Angels on Tour "C"
“I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way . . .”[1]
A chilling shock gripped me--someone had thrown a knife at me while I was speaking. I was concluding my testimony at the end of the concert at the University of the East in the Philippines. There was a scuffle in the crowd as police moved in to capture the communist infiltrators wielding guns.
This incident seemed entirely out of character for the warm and gracious Filipino people. Everywhere we went in the Philippines, we were greeted with enthusiasm and receptivity. In the years which have followed, Filipinos have become some of my closest friends, and I have been involved in planting Filipino churches in the United States. When speaking to a Filipino congregation, I often ask, “Why do millions of Americans lay in the hot sun at the beach?” Answer: “They’re all trying to look like Filipinos. You are beautiful people.”
It was the summer of 1968, and Tour C, directed by Continental Singers President and Founder Cam Floria, was on a tour that included the Western United States and Hawaii, and then continued on to Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Strangely, I missed my twenty-first birthday while on Tour C. We boarded the flight departing from Honolulu, Hawaii on July 11th and crossed the International Date Line arriving in Tokyo on July 13th. July 12th was supposed to be my twenty-first birthday—but there was no July 12th. I have just cause to claim being a year younger than my birth certificate says.
The Viet Nam War was raging in 1968, and earlier plans for the Continentals to visit Saigon were scraped by the US Military due to the danger. Several weeks of the summer were spent with various branches of the US Military visiting the casualty wards of the hospitals and doing concerts for the troops. Walking into a hospital room and praying with a soldier who had lost an arm, or leg or suffered severe facial wounds is an experience that stirs me to this day.
On Tuesday evening, August 6th, we were flown by the US Army to Kurat, Thailand, and treated to a steak barbecue—all we could eat. After weeks of eating strange Asian foods—raw fish eyeballs, eel liver, seaweed and rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—we were ready for good ol’ American food. Following the steak feast, we did a concert for the enthusiastic soldiers in a packed auditorium. The next morning, we were scheduled to be flown by the US Army to Camp Friendship in Satihep for a concert that evening, Wednesday, August 7th. Instead, the general decided to keep us at the base for a repeat performance on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, we awoke to see The Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, with the headline that the barracks at Camp Friendship in Satihep—the dorms we would have been staying in—were hit by mortar fire. Clearly, God had watched over us and arranged for this change of schedule. As the psalmist says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”[2]
On August 10th, we arrived in Manila in the Philippines, our final stop before returning to the United States on August 23rd. An earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, rocked Manila on August 2nd, 1968, just eight days before we arrived. The city of Manila was the hardest hit with 268 lives lost and 261 more injured. Two hundred and sixty of those deaths occurred in the collapse of the 6-story Ruby Tower, located in the district of Binondo of Manila. God had prearranged for us to minister in a church a short distance from the Ruby Tower tragedy. Many responded to the gospel message, and again, we saw the protection of God.
Everywhere we sang, the crowds in the Philippines were enormous, enthusiastic, and receptive. On the evening of Sunday, August 18th, we did a concert at the University of the East considered to be one of the largest, if not the largest, university in the world at that time with 92,000 students. I recall the bus ride that afternoon as we crept through the crowded streets of Manila to the University of the East. Our expectations were high knowing we would have an enormous crowd and a great opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ. I reviewed some of the verses pertaining to salvation and silently asked God for the opportunity to lead some to Christ that evening.
The concert was staged in an outdoor plaza surrounded by four-story buildings on all sides. The balconies on each level were filled with onlookers, and the field was packed with students on this hot, sultry evening.
At the end of the concert, Cam Floria motioned for me to step to the microphone to share my testimony and the invitation to know more about Jesus Christ. As I spoke, I sensed something stirring in the audience behind me. As I turned, I saw the knife thrown at me that barely missed and was now stuck in the wood of the platform directly behind me. On the upper level, there was a scuffle as police moved in to capture the would-be assassins armed with guns. The knife throwing was likely politically motivated since Ferdinand Marcos had come into power in 1968, and was perceived by the communist movement in the Philippines as a puppet of the United States. What a moment of God’s protection! “If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, . . . he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”[3]
As soon as the concert ended, rain poured down drenching the crowd and the field. I had given an invitation for those who wanted to know more about Jesus Christ to stay after and meet at the front by the platform. I assumed with the down pour of rain, no one would stay. How wrong I was. Twenty-five to thirty students gathered to ask questions, seemingly oblivious to the drenching rain. I explained God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Joining hands in a circle in pouring down rain, I led them in a prayer of repentance and salvation. As Jesus said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”[4] Thrilled at those who came to Christ and knowing my life had been spared, I was dancing in the rain celebrating with the angels.
