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As the school year ended and students headed home, the five
members of the Biola Brass Quintet and their coach boarded a plane
and flew to Bucharest, Romania for a musical mission-minded trip. Matt
Thacker, Anna Sorrels, Tim Motte, Kenji White, Winton White, and
Biola professor Bob Feller teamed up with Heart To Heart International
Ministries, an organization founded by Anna’s family to minister
to the multitudes of orphaned children in Romania. For ten
days, the quintet traveled throughout the country playing in churches,
concert halls, music schools, villages, and orphanages. The
highlight of the quintet’s trip was ministering to the many
abandoned children in Romania through musical evangelistic concerts. There
were ample opportunities for the Biola students to share their
lives and faith with crowds and individuals. By the end
of the ten days, the Biola Brass Quintet had performed more than
seventeen times for church congregations, park-goers, classical
concert attendees, music conservatory students, and hundreds of
orphans.
The Biola Brass Quintet was also able to open doors for Heart
To Heart that had previously been closed. The director of
the Peris orphanage heard of the American group of brass musicians
traveling throughout Romania performing children’s concerts. Despite
previous refusals to allow relief workers into her orphanage, the
director contacted Heart To Heart and invited the quintet to perform
for the children. The quintet presented an hour-long program
of music, personal testimonies, music education, and an invitation
to salvation. The children responded eagerly to the love
and attention the quintet members gave them after the concert as
they played games, learned names, and shared Christ’s love.
The quintet also delivered hundreds of donated toothbrushes and
prizes that they had collected from home. As the quintet
was leaving, the orphanage director approached the Heart To Heart
staff and pleaded for additional teams and help to Peris. God
opened the door for Heart To Heart to minister to the hundreds
of kids at Peris through the music of the Biola Brass Quintet. Since
then, Heart To Heart has been able to provide short and long term
Christian orphanage staff teams, doctors and optometrist visits,
new shoes for each child, and protein-enriched food.
Each member of the quintet was blessed in a different way by the
Romania trip. They all agree that the Romanian people were extremely
accepting, hospitable, and eager to hear their music and their
words. The needs of Romania are great but God has placed a special
desire in the members’ hearts to meet some of those needs
through prayer, finances, and future visits to Romania. The
Biola Brass Quintet would like to thank all those who supported
them with prayer, finances, and encouragement as they prepared
for this trip. They acknowledge that without this support, hundreds
of children might not have had the opportunity to hear the gospel
message and experience the love of Christ through the Biola Brass
Quintet. The quintet hopes to continue their work in Romania,
bringing music and Christ to more children through future visits.
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Members of the Biola Brass Quintet with Romanian Children
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 Conservatory CD's
are available through the Conservatory Office by calling (562) 903-4892. The recordings reflect
the diversity of talent and creativity within the Conservatory. |
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