When Old Friends Meet

Have you ever met someone for the first time, and you felt you’ve known them all your life?

Such was our feeling in meeting Andy Mayo for the first time during our visit to Sarajevo in the month of October. Andy is from England and has many years of experience in ministering throughout the Balkan region. He, with his wife and children, lived for around a decade in Serbia, where they have been very influential in discipleship and leadership training. One additional area of ministry that Andy enjoys is songwriting.

Andy was visiting Sarajevo in October to share his testimony and music with university students during special meetings organized by Enisa Dedić and her team from EUS-F BiH.

We were impacted by, and appreciated so much, the heart and spirit Andy walked in, regardless, if he was speaking and singing in front of the group or conversing one-on-one with a college student. You could tell he loved being back in the Balkans, and loved the people he was with. Many of his songs were written from his experiences in the Balkan nations, and his passion for the region is translated through the words and music he has captured on his CDs. Andy writes:

“What’s the story behind this music?”

“Stories. There’s a depth of communication when one person tells a story, shares a poem or sings a song to another…

These songs resonate with a revolutionary story… You see, I have become convinced that there is a God who reaches out towards us. One so magnificent and perfect – unknowable in our natural state – yet One we long to relate with from the depths of our soul… Without His choosing to reach out to us, we would just be left with a dull aching sense that “there must be more”. But He has introduced Himself – He has come here…

These songs are about the touch of Jesus on a person’s life. Many people have caught a glimpse of a cliché, kitsch “Jesus” and dismissed Him, not realising that they are in fact dismissing only a caricature of the real thing.

The aim of these songs is to urge you to look again at Jesus – the real Jesus – and to realise that He claims to be “God here”. More than that, He is “God come to the rescue” to bring us into relationship with Him. He is “God with His arms held open”.

I’ve made a whole site for those who want to think more about this. Originally a page here at Turquoise Tracks, there’s now enough material to warrant its own site: GodOnaTrain.com“

You can also listen to a taste of Andy’s music by downloading or ordering, if you like, through the following link: http://turquoisetracks.com/shop/