whoopi

::: my mentor, doug, often talks about the time he met whoopi goldberg at a restaurant in new hampshire..."ms. goldberg," he said to whoopi as she was tending the bar, "i was a missionary to japan for over twenty years and i just want to tell you that you did more to make a christian impact in japan than i did in my entire missionary career"...

...doug was talking about sister act, whoopi's 1992 hit that is still televised periodically in japan...

...the continued interest in sister act underscores the japanese people's attraction to gospel music...drawn to the genre's emotive, expressive qualities, japanese people join church or community choirs...gospel artists are regularly featured on tv and radio programs...live concerts draw crowds...

...like tonight's 9th annual gospel music festival held in namba, a vibrant sector of osaka...

...gifted artists performing in japanese with passion for/to the Lord...what more could you ask for...some images and impressions...

...below is yuka matsumoto performing a silky, lounge version of "i could sing of your love forever" (think: sade infused with j-pop)...

...ichiji makiguchi (below) mixes clapton-like blues with a vocal style characterized by a traditional, japanese vibrato...interesting blend...



...kaori mukahi, soaring soprano in red...claire and i both loved this one guy in the choir who was singing and dancing his heart out...the joy of the lord was so evident on his face...



...jaye (below) makes you forget that he's japanese...close your eyes and your ears will nearly convince you that you're hearing a gospel choir in the states...think james brown with a japanese accent...



...the last part of the gospel festival was the highlight for me...lots of youth dressed in traditional japanese clothes came out dancing and banging on traditional drums...it reminded me of revelation 21:16's description of our heavenly destination, where we will see and experience "the glory and the honor of the nations" in the context of God's fully restored kingdom...



...claire and i couldn't help but notice this mother's love...we were moved to tears...so tenderly helping her daughter play a percussion instrument...

...no person is left out of God's chorus of praise...the hope of heaven and the promise of scripture is that this young girl will dance and sing with the rest of her friends (philippians 3:20-21)...

...after the show, we met up with dear friends, the takamotos and thomsons...owen came running up to claire and me and gave us big hugs!...we saw adorable annie sleeping...all's right in the universe...

...japanese people worshiping christ...a joy to see tonight and our hope for tomorrow...

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