The Lee Singers from Lee University recently toured Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Tortola. The group is pictured above singing at one of the local churches they visited. Click to enlarge all our photos.
For the past thirteen consecutive years, the Lee Singers have loaded up their choir risers, sound equipment, and suitcases and traveled to far off destinations of the world to communicate the gospel through song. This year the Lee Singers toured Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Tortola.
Forty-seven members of the Lee Singers embarked on the tour, stopping at local churches in the area to minister in song and testimonials. The group also got the opportunity to do some sightseeing.
"This trip was life-changing for me," said Kendra Stacey, a member of the Lee Singers.
"Seeing different cultures worship the Lord made a huge impact on my life."
"Even though the trip covered several areas, we had a tremendous time meeting new people and learning more about their culture," said Dr. Walt Mauldin, director of the Lee Singers. "We were so impressed with how hospitable each pastor and congregation treated us. It made the trip worthwhile seeing them in action."
Under Dr. Mauldin's direction, the Lee Singers have toured such places as China, South Africa, Europe, Korea, Hawaii, California, Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, Bermuda, Canada, and Cayman Islands. During their tours, thousands of souls have been won to the Kingdom of God through their ministry.
Immediately following the Lee Singers' performance at Lee University's May commencement, forty-seven members of the Singers traveled to Atlanta, and arrived in San Juan on Saturday after midnight. That same morning, they sang at the Santurce Church of God, where Herminio Llompart serves as the pastor. The evening service was held at the Country Club Church of God, where Victor Ortega serves as the pastor.
"Both of these congregations were so open and receptive to the Lee students and treated them as brothers and sisters in Christ," said Stacey.
On the following day, the Singers were invited to sing at the Defenders of Faith Church of Christ, which has a large television ministry in Puerto Rico. This service was followed by additional services with Church of God congregations in Ponce, Mayaguez and Carolina. In Mayaguez and Carolina, Pastor Ron Ragan from Trinity Church of God in Indianapolis, Ind., preached after the Lee Singers ministered in song and testimony.
One of the reasons this portion of the trip was so successful was due to the planning of Bishop Angel Estades Marcial, the Overseer of Puerto Rico. Without his assistance, the Singers' trip would not have been as meaningful. Overseer Marcial organized the services and meals for this large entourage of musicians.
For the weekend, the group flew to St. Thomas and enjoyed the beautiful island and its hospitable people. Sunday morning's service took place at the St. Thomas Church of God, which is high atop a mountain overlooking some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Bishop Earl Harrison, pastor of the St. Thomas congregation, was a gracious host and announced that they knew the Singers were under time limitations that afternoon and offered to provide a "bag lunch" for them.
"When it came time for the lunch to be served, we were surprised to learn that these wonderful people had provided a huge spread of delicacies that was fit for a king," said Stacey.
The Singers are accustomed to singing in a Sunday morning service, eating lunch, and loading everything on to the bus in order to travel to the next church. However, this day would be different.
"Instead of loading our luggage and equipment on a bus, we took everything down to the large dock by the seashore and loaded everything on one of the many island ferries to reach our evening service in Tortola," added Stacey. "Imagine traveling with all those people and all of that equipment to the next destination… on a ferry! What an memorable experience!"
Once in Tortola, the landing wharf was busy with church folk helping the Singers take all their gear to the hotel and church. Originally, Bishop Ishmael Charles planned to have the Singers minister in a few songs, and afterwards, he would preach. The Singers started singing, the people started praising the Lord, and Bishop Charles sensed that the Lee Singers should just keep singing under the anointing of the Holy Sprit.
Right after the Sunday evening service, Bishop Charles announced to the Lee Singers that they had to get up early to meet him at 7:30 that next morning. He told them they were going someplace they had never been and were going to do something they had never done before. He did just what he said he would do. Members of the New Testament Church of God led by one of the elders, Polika, had made it possible for the Lee Singers to have access to three 45-foot yachts for sailing over to Virgin Gorda's Baths and to Peter Island for lunch.
The Tortola New Testament Church of God is an exciting place to worship. Bishop Ishmael Charles and his wife, Patricia, are the pastors of this growing, vibrant congregation. Everywhere the Singers went on the islands, people knew about this great church. While in Tortola, this congregation provided each evening meal, cooked by a member of the congregation named Shirley.
It all seemed to be a mere dream at first, but the Lee Singers had believed and prayed for months that great and mighty things would happen on the tour. Reports of 75 people receiving Christ was an answer to the vision God had given the Singers. A desire to see people from many nations worshiping together had been witnessed.
"God has a way of taking our vivid imaginations and making the dreams come to fruition," said Stacey. "The Singers continue to dream about doing great exploits for the Kingdom of God. With the experiences on this trip, it is believed that one of the dreams is now a reality!"