Bria Blessing Sang for the Village
Ukraine Medical Mission Day 4 (Part 1) and an Artist Friday Feature Rolled Up into One
“It was a beautiful gold harp, and when Thorin struck it, the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that Bilbo forgot everything else, and was so swept away into dark lands under strange moons, far over The Water and very far from his hobbit-hole under The Hill.”
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Today, in a Mastermind Zoom call, we had a surprise guest speaker. I knew the meeting, which would include about twenty of us, would be good. It is always good, without exception. But, then we found out that one of my favorite writers and presenters (on doing business with God) was the speaker. Shae Bynes is her name and…well…the whole meeting was far beyond what I was expecting. (Check out the expanded 5th anniversary edition of her incredible book Grace over Grind here. She also has a new Substack!) To have this charismatic, gifted speaker all to ourselves in our small group, to be able to ask her questions, to experience up-close her grace and kindness when I have admired her from afar in large rooms with hundreds of meeting-goers, I must say I was a little beside myself; fangirly, even, and so very grateful to our mentor for surprising us in the very best way.
Have you ever had that happen, where you have a general idea or preconceived notion about something or someone and then it ends up being far beyond and so much better than anything you could have imagined?
It’s happened to me before. Last year, on my way home from a conference in Ohio, I almost missed my connection in Denver to LAX. The plane thankfully waited for me and when I got to my seat, there was a dog sitting in it! A gorgeous young labradoodle! (It’s a great story.) Once I was seated and Lt. Petey was comfortably resting at our feet, his owner and I struck up a conversation. I learned that he was a former fighter pilot and the CEO of a relatively new tech company, Red6. His was an impressive story (you can follow him on Instagram here and Lt. Petey here), and, like my meeting today, I was struck by the privilege of having this time together. Still, later, when I looked further into his company, I realized that what this man was doing was far beyond my realm of thinking and he is literally changing the world. I was a little flabbergasted at his impact (and not a little chagrined at not understanding the full breadth of his work).
And, another example of this “good-beyond-my-imaginings” experience: Having worked with George for ten years in the ER before we became a couple (for those who are new to my story, my husband died five years ago), I had heard a lot about the ranch. I knew it was beautiful and isolated and quiet and -about a thirteen-hour drive away from where we worked together in Bakersfield. He called it his “hidey-hole” and I knew it was in Northeastern Nevada north of Elko. But, the first time he took me to the ranch in his old, beloved 3/4 ton Dodge with the Cummins engine (one of many he had had), and I discovered there was a three mile “driveway” and five gates to get through (“if they’re closed and locked when you find ‘em, then always close and lock ‘em when you leave ‘em”), and cattle in the road, and if I opened the truck window I could breathe in the new-for-me fragrance of the menthol-spice of sagebrush for miles and miles, and there were snow-capped mountains (mountains in Nevada - who knew?), and there were antelope (antelope!!!) grazing in Deep Creek Meadow not even a half mile from the house, and when I realized there was no one else anywhere for miles and miles and miles, well, I understood how Dorothy felt: “Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore.” And, I was hushed by the vastness, the above-and-beyondness of the place. I felt small in the very best of ways and fell in love with this foreign land instantly (and perhaps a bit more with the understated, incredible man seated next to me in the truck).
Clinic Day 4 in Ukraine caught me by surprise in a similar, otherworldly but beautiful fashion. And not because of the Russian missile.
We had driven from Mykoliav and had gotten through a number of barricades and military checkpoints, the most formidable yet, with many cautions from Aniel, our driver, and our Ukrainian nurse interpreters to avoid taking photos at the checkpoints at all costs on penalty of imprisonment. I did capture some of the signs of the military en route, however.
And there was much evidence of Russian military strikes in the area.
At this point, we were told we were headed to an isolated village near Kherson, a city even we in America have heard about for the fierce battles raging here.
Still raging here.
Aniel pointed out the city on the not-too-distant horizon.
Passing Kherson and another military checkpoint, we stopped at a crossroads and parked…
Soldiers were standing nearby.
Suddenly, our van felt like it had been kicked, like someone had crashed into it. The force of the impact moved the van a few feet to the left. But, we soon realized, another vehicle hadn’t hit us; it was a shockwave from a missile landing nearby.
Yes, exactly. And, I think someone in our party said, “Jesus!” And Bob, our leader said, “Appropriate!”
Judging from the calm in the van, no one felt afraid (or they were very good at suppressing it). We said little about what had just happened…
I pictured an angel batting the missile far enough away from us that it prevented the shockwave from harming us or the van. (As I’ve shared in previous posts, shockwaves can blow out windows and blast off roofs.) Take that, Russian missile. You missed.
Us, anyway…
Almost immediately after the shockwave, a white van pulled up next to us. I wondered if they had felt the shockwave, too…
“That looks like Bria Blessing,” Valya mentioned from the back seat.
“Who’s Bria Blessing?” I ask.
“A singer…” and Valya trailed off as we began to follow the van.
I thought, “Oh, that’s a nice coincidence. It looks like that van is going to lead us to the village and someone in there looks like a singer Valya’s heard before.”
And, I thought not much more about it as I got bumped and jostled all the way to the village.