Pastor Dave Beckwith
[1] Exodus 23:20 NIV
[2] Psalms 34:7 NIV
[3] Psalms 91:9, 11 NLT
[4] Luke 15:10 NIV
© 2007 Dave Beckwith
This incident seemed entirely out of character for the warm and gracious Filipino people. Everywhere we went in the Philippines, we were greeted with enthusiasm and receptivity. In the years which have followed, Filipinos have become some of my closest friends, and I have been involved in planting Filipino churches in the United States. When speaking to a Filipino congregation, I often ask, “Why do millions of Americans lay in the hot sun at the beach?” Answer: “They’re all trying to look like Filipinos. You are beautiful people.”
It was the summer of 1968, and Tour C, directed by Continental Singers President and Founder Cam Floria, was on a tour that included the Western United States and Hawaii, and then continued on to Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Strangely, I missed my twenty-first birthday while on Tour C. We boarded the flight departing from Honolulu, Hawaii on July 11th and crossed the International Date Line arriving in Tokyo on July 13th. July 12th was supposed to be my twenty-first birthday—but there was no July 12th. I have just cause to claim being a year younger than my birth certificate says.
The Viet Nam War was raging in 1968, and earlier plans for the Continentals to visit Saigon were scraped by the US Military due to the danger. Several weeks of the summer were spent with various branches of the US Military visiting the casualty wards of the hospitals and doing concerts for the troops. Walking into a hospital room and praying with a soldier who had lost an arm, or leg or suffered severe facial wounds is an experience that stirs me to this day.
On Tuesday evening, August 6th, we were flown by the US Army to Kurat, Thailand, and treated to a steak barbecue—all we could eat. After weeks of eating strange Asian foods—raw fish eyeballs, eel liver, seaweed and rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—we were ready for good ol’ American food. Following the steak feast, we did a concert for the enthusiastic soldiers in a packed auditorium. The next morning, we were scheduled to be flown by the US Army to Camp Friendship in Satihep for a concert that evening, Wednesday, August 7th. Instead, the general decided to keep us at the base for a repeat performance on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, we awoke to see The Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, with the headline that the barracks at Camp Friendship in Satihep—the dorms we would have been staying in—were hit by mortar fire. Clearly, God had watched over us and arranged for this change of schedule. As the psalmist says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”[2]
On August 10th, we arrived in Manila in the Philippines, our final stop before returning to the United States on August 23rd. An earthquake, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, rocked Manila on August 2nd, 1968, just eight days before we arrived. The city of Manila was the hardest hit with 268 lives lost and 261 more injured. Two hundred and sixty of those deaths occurred in the collapse of the 6-story Ruby Tower, located in the district of Binondo of Manila. God had prearranged for us to minister in a church a short distance from the Ruby Tower tragedy. Many responded to the gospel message, and again, we saw the protection of God.
Everywhere we sang, the crowds in the Philippines were enormous, enthusiastic, and receptive. On the evening of Sunday, August 18th, we did a concert at the University of the East considered to be one of the largest, if not the largest, university in the world at that time with 92,000 students. I recall the bus ride that afternoon as we crept through the crowded streets of Manila to the University of the East. Our expectations were high knowing we would have an enormous crowd and a great opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ. I reviewed some of the verses pertaining to salvation and silently asked God for the opportunity to lead some to Christ that evening.
The concert was staged in an outdoor plaza surrounded by four-story buildings on all sides. The balconies on each level were filled with onlookers, and the field was packed with students on this hot, sultry evening.
At the end of the concert, Cam Floria motioned for me to step to the microphone to share my testimony and the invitation to know more about Jesus Christ. As I spoke, I sensed something stirring in the audience behind me. As I turned, I saw the knife thrown at me that barely missed and was now stuck in the wood of the platform directly behind me. On the upper level, there was a scuffle as police moved in to capture the would-be assassins armed with guns. The knife throwing was likely politically motivated since Ferdinand Marcos had come into power in 1968, and was perceived by the communist movement in the Philippines as a puppet of the United States. What a moment of God’s protection! “If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, . . . he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go.”[3]
As soon as the concert ended, rain poured down drenching the crowd and the field. I had given an invitation for those who wanted to know more about Jesus Christ to stay after and meet at the front by the platform. I assumed with the down pour of rain, no one would stay. How wrong I was. Twenty-five to thirty students gathered to ask questions, seemingly oblivious to the drenching rain. I explained God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. Joining hands in a circle in pouring down rain, I led them in a prayer of repentance and salvation. As Jesus said, “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”[4] Thrilled at those who came to Christ and knowing my life had been spared, I was dancing in the rain celebrating with the angels.
Pastor Dave Beckwith
[1] Exodus 23:20 NIV
[2] Psalms 34:7 NIV
[3] Psalms 91:9, 11 NLT
[4] Luke 15:10 NIV
© 2007 Dave Beckwith