After sitting in traffic for a good 45 minutes, we pulled up to the gate
and found out that the price of the tickets did not include parking at
Starwood, or Amsouth or whatever they are calling the venue now. We
debated if we would even go to the show… we had no cash for parking.
Who expects to pay for parking when there is parking AT the venue as
opposed to finding a space SOMEWHERE downtown??? After finding an ATM,
we decided we would go back and fight traffic AGAIN to see this show.
I gotta tell you, it was worth it. Yes, we missed all but the last song
of Nichole Nordeman’s set. What we heard we enjoyed, but it wasn’t enough.
Without much of a break, Steven came out to wake us up to “See the
Glory” and he didn’t stop! His song list included “Jesus is Life,”
“Speechless,” “Dive,” and “I Will Be Here.”
He slowed down to talk about his family, singing “Fingerprints of God”
for his daughter Emily. Then he told us the beautiful story of Emily’s
quest for a little sister, and the eventual adoption of Shaoey, which
was followed by the song inspired by that event “When Love Takes You In.”
After the intermission, Steven did the most amazing thing I have ever
seen at a concert. He began to tell us the story of five incredible men
of God – Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Ed
McCully. These are the men slain by the Waodoni people of Ecuador. He
told their story through the songs he has written about and for them
over the years, including “The Great Adventure,” “For the Sake of the
Call,” “God is God,” and “God Follower.” Then after moving us with these
songs, and footage of these five men, Steven introduced us to Nate
Saint’s son Steve.
Steve Saint spoke to us a little more about the love of God and in turn,
introduced us to the man his kids call “Grandfather” — Mincaye
(Min-ki’), one of the six men who speared to death the five
missionaries. What an incredible story of the restoration of our God!
We were very glad we paid the parking, after all!
