"Yesterday, I heard God say, It's in your blood"

 "Yesterday, I heard God say, 'It's in your blood'”

   One Christmas Eve in December, our whole family and several other students were decorating the Christmas tree with beautiful ornaments. It should be noted that my parents were staff members and teachers at a seminary in Jakarta. Most of them were from Sulawesi, so I was accustomed to using the Sulawesi accent. My father and several male staff members decorated each floor with golden ornaments. Meanwhile, my mother was still at her office working. I helped a little with the decorating, and the rest of the time I practised for the Christmas Day event. I practise vocally and technically. I am not one of those who practise because there are several students who will perform in plays, choirs and much more! But now the most important thing for me is to memorise that Christmas song again, the song I sing is called “Away in a Manger”. This song is very familiar to me because I used to love playing the KFC Christmas song compilation cassette on my trips to Surabaya, Bandung, Magelang, Malang, and many other places! After practising, my family and I watched one Christmas film before we all went to sleep, and that night was absolutely BEAUTIFUL for me.

   In short, the next day I woke up a little late because I was quite tired the night before from decorating and practising for the performance, which was not easy, but I slept quite soundly and comfortably. So early in the morning, we held morning prayers together in the prayer room with the staff and students. After morning prayer, some students cooked, and others went to the market to buy ingredients! Since the decorations in the church were not completely finished, I helped with the decorating that morning. While decorating, we realised that we were missing some materials, so my father and I went to a shop that sold Christmas ornaments. Upon arriving there, we immediately bought many ornaments, and during the journey, some ornaments scattered everywhere. It was a bit challenging to clean them up, but we kept trying, as the vehicle used was a company car. Finally, after decorating for a couple of hours, we finally finished decorating and we’re satisfied with the result! Every hard work paid off easily!

   The female students have prepared the menu that will be served after Christmas mass. The kitchen is filled with the aroma of food that is sure to be delicious. My family and I went to the nearest mall, Senayan City. There, we went shopping for clothes and shoes, and had lunch. After returning home, I immediately started practising for the singing performance! It's not just me practising, but also several others who will be performing. I'm practising and memorising the songs again, and I haven't forgotten about the drama performance either. They are memorising their lines and practising every day!

   During the day, there was a rehearsal held at the church. All the performances had been arranged, so I immediately went backstage to practise again. To be honest, I felt nervous because, in my opinion, the preparations were not thorough enough, and for me personally, I still did not fully understand the song. The performance opened with a tambourine performance taught by my mother, which was very good and indeed suitable as an opening act. Then there was practice for the service, with many songs being sung. My favourite song, “Joy To The World”, was sung, and I sang along carefully with the others. Then there was a rehearsal for the pastor's choir, whose performance was so good that I was speechless. Actually, there were still many more performances to come, but in short, it was almost my turn to perform. I was nervous and suddenly confused about what to do. But a miracle happened! I was able to give my best performance, even though I forgot one thing, but I covered it pretty well. After the rehearsal, I immediately returned to my room and had lunch. Then I practised once more so I wouldn't forget anything, and because I felt a bit tired, I took a nap after practising, just for a few hours because I woke up from a dream.

In the afternoon, we held our final rehearsal. I successfully performed my song, and not only me, but the actors were also wearing their costumes, and their performances were amazing for a final rehearsal. I saw that some guests from outside had already arrived, and I couldn't wait to perform my song and meet them.

   During the event, I could feel what Christmas was like. Even with the restrictions in place, I still felt the joy of Christmas! None of the performances could have gone smoothly without God's help. My performance went smoothly and I was able to give my best! I am glad that I was able to serve through singing and praise! And I hope that someday I can do the same again.