[Petra-JohnSchlitt] English Newsletter 12/12/05

Mon Dec 12 11:08:52 MST 2005

Hello Petheads,

This month we have a totally different type of newsletter.

Back in Spring, Petra toured in Europe, performing in Switzerland, 
Germany, and Denmark. We’ve asked Bogusia Olszewska, a fan 
from Wroclaw, Poland, to describe her concert experience from a 
European perspective.

As you’ll see, Petra fans are Petra fans the world over. Whether 
they speak English or not, whether they understand exactly what is 
being said or not – people worldwide appreciate the message and 
music of Petra.

----------------------------------
“PETRA FROM A POLISH PERSPECTIVE” by Bogusia Olszewska

THE TRIP
The first time I saw Petra live was last year in Zurich, Switzerland; I 
drove over 1100 km (683 miles) to see them, but it was a 
wonderful experience for me. I wanted to see them again!

On April 15 Petra was in Germany - and I saw them again. They 
were in Bad Hersfeld, about 600 km (373 miles) from my home, 
which is in Poland.

Before we left Poland we made a mistake with the directions, and 
because of it we were in Bad Hersfeld at 17 (5 p.m.), instead of 16 
(4 p.m.), as we had planned. But because of that I had an 
adventure I didn't expect!

The concert in Bad Hersfeld was in the building right next to the 
train station. When we arrived in that place we started looking for a 
bathroom, as it is a long way to travel.

We were looking for the bathroom in the train station building, but 
we didn't find it. So we went off and suddenly I saw John Schlitt! I 
was so excited! I said to him “Hello, John! I'm from Poland and I 
just came to see Petra!” John told me he was looking for the 
bathroom, because they just arrived in Bad Hersfeld too.

So together we came into train station building and were looking 
for "this place." What an adventure!

Finally, my son remembered how to ask in German "Where is the 
bathroom?" "Entschuldigen Sie, wo ist die Toilette?" 
and a nice 
lady at the newsstand helped us.

THE SOUND CHECK
We arrived a few hours before the show, so I was waiting for the 
concert in my car (my friend and my son went to see the town - I 
was too excited to be able to think about this kind of thing!).

I was sitting in my car near the place where the sound check was 
being held. When I heard the Petra music, I saw the door was 
open and I just walked in! Nobody told me it wasn't possible for 
me to be in this place at this time - I just came in, listening and 
watching. 

In this hall there were a few people - and me, of course! Petra 
played a few songs - it was like a little concert before the show.

Afterwards, I asked John for an autograph on the "Revival" DVD 
and one man took a picture of us: 
http://www.johnschlitt.net/PicPages/05april15BadHersfeldGerman
y/1.jpg

THE CONCERT
At 11 p.m. Petra started to play (3 metal bands played before 
them). I was standing about 50 cm (20 inches) from John – I was 
in the first row, and the happiest person in the whole world!

During the concert people were singing many Petra's songs - 
especially the old songs, like “Beyond Belief.” When John sang 
"Creed"- it was a masterpiece.

Even if the crowd didn’t  know English very well, I think that they 
knew the words of Petra's songs. I can listen to Petra for hours, 
and these are the best English lessons for me. Of course I want to 
know what Petra is singing about, so I must check some of the 
words in my dictionary many times.

This time John didn't talk too much - he didn't say "Side A - you 
sing with the band, Side B - you sing with me!" as he usually does 
(like in Zurich last year). He simply introduced the band members.

When the show was ending, Bob Hartman gave a speech - he told 
about Jesus, and he encouraged everyone to give their life to Him. 
I hope people understood Bob's speech about Jesus, even though 
nobody translated it into German.

After the concert I went back stage and I saw John again. I asked 
him for his autograph on "Unfit For Swine."

When he saw me he called out: "Oh, no! It's you, again! You want 
the picture, you want an autograph - what else?!"

I answered him "I want it all - because I'm the biggest Petra fan in 
Poland!"    :-)

Bogusia Olszewska

----------------------------
To see more photos from this concert, visit: 
http://www.johnschlitt.net/PicPages/05april15BadHersfeldGerman
y.htm
----------------------------

As always,
Your JWS.com Webmasters