The road was worse than yesterday’s. There was no way to avoid many of the large potholes (“crevasses” seems more appropriate). I wondered if we’d make it - surely the bottom of the van was going to drop to the ground at any minute…but the white van was quite a way in front of us so I knew our chances were good since we followed their lead…
When we pulled up next to the church in the village, we discovered the woman who looked like Bria Blessing actually was the singer. I approached her and introduced myself and she and her husband Jesse explained that they lived in Texas but Bria had been raised in Ukraine and was here with their friend, a pastor who arranges their visits to sing in the villages.
I smiled, so happy and humbled to meet them, and said half-jokingly (so silly it seems now), “I’ll have to get your autograph later.”
She smiled kindly and said, “Oh, no, no, no…” and we all walked toward the church where many of the people from the village were waiting for us.
And many of them, as well as Bria, Jesse, and our medical team, filled the small room which would be our medical clinic for the day. As Bria and Jesse took out their guitars, we filled the seats set out for us.
The pastor who brought Bria and Jesse to the village said a few introductory words in Ukrainian and, though I couldn’t understand, I understood. They were here to sing and encourage the villagers. His smile was so caring and so full of love. The expressions of the people, as you will see in the video below, seemed…tight, in pain, people living a nightmare. But, they were also thankful, and I saw courage. So much quiet courage.
Even though they are an isolated community, their proximity to Kherson is relatively close. I wonder now, as I write and think about the dread I saw and felt in them, if they can hear the fighting in Kherson.
Perhaps that’s not even necessary for their nightmares to be fueled.
Then Bria, as she and Jesse tuned their guitars, introduced herself. Although I understood little, I watched how gentle and genuinely kind she was in her communication to the people. Tears readily fill my eyes now as I recall the love I saw her begin to pour out. And her husband Jesse was there to generously support his wife and to love, too. I realized, even before she sang her first note that their love for Ukraine and its people was a tangible, healing thing. The whole room began to fill with it.
And then she began to sing.
And I have to stop here and weep at the memory…
…
As you’ll see and hear, Bria’s superpower is not that she sings like an angel, though she certainly must. No…rather, the great gift of Bria Blessing is that she loves like God surely loves. And, with her voice, I witnessed unshed tears finally released and heard voices I would not otherwise have heard raised in song and I watched the very present danger recede from hearts a bit as the people listened and participated and hopefully forgot for just a few minutes.
Tears mixed with music. Sacred. Beautiful.
Although I did not understand the words and could not join in the singing, my tears mingled with theirs.
My heart was so full as they sang…so full…
After these songs, I wanted to know more about them so as they were packing up to head to other areas of the church (or village - I’m not quite sure) to continue ministering to the people and as we began to set up in the room for our clinic, I rushed to them to find out a bit more about them. Their kindness and graciousness toward me as they prepared to focus - as we were all preparing to focus, as I think about it - further on the people, was so openhearted. I felt like I had made two new friends who understood me and my heart. They ministered to me, too.
They explained that they were on a trip with their pastor friend (who speaks with such love and gentleness at the beginning of the video) and he kindly arranged for them to visit villages in Ukraine to sing for the people. I was beginning to understand. They said they come twice a year to Ukraine and plan to return in the autumn.
I hope to return in the autumn, too. I want to begin to record the stories of the people in the villages…Perhaps, I may reunite with Bria and Jesse when they return. I’m not quite sure what that would look like…
What I do know is that this artist, who came to this village in Ukraine (where I had the distinct and special blessing to be at the time), carried with her a gift from God, a ministering and giving power. With it I saw souls soothed. I saw healing tears released (and felt my own). And, I heard beautiful voices which likely hadn’t sung in ages. For a short while, the Russians faded away and beauty took hold. That was the power of the music Bria and Jesse brought to the village. What an unspeakably crucial gift, one that was perhaps - no, likely - to be much more important than the medical care we brought.
How many of the villagers, I wonder, had the songs Bria sang floating through their minds and resting in their hearts for hours after?
Bria has made the decision to use her voice - her gift - to give and to serve a people who are desperately hurting. (They’re desperately hurting as I sit here at my table, writing, and thinking of them. And, praying for them. And longing for them.)
What I knew would be a special gathering filled with love as we provided medical care for people in a village in a very, very dangerous place became so much more. It became another above-and-beyond memory, so much more than I could have possibly imagined. Or hoped.
The day Bria Blessing sang for the village is now officially added to my “So Much More” list.
As I was preparing this Letter honoring Bria Blessing and her husband, Jesse, I found some fascinating (she is now officially part of my “Friday Feature” series after all, as a featured artist) footage on YouTube which she and others have shared. I didn’t know it until later but Bria has celebrity status in Ukraine, having progressed to what I gather are the finals of “The Voice, Ukraine” (known as “Holos Krainy” in Ukraine). No wonder Valya knew who she was! In the videos below you can see and feel her authentic kindness which we in this world are not used to, especially when combined with such a beautiful voice. Enjoy. You will not be able to keep from smiling.
I’ve also included one of her wonderful music videos and one of the most beautiful wedding videos (her marriage to Jesse) I’ve ever seen. It is no wonder that they have the capacity to love the people of Ukraine as they do. Just witness their love for one another. And for God.
Thank you Bria and Jesse.
Beauty in the ashes!