"Bondye Bel!"

Until about three months ago I had never even heard the words bondye bel.  Now, I know the translation in English means "God is beautiful".  Now I know that a group of orphans in Jeremie, Haiti, wrote the song titled "bondye bel", and now I know that I have to go there.  The first time I heard the song I sobbed big, ugly, tears, right in the middle of church.  I watched in awe as the dark-skinned children in the orphanage, sang and spoke their praises to their beautiful God.  I left church knowing I had to dance to it...  Of course, I had to dance to it.  It's how God wired me.  I contacted our worship pastor, producer/arranger, of the song, and he was "smiling from ear to ear".  He liked the idea and gave me a resounding YES for the song permissions to create a dance video to supplement the song video.  I began to envision a group of multi-colored folks, dancing barefooted, in jeans and simple shirts, in front of a white siding OLD church (you know the little country church from way back when with lots of character).  In the coming weeks, with the help from a dear friend, I found the "perfect" church location.  Picture it.  Little white church on the hill.  Built in the late 1800's.  Surrounded by woods.  Situated in an "unincorporated" town in middle TN.  The church pastor was extremely supportive, and even said that he would be there early to open the church for us on the day of the video shoot, put the Christmas wreaths back on the doors, and that we had their full support.  What a blessing!  God was bringing the vision to reality.  I jumped into work mode, set the date for early January 2012, created the event, sent the invitations, multiple email reminders, and even a little sneak peak of the choreography.  I pictured 20-40 participants, dancing and praising God, while pointing others to the orphan's song... All monies from the sale of the song will go to build a music program for the orphanage in Jeremie, Haiti.  As the weeks passed, the vision remained clear.  The participation registration began to grow.  We ended up with 26 people registered to come dance!  6 people decided not to come in the 24 hours before the event.  No worries here.  I KNEW it would be just as God intended.  And you know what?  It was.  It was perfect in a way I cannot describe.  It was 20 women & children gathered together on a Saturday morning.  It was 17 degrees when I woke up that morning.  It was 22 degrees when we left for the church.  Roy was still in my ear negating the whole "barefoot concept."  I wouldn't hear him.  Vision was clear.  We arrived at the church with anticipation high, hearts a glow, and feet ready to move.  We opened in worship and were blessed to have a participant share her very own story of her time in Haiti with the orphans.  We danced in the sanctuary, then we moved outside to mark our spots, secure the camera angles, and get acclimated to the chilly weather.  We danced in bare feet.  Toes were numb.  So what?  At least we had nice, warm, shoes and socks awaiting us within the church walls.  As we begin to view the video clips to start the creating and editing process, I am overwhelmed with the perfection of it all.  The setting.  The beautiful girls and women, various colors, shapes, and sizes... the mission of the project.  A vision brought to life by the Author of Life!  Stay tuned.