The word "missionary" gets used frequently when discussing topics of Christian evangelism. Folks dedicate their lives to spreading the Gospel to all ends of the earth. I've never really considered myself an all-out missionary in the way that I know the term to be used. That is, I've never lived for months in a village and given up the luxuries of the American lifestyle. I've never traveled abroad with nothing but my tunic and sandals and the message of Christ on my lips. However, I have dedicated my life to ministry and an attempt at holiness and I can say that my trip with the band to World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain was an honest adventure in living a missionary experience.

I can honestly say I felt God pushing me toward making this trip. I felt a desire to be present and at the service of God's people, but it was costly to get an entire band to Spain. As I prayed, I was comforted by the Lord's promptings that He would make straight the path. Through the help of beautiful people like Randy Raus, Mark Hart, and Joan Root at Life Teen, Milissa Thibodeaux from the Diocese of Lake Charles, and Robert Feduccia at Spirit and Song, we raised enough financial help for travel and lodging for the entire week. Things fell into place so smoothly, that it became difficult to ignore that God had a purpose and plan.

In fact, there were so many "God Moments" that it would take a series of blogs to describe them all - like free hotel rooms, surprise dinners from old friends, being plucked from long lines and placed in shorter ones (that's a big one when you're surrounded by 2 million people), eating at the oldest restaurant in the world - so many blessings. The holiest moments, though, seemed to come from the relationships we made with others.

After we finished music for an english-speaking catechetical session for around 1500 people from England, Australia, South Africa, Scotland, Ireland, etc., we decided to set up shop on the street corner outside the church. In a very unplanned, unceremonious occurrence, we played for and visited with folks from all over the world. I met William on that street corner. A well-dressed, thirty-something native of Italy, William had spent some time in the U.S. as a foreign exchange student. He's been living in Madrid for the last ten years, so he's become fluent in all three languages (plus French). While he's certainly no stranger to academia, he confessed that he hasn't visited a church since he was a boy in Italy. He told me how different spirituality is in Spain and that he has struggled with the feeling that the Church has lost its relevance in our culture. After a long discussion, the crowd began to thin and the band started packing up instruments. Sensing the end of our conversation, I asked William what its been like having all the extra people in his city. He said, "Seeing all these people, and you guys here today, it has made me realize that the church is about people loving people and people loving God. My girlfriend and I have been talking about it, but I really want to go back to church."

William's story is just one of many spiritual experiences during our trip. But I think William's words capture the whole mission and vision of World Youth Day. Universally, we are called to be "People loving people and people loving God."