Geneva College’s student choir, The Genevans, completed a 21-day, 16-concert international tour of the Philippines and Malaysia this summer. Director David Kenneth Smith explains the exotic choice of venue, saying, “When I became conductor in 2012, my dream was to take the choir to some places I had lived as a child of missionaries in Southeast Asia. In fact, one leg of this year’s tour retraced the travels of a high school choir I sang in while attending Faith Academy in Manila.”

But nostalgia wasn’t the only reason that Dr. Smith chose this itinerary: “The 2014 tour was envisioned as a unique opportunity for travel and ministry for students,…with hopes that God would move many of their hearts to consider life paths that might venture to destinations far beyond their homes and the Beaver Valley.”

Echoing Geneva’s Reformed Presbyterian heritage, Dr. Smith chose a repertoire for the tour that explored the major themes of the book of Psalms. The ensemble performed “Psalms for the King” in a wide variety of musical settings.

Dr. Smith adds, “Two of our concerts were hosted by psalm-singing congregations. Our first Lord’s Day in the Philippines, we attended a worship service at United Covenant Reformed Church in Davao, a church with close ties to Prof. Barry York and to Sycamore RPC in Kokomo, Ind.”

The students in the choir felt blessed to have the opportunity to witness through the singing of psalms. Reformed Presbyterian Stephen Noell, a biology major, says, “The reactions from our audiences about our concerts were always positive. Some even said that they felt like they had a taste of heaven and had felt the presence of God.”

Another Reformed Presbyterian, communication disorders major Hannah Troup, echoed Noell’s response, saying, “At every concert, the people I talked to remarked about how encouraged they were by the songs and how glad they were that we had come.”

The ensemble’s concerts included a collection of national anthems and folk songs from the Philippines and Malaysia. “It was especially amazing to see how elated they were when we started singing their national anthems and the Filipino fishing song,” said Noell. “All of those songs were difficult to learn because their language is so much different from English. But once we got over there and sang them for the audience and saw how excited they were, it was definitely worth the hard work.”

Every adventure has both setbacks and challenges. Dr. Smith recalls one incident that nearly ended the trip before it began:

“We met on Geneva’s campus at 2 a.m. in a deep fog that made driving a hazardous prospect, only to discover that the airport bus was nowhere to be found. None of our local contacts was answering the phone at that hour. Fortunately, we were able to call our driver from other choir tours, at home in bed, and he cheerfully rescued us by grabbing a bus and driving us to the airport—in plenty of time. How little it would have taken to scuttle the tour entirely. What airline could book 42 travelers at the last minute to cross 12 time zones?”

The students have stories, too. Noell shares, “The typical bus ride from one city to the next took 7-8 hours,…Mostly these long bus rides were because of poor roads, and because we were driving through a lot of mountains. We also used jeepneys to get around, which are like large jeeps with extended seating in the back.”

Troup enjoyed the décor of the buses, saying, “They were decorated inside with various levels of frills, including purple curtains with purple and gold tassels, ‘crystal’ chandeliers and Hello Kitty pillows.”

Mirroring the thoughts of many group members and Dr. Smith, Troup concludes by saying, “The most rewarding part of the trip was the way in which we were able to encourage and be encouraged by the audiences, hosts and other choir members. It was wonderful to see the children of God on the other side of the world and realize that, despite cultural barriers, the gospel binds us together.”

—Christopher Strangfeld