Brandon Bee

Wow, God is awesome. Just the opportunity to go to a beautiful country and play music.

First day was an insane. We get on the plane at 4am PST. After a 6 hour and 11 hour flight we finally get into Rome at 8am. Wooh, were we tired. Our Journey had not ended yet though. We had to walk to the subway station, then take that to the train station (stazione) for another 3 hr train ride to Cassoria just in time to get on the stage 30 min after we got off the train. Cassoria is a suburb of the great and infamous city of Napoli, home of most of the biggest mafia operations. Sounds like a fun Neighborhood.

That week was the Festivalenzuela, where every night we had a few thousand locals. Mostly foot traffic but none the less, listening to music going around to all the boothes and feeling the Jesus vibes. Although, during the day we did a bunch touristy stuff, before and after we would walk around and do the best we could to comunicate with the locals. I learned a little Italian and was having fun trying that out. Most were really accepting to the name Jesus. Many had been burned by the local Catholic churches. They were really interested in the personable idea of Jesus. The idea of seeking him on your own through the bible and praying directly to him. It was cool to see that.

Specific experiences with people is what I’m all about. There was this boy and his 2 sisters consistantly there everynight. The boy, probably 12 years old, had at least 5 or 6 piercings on his face. His sisters were each a few years younger than him. So cute and fun to hangout with. They loved to ask us for gum. There was one night where the boy took out a pack of cigarettes. It just broke my heart. Where were there parents. I prayed for them every night. They didn’t understand much. I even tried to convince him to give me the pack of cigs for the pack of gum they were asking for every night. He wouldn’t do it, but most importlantly they knew we cared about them. That’s why they kept coming back.

The candy lady. Ha. This sweet older lady, 70’s at least. So spunky. She would sit and watch the concert every night. If I got within 10 yards of her, in a very kind and welcoming way she would offer me candy. It was so sweet. No, couldn’t be an answer. It was the worst tasting candy I had ever had. Wow. I needed to throw it away after a few days of it. It was great to see how they wanted to serve us. The Hospitality was amazing.

THE FOOD! No words could express how good it was. We were told that if we had 5 people eating, you had to order 5 pizzas or they would look at you strange. We did and ate it all. The pasta was amazing, Carbonara and Amatriciana were my favorites.

The last few days we went to Rome. We played a concert at a local church. They knew all the words to my songs. It was so fun. 200 Italians singing english to your songs. The whole crowd went to Gelato afterwards. Then we ate Pizza!! We had Gelato atleast 2 times a day. It was so good. While in Rome, we stayed with an american missionary house. They were so sweet. We helped where we could. It was so fun to get to know them and see how God is using them.

Ultimately, my hope was to see God move in new ways. He did. There were a few hundred that got saved and most of them have been going to the local Christian churches in there neighborhood. God used us how he saw fit. There were almost 100 Americans helping out to make this festivsal happen. Thanks to the blessing of the Mayor, we had a great location for little to no cost. I met TV and Radio producers there that are wanting to work with me the next time I go back to make more of an impact. Please pray and continue to support as you see fit!!

Seek God, Jesus is the way, the truth and the light!!

God Bless,
Brandon Bee