“PLEASE DON’T SEND ME TO AFRICA” – Wednesday July 26, 2017

RECOLLECTIONS ... OF A CONTINENTAL DIRECTOR

THE DUNG HUT AND THOUSANDS OF BUGS
By Jon Eric Woodward

(Jon Eric Woodward went on 12 Continental tours, directing 8 of them. He has been in worship arts ministry for 28 years and is currently Pastor of Worship Arts in High Point, North Carolina)  


                   

Jon Eric and Cindy Woodward

Jon Eric had been the first Director to volunteer with Campus Crusade for Christ, "The Jesus Film" Project, after Paul Eshelman, their leader, challenged us to join his venture at a summer rehearsal camp.  Jon took his Continental Singers tours to faraway places, performing and showing "The Jesus Film" to people who had never heard the name Jesus.  A couple years later, Jon Eric found himself in Africa, and able to recount this story:

In 1987, my tour was in Kenya to show The Jesus Film. A Christian artist, Scott Wesley Brown, had joined our tour. The Continental Singers had performed many of Scott’s songs over the years including, “He Will Carry You” from our musical, DREAMER.   I split our group up into smaller teams to go into different parts of Kenya. My group of seven, along with Scott Wesley, traveled deep into the bush, and showed the film six different times.

The first village had an 8’ tall pile of thick brush all around it.  We were told it was to keep lions and leopards from killing and eating their animals.  They also volunteered that, the week before, a Leopard had jumped their “fence” and taken a baby goat.  We were to sleep in the village that night!  THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Our sleeping quarters were cow dung huts.  They had no light, and only a small hole in the top to let the smoke out.  Yes, they even cooked inside!  The entry ways were very tight and really curvy, so that if a wild animal did get into the fenced sleeping area at night, they would have a hard time getting inside the huts… (very consoling).

Scott Wesley and I stayed in the same hut and were having a quiet talk before hitting the sack, when we began to hear a very soft noise.  He asked me if I heard something.   I had!  It was pitch black inside.  The sound was growing in intensity, like in stereo. I took out my small flashlight.  There was nothing. I put the light on the ceiling. It was moving!  Thousands and thousands of bugs were crawling all over the ceiling of our dung hut!  We did not sleep well that night!                                 

Believe it or not, the very next day Scott wrote a song The Continental Singers would perform for years to come, “Please Don’t Send Me to Africa”.                  

We saw many people who had never even heard of Jesus believe in Him as their Savior during our time in Kenya.   It was always interesting to watch their reactions and hear their verbal responses when our Lord was beaten and hung on a cross.  They were not fans of the Romans!

I had the opportunity to go on three Jesus Film Project tours.  Of all the 12 tours I went on, those tours had the greatest impact on my life.

Cindy and Jon Eric with their 4 kids

Since his Continental days, Jon Eric graduated from LSU with a degree in music education. He then went on to graduate from Dallas Theological Seminary. He married the love of his life, Cindy, in 1989...a Continental "TC" (tour couple), Jon Eric and Cindy met at Rehearsal Camp in Arrowhead Springs for their 1984 Continental tour. Jon Eric has always had a passion for worship ministries, to lead people to worship God in spirit and truth, always Biblically and Christ centered. Jon Eric also has a masters in Bibical Studies and recently completed another masters in Worship Studies. Jon Eric and Cindy served in Louisiana for 14 years before moving to High Point, North Carolina where they currently live with their 4 children.