Aliw Pablo: You know, it’s not everyday that I get to catch up with an old friend.
Aliw Pablo: Okay, go.
Brother Andrey Silva: It’s part of the blooper reel. Can we put a blooper reel together?
Aliw Pablo: Yes!
Aliw Pablo: And it’s even more special when that friend is someone who’s gone through so many unique life-changing experiences. Like my friend, Brother Andrey Silva.
Aliw Pablo: Okay. Hello, Brother Andrey Silva. How are you?
Brother Andrey: Great. How are you, Sister Aliw?
Aliw: I’m good. Welcome to the Making Changes Podcast.
Brother Andrey: Glad to be here.
[Show open]
Aliw Pablo: If you were a young adult in the nineties like me, you might’ve heard of Brother Andrey. He was the lead singer of Kai, the first (and until now, the only) Filipino boy band who found mainstream success and popularity in the US. A lot has changed since his music career with Kai. Now, Brother Andrey is a minister of the gospel in the Church Of Christ. So today, we’re going to talk about all of the changes he’s gone through, and the life of service that God has paved for him. I’m Aliw Garcia Pablo, and you’re listening to a special episode of Making Changes.
Aliw Pablo: Well, we’re so glad that you traveled all the way here from Texas.
Brother Andrey: Yes.
Aliw: Just to be here on our podcast today.
Brother Andrey: Thank you for having me and praises be to our Lord God.
Aliw: So Brother Andrey, for those that are, you know, who may have known you from years and years ago, like you and I have known each other for like thirty years already. Well, our age has just been revealed. But for those that have known you for a long time and are probably wondering what happened… Brother Andrey Silva, where have you been? What have you been up to?
Brother Andrey: I’ve been in Africa for the… decade, almost a decade. I was assigned there as a minister, doing the work of the ministry in Africa. You know, I often tell the brethren that, you know, as ministers who are assigned there, we were able to have a front row seat to the amazing things that our Lord God was doing for the Church on that continent. It was a lot of work, and so we also witnessed how God truly upheld us as we fulfilled our duties in the ministry; taking care of the brethren, making sure that the Church would progress and grow, which was the aim of the Church Administration in the first place for sending us there. Many memorable experiences. I learned how to ride a horse in Africa.
Aliw: I have seen those pictures, like on mountain tops, right?
Brother Andrey: Yes. There in the country of Lesotho, which is known as the Mountain Kingdom, there was a group of people or a village there in the middle of the mountains, who were thirsting for the words of God. And we’ve had brethren who are from there wanting us to share the words of God there, and so we would have to ride two hours on horseback up and down about five mountains before we would reach that village. A village called Ha-Lerumonyane Village. And a memorable experience in that place is the first time I was able to go there. ‘Cause I remember how difficult it was to get there, you know, it’s very-
Aliw: Have you ridden horses before?
Brother Andrey: That was the first time, and so very painful.
Aliw: I can imagine. For two hours?
Brother Andrey: Two hours on a mountain, rocky.
Aliw: One way. Two hours on a mountain, one way.
Brother Andrey: One way. Two hours, one way. But to finally get to that last mountain, and as soon as you get over that peak, the village can see that you’re almost to their village. They’re still quite a distance away, but they’re waiting to see that silhouette to cross that peak. And as soon as they saw us along with the translator and the other Basotho people that were with me, you start hearing the village singing and chanting.
Aliw: Wow.
Brother Andrey: Singing and chanting. I was like, “What is that? What are they singing?” You know? I was asking my translator. He said, “Oh, they’re singing a song about how the minister is now here and we will be able to hear the words of God and such.” And so, that was a very touching moment, just to see how they were thirsting to hear the teachings that we have inside the Church, and so that was a very touching moment for us. Yeah.
Aliw: You know, speaking of music, I mean we know that, you know, you are very musically gifted and to be able to spend a decade in a country where people, I mean, music is their language.
Brother Andrey: Yeah.
Aliw: Were you able to also, you know, do music while you were there?
Brother Andrey: We were able to have many musical projects there by the mercy of our Lord God, you know. And as mentioned music is a very natural thing for the African people.
Brother Andrey: When they’re happy, they sing. When they’re sad, they sing. When they’re angry, whatever emotion they’re feeling, they convey it through song. So, you know, to have music made for the Church was very easy, very enjoyable, to work with the brethren in regards to that.
Brother Andrey: We were able to make different ranges of music to the traditional type of African music, to what they like to call Afro-beats, more contemporary music, we were able to do that. And music videos as well. And so, that was one of the more memorable things as well, to be able to connect to the brethren that way.
Aliw: And when you, you know, when you think back, Brother Andrey, when you were growing up here in the Bay Area, in a million years, did you ever imagine spending a whole decade in Africa in a life of service?
Brother Andrey: I didn’t think in two million years that I would ever get that experience, but you know, when I first heard that I was going to go to Africa, of course, I was excited. You know? It’s because for the most part, the continent was somewhat of an untouched region when it came to the works that we have in the Church. There was a presence already in certain countries, but continent as a whole, there was still a lot of work to be done because our mission was the expansion of the Church in Africa. And so, you know, the guidance of the Church Administration, you know, pulled us through so many times. The inspiration that we received from our beloved Executive Minister pulled us through so many times. Those difficult times when, you know, we were driving those long distances, leaving the house when the sun wasn’t even up yet, coming home when the sun had already set, not getting to spend time with our family as much. You know, they understood what the mission was, why we were there, and so they were very supportive.
Aliw: Yes. We’re going to just take, take a trip down memory lane a little bit to just kind of really show just how full circle your life has come, you know? For those of you watching us at home or listening to us, if you were a teenager in the nineties, then you probably have heard of a little group called Kai. Do you remember that group, Brother Andrey?
Brother Andrey: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Aliw: So you know, it’s just so amazing that you’re talking about making music in Africa and just all the experiences you had there, but in reality, it seems like God was already paving the way.
Brother Andrey: Absolutely, yeah.
Aliw: So take us back to you know, when you were a teenager here in the Bay Area, which by the way, I should say I do remember when–because we were both in Fremont local, right, in the nineties–you and some of the guys there, you guys would always sing acapella in the mens bathroom because the acoustics were really good. Right? But how did you end up in a group called Kai, and how it just became to be still to this day, the only Filipino boy band that actually reached mainstream? How did it all begin?
Brother Andrey: Well, like you mentioned, you know, it all started in the local congregation of Fremont. You know, me and my brother and two other brothers had a little acapella group and, you know, we used to sing, for church functions.
Aliw: So here’s the origin story of Kai—one day, Brother Andrey went to a family party, where he started to jam on the piano with a cousin whom he hadn’t met before. He later found out that Brother Andrey sang with a group of his friends at Church, and invited him to one of their practices.
Brother Andrey: And ever since then, at that point, you know, we were developing, musically, you know, even more. To the point where, you know, we were almost going to call it quits because, you know, we had been doing it, maybe, two years at that point.
Aliw: And you guys were all in high school?
Brother Andrey: We were all in high school, and some of us were graduating. Already wanted