Hip Hop in Azerbaijan
Here's an update from a Dancelink participant (David) serving on the mission field with Operation Mobilization.  Read, enjoy, and be enouraged!  I hope this will help you see how dance can be used to bridge the gap so that we can speak into and touch the lives of others.

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May 14, 2008

“In a couple days the group and I are going to be traveling (touring) the countryside doing shows in different regions. The group I am with is quite awesome. It consists of a band, an illusionist, a unicyclist and me (the hip hop dancer).

So far we have done two shows and they have gone very well. I am the show starter and then I interact with the kids who all seem to really enjoy hip-hop. We have performed at a school for deaf children (which is why dance worked so well) and an orphanage. I found that these kids can do all the flips and spins and break dancing stuff where I really do more popping, and crumping and locking and so forth. You should see some of these kids dance!  It has been fun too, because although I can't speak Azeri (what they speak in Azerbaijan) I can communicate with my hands and "acting" things out. We have all had a chance to share our testimonies on stage though we can't be too preachy and can't use too many Christian buzzwords. It is still a very sensitive area. The leaders of our group have allowed us to be a little more open with our personal conversations. We have all had some chances to share more in depth with the audience after the concerts.

-A few days later-

May 25, 2008

"Things have been going great in Azerbaijan. We went out to the western rural region of Azerbaijan on the 20th. It was a rough 8 hour trip over terribly worn roads, but when we go there it was amazing. The town was in the Caucasus Mountain range, and it was so beautiful. Some of the views over the mountains were breathtaking. We first performed in a village near the main town there called Dashkesan. I don't know the name of the village, but it was pretty small. The whole village came to watch and there were about 500 people.  The next day we were in the center of town in Dashkesan. There were about 1500 people there. Afterwards we were bombarded for photos and autographs, which was really strange to me.  Eventually the crowd died down and a group of about 15 teenagers were hanging around me and Ben, one of the band members. Ben can translate pretty well, so we started talking to the kids. I ended up sharing some parables with them and then started talking about the Gospel and Jesus. There were some who came and went and the group got larger and smaller, but there were about 15 who stayed the whole time and listened and talked with us. We shared for well over and hour. It was remarkable to see people listen so attentively to God's Word. There was no open responses to faith, but I know that God is speaking to these people who have never heard the Gospel.

The next day we went to a small town called Hoshbulak. It is near the Army barracks and we performed for a crowd of about 250 Azerbaijani Soldiers. It was really neat because we got many of the soldiers involved in the show and they had a real great time. Charles, the lead singer of the band, told a great story about English soldiers in a Japanese P.O.W. camp that gave a real clear illustration of the Gospel. He then told them about Jesus.  Afterwards we handed out surveys that we actually had done the previous day, and got many responses. The surveys ask some general questions about the performance and then some spiritual questions and there is a place to put contact info. The purpose of the survey is so that the local mission and churches can keep in contact and build relationships with people interested in learning more about Jesus. After most of the soldiers left a few officers stayed behind. Ben and I talked with one officer about several things. We started with politics, but soon we got into talking about spiritual things. We were able to speak rather openly to this man about the Gospel. Even though it was only him and us who talked, the whole time there were many who stood around just listening. We talked with him for over an hour and a half. At the end he told me he was on Facebook and gave me his information.

This was all so remarkable. God allowed our conversations to be open and we had great discussions about the Gospel. Lots of people who had never heard of Jesus had a chance to hear the Word. Many listened but never spoke up. Pray that the seeds God has planted will start to change hearts.

We came back to Baku after talking with the troops.  We had one more concert on Saturday at a local International Church.  There were many Azeris as well as people from other countries. We were able to be completely open and afterwards we had a huge response from the surveys. We had a free day the 23rd and 24th. Most of the team left that morning, but I stayed and hung out with some of the local Christians. I also hung out with a guy named Illgar. He is a Muslim who works with the Christians. He is very pro-Christian and even calls us brothers, but he still has not accepted Christ. Pray that his constant contact with Christian witnesses would open his heart to the Gospel."

-On to Italy-

June 13, 2008

"I got to Italy safely from Azerbaijan.  I first stayed in Genova. (Genoa is the english way to say it). In Genova, I stayed with a family called the Papinis who have two flats (apartments), one that they rent out to people to stay in. They let me stay there for free. They are Christians and have served with OM in the past.I spent part of the first week meeting with a woman from a church in Genova who was horeographing a hip-hop style piece for a dance outreach that was taking place that weekend. I was privileged to be a part of that outreach. The name of the outreach was called Weekend Plus. It is held in Genova and includes dance groups from churches in Genova, Torino (Turin), and Milano (Milan). The dancers come and worship the first day/night and practice their dances.  The next day they go out into the piazzas (public squares) and dance and talk about Gezu (Jesus). Everyone is wearing the same shirt. This year's shirt theme was "Rendire Gezu Famoso" (make Jesus famous). While some of the dancers are dancing others are going through the crowd handing out tracts or talking with people. Many times the dancers would pray with people.  The first day in Genova we went to three piazzas. We had a good turnout since we were in such public places.  Lots of people stopped and watched the whole program.   I was happy to participate.

The next day we went to Savona and did the same outreach again in two major piazzas. The second piazza was right near a Church that we partnered with. When we were done we went into the church and had a worship service. One man actually followed us in and worshipped with us. He was not a Christian, but was so excited about our outreach that he wanted to participate with us. I think this is a great testimony to the attractiveness that our relationship with God has to people who don't know him. He did not accept Christ there, but he is now connected with the Church there and is attending."