MEXICO CITY, Mexico — The bus driver expertly worked his way through the narrow streets in a Mexico City neighborhood until he came to a corner that proved, with the parked cars and the angle of the intersection, it was time to walk the rest of the way.
The location wasn’t in a cathedral or a large concert hall, where The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and Orchestra at Temple Square performed for thousands during their June 13-19 tour in Mexico.
While the 319 choir and 66 orchestra members musically spread hope to thousands in concerts and associated rehearsals, there were times on the tour when they ministered individually or in small groups.
This Friday, June 16, morning, about 30 choir and orchestra members walked the last few blocks to a refugee shelter. A courtyard with a towering palm tree was surrounded by a three-story building. Tents and chairs lined the courtyard.
Here is a resting place for those leaving their home countries, including young children to adults, who have come up through the jungles from South and Central America or from islands, such as Haiti. It’s one of many shelters where refugees can get assistance.
And here members of the choir and orchestra sang in Spanish, including a verse of “Come, Ye Children of the Lord,” “Cielito Lindo,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It” (complete with actions) and “God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again” — along with a round or two of “Happy Birthday” for different residents.
During “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” they invited the children up to the front as the singers invited them to do the actions.
“They caught on so quickly,” said Tera Nelson, who sings alto. “It was so cute.”
It was very tender for her to see the children and she visited with several of the children afterwards. “I absolutely loved it.”
After the singing, they went and visited with the residents, with 10 young missionaries and a senior couple from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to help interpret as needed.
Harpist Julie Keyes joined the group heading to the service just that morning when there was an extra seat on the bus. The available seat was next to Robert Anderson, who sings baritone, and they talked on the way over and found out they both spoke Portuguese. She learned it as other family members did and he from living in Portugal and serving a mission in Brazil.
As Keyes was visiting with residents, she saw a man standing in the back and felt a little nudge to talk to him. It turned out that he was from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She quickly found Anderson, and they began speaking with him in Portuguese.
“The guy just lit up,” she said. He introduced them to his wife and children, and they shared about the choir and orchestra.
“That connection is what is going to fill my soul,” Keyes said. She added she hopes that they can feel that the Spirit and how important they are to God.
Visiting with members
After shooting a music video at and around the Toluca Cathedral on Wednesday, June 14, one bus of choir and orchestra members met with Church members at a nearby meetinghouse.
Arthur Newell, who sings baritone, shared about the families he met and how one of the sons was his deacon’s quorum president and played American football as a linebacker.
“It was just really fun to talk to him about what he liked when he didn’t like and how important the Church was,” Newell said. “The beautiful thing I noticed about all of the people I spoke with is the glow they had about them. There was a spirit that they emanated that was pretty remarkable.”
And how excited the families were to meet members of the choir and orchestra. Newell knows Spanish as he served a mission in Venezuela and said they were patient with his Spanish.
Though different languages and cultures, they connected through common beliefs — and their excitement was contagious.
“What impressed me was how excited they were and how engaged they were about the Church in their lives and God and their faith,” he said.
After the concerts at the National Auditorium, choir and orchestra members also did meet and greets with some of the concert attendees.
Meeting others in the choir, orchestra
Time in the regular choir rehearsals is efficiently used so not a single second is wasted of the volunteer singers’ time. That and the seating arrangements regularly change. Most usually leave quickly after the rehearsals and concerts.
“Being on tour means we get to know people in choir,” said Becky Ivory, who sings alto. Being on tour means there is time at meals, on the bus and other optional activities to meet others in choir and orchestra that they might not otherwise.
While in Mexico, the choir arranged for optional tours of the Museo Nacional de Antropología (the National Anthropology Museum) and Teotihuacan, including the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. The choir took a photo at the Pyramid of the Sun in 1968 when it was in Mexico City for the dedication of the El Centro Escolar Benemerito de Las Americas school — now the site of the Mexico Missionary Training Center, and a temple has also been announced for the grounds. Also, one lunch was at the Hacienda with a fiesta feel — with music and statue artists.
For Joanne Andrus, being in Mexico City means connecting to her family history. Her third-great-grandfather is James Sebulon Stewart, was one of the first missionaries in Mexico and is credited with helping to translate the Book of Mormon into Spanish. Stewart also served several missions in Mexico.
Two of her brothers served in Chile, and a third was assigned to Mexico.
“It was really awesome when my brother was called to Mexico to make that connection,” said Andrus, who has been to Mexico’s coast.
When it was announced that the choir was going to Mexico City on tour, she was excited. “It was fun to just think about what we would do for the Mexican Saints here and for the missionary work here,” she said
Also, the Barcelo hotel put copies of el Libro de Mormón — Spanish copies of the Book of Mormon — next to the Nuevo Testamento in the bedside table drawer for those with the choir and orchestra.
“It’s amazing to think that one of my ancestors said something to do with that,” she added.
A musical thank you
After the end of a sacrament meeting on Sunday, June 18, choir leaders asked to meet with those with the Mexico Area, the hotel where the choir stayed and the transportation company — all of whom helped with a myriad of planning and logistics before and during the tour.
“We encounter people as we travel and they become our friends,” choir President Michael O. Leavitt said in a press interview later Sunday afternoon.
With thank you gifts and applause, the choir and orchestra members then sang a verse of “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” in Spanish and then “God Be With You Till We Meet Again,” also in Spanish.
“I think one of the favorite parts of every tour is an opportunity to thank them in the very special way that the Tabernacle Choir can thank people, not simply with words, but by music. It penetrates not just their minds, but their hearts and they feel it. And when they feel it, we feel it,” Leavitt said.
The gift of music — noted on cards with a QR code to watch the choir — helps transcend languages.
“This language of music is so special,” Leavitt said. “Because it isn’t just hearing words, it’s not just seeing colors — it is feeling at the same moment. And those are the times when people feel the need to change. Those are the moments when people feel a sense of hope. And that’s our purpose — to reach as many people as we can.”
Here are more photos:
Watch the Saturday, June 18, concert in the National Auditorium here:
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