Special treat

A couple of years ago our church began singing "In Christ Alone", and subsequently other songs written by Keith and Kristyn Getty: "See What a Morning", "Oh, to See the Dawn", "The Power of the Cross". When we were at Grand Junction with Rachel a couple of weeks ago, "Speak O Lord" was one of the Getty hymns we sang. Not only is their music highly suited to congregational worship, but the lyrics are powerful messages of the essence of the gospel.

Last August Abbie saw on their website that the Gettys would be in Fayetteville on August 23; she was disappointed because that was a month too early for us, but she told Joy to watch for the concert, as Fayetteville, AR, is only 40 minutes from John Brown University, in Siloam Springs, where my mother studied in the 30's, where I graduated in 1968, and where Joy and Mark met, graduated, and now work.

August 23 came and went, but we heard nothing. Then a couple of weeks ago, just before we were to leave Madeira, Joy sent us an e-mail to inform that the Gettys would be in chapel at JBU on Tuesday morning, Sept. 15, and would give a concert that night! We had already scheduled our arrival at Joy and Mark's for Sunday evening, Sept. 13. We are only here for a few nights, and this was one of them! (Actually, the Fayetteville of August 23 was in North Carolina, and not Arkansas, a fact not clearly stated in the schedule originally published on the web page.) 

We attended the chapel session and the concert, in which some of the songs we've come to love were sung, plus new songs from the recently released album. Seeing the family has been great; being here for Mia's first birthday is a blessing...but to meet and talk with Keith and his wife was icing on the birthday cake. It turns out that the University has been trying to schedule a concert with the Gettys for over a year, and only now did it work out. We will not say that it was only for our sakes' it turned out this way, but we also know God knew how to cross our paths and give us this special treat.  

Check out the music and some of the story of Keith and Kristyn Getty, who are from N. Ireland, which makes their connection with John Brown University even more understandable, given the University's close ties with Belfast. We were there in May 2008 as part of a group from the University.

.