SMILE FEST

It is amazing to think that the number of Christians in the world grows with each passing day. This is all thanks to the Spirit of the Lord and the activity of those who already know Christ. When we are with Him, nothing is impossible for us!

With these thoughts in their minds, some of the guys from the «SMILE» club in the city of Sinenlnikovo set to work. (www.smileclub.my1.ru) And what did they have to work on? – The first opening meeting of the club; this would be marked by a festival of modern Christian music on the 25th of April. Our friend, Sergey Gordiyenko was in charge of this event. But more about him later!

8 tickets in wet hands

I rarely travel by city-train but I know very well that they can be very different from one another. Cramped, sleepy, noisy or empty. But, truth be told, our train that day could have been called ‘funny’. Of course, it really couldn’t have been called anything else since we had with us the band ‘Red Letters’ who were invited by the ‘Smile’ Club to take the trip from Dnepropetrovsk to Sinelnikovo. The trip gave us a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other in a different light, and not only as seen from stage sitting behind drums or keyboards. :)

Hey Sinelnikovians!

Like I said above, I was given the joy of making this trip as a member of one of the bands from Alpha and Omega. This was my first trip to Sinelnikovo but the village was just as I had imagined it. There were three-storey buildings which seemed like giants next to the quaint private houses, there was the scent of the railway and the impression of spring.

We arrived on time and were met by the guys from “X-Press” and from the local music group “Seven Steps”. After a five-minute sound check came prayers, and then…

Festival! Everybody Smile!

«WOW!» - This was the first and most frequently heard word that night. It repeatedly echoed from behind the scenes. Only this word could fully convey the atmosphere and mood of the hall to the people who were waiting for their turn to get on stage. It would be possible to write forever about the two hours which followed introductions. The festival started with a wave of applause, over three hundred people had gathered in the audience. All the bands who came to play that evening were well remembered and loved by the local youth. “X-Press” for their professionalism, “Red-Letters” for their energy and drive, “Seven Steps” for their unrestrained optimism. The confirmation of this came with an impromptu autograph session and exciting conversation which followed the close of the concert. The musicians met with the youth, shared their testimonies about God and about how He changed their lives! It is because of this that we play and sing, smile and have fun, all the while bringing praise to Our Lord. We are happy to be at the centre of Christian life! And there are no barriers of borders which could hinder us, since nothing is impossible with God!