Israel, Sweden, Belgium and Holland.

Israel (June-July)

We have a special report on our wonderful trip to Israel here. ♥ You can also go straight to a picture gallery here. ♥

It was also a wonderful surprise to find that one of my favorite percussionists was playing in Jerusalem during our stay. Yinon Muallem was born in Israel but now lives in Istanbul and was making a return visit. You can check out his latest project Klezmer for the Sultan here ♥ and his web site for all you percussion people is here. ♥

Another wonderful musical find was the Idan Raichal project ….. check it out here. ♥

….. and Nexus College, Sweden, Holland and Belgium.

Nexus College (June) www.nexustrust.co.uk

We had a wonderful day hanging out and teaching at the Nexus College for musicians in Coventry. They are a great group of people and we will be back next year to help again. This is their goal ….. “Nexus exists to provide an excellent, unique, challenging and personalised education, enabling everyone to reach their goals in music and ministry. We produce cutting edge musicians whose foundations are firmly planted in God.”

Sweden (June)

Another inspiring and musically creative time in Stockholm, recording with Viola Grafström. Her second Swedish language CD and each new project seem to take her on a deeper journey into discovering her roots and traditions. We are talking about future adventures of travelling to the north of the country and hanging out with the indigenous people group, the Same.

Belgium and Holland (May)

A very eventful tour with Ruth Fazal from Canada started in Holland, meeting an incredible Jewish couple who had both been held in various concentration camps during the war. We were able to spend some time with them and hear their enthralling story. A film called “Kai” has been made about his life. His amazing story started when he was incarcerated in Poland and a Jewish man engraved the number 18 on his arm, whispering that in Jewish thinking this number meant life and he was pronouncing life over him. Somehow he survived 10 concentration camps and was found by the allies lying on top of a mass grave, left for dead by the retreating Gestapo.

We helped with many different events, including at a beautiful Dutch rural community, a modern youth church and a Catholic retreat centre in Belgium. The Flemish mentioned that people only ever pass through their country going somewhere else and very rarely stop within their borders. They were so encouraged that we had spent a week with them

…… and there are some very good reasons to spend time in Belgium ….. mmmmmhhhhh!!!!!! Check out more photos here.

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