams, recording projects, latin jazz gigs; guitar, bass or recording lessons, etc. We are so excited to see what the Lord is going to do!

We will always be grateful for the 3 1/2 years that Leo spent at Guitar Center. It is where he learned how to communicate not only with Anglos, but with all different races and economic levels. It’s where he put to use his amazing people skills, and built lasting friendships with other musicians here in the city. It’s where he spoke value to Spanish-speaking pastors and worship leaders, hearing what their struggles are beyond just a sound system.

The employee prices on sound equipment and instruments didn’t hurt either. 🙂

On to the next season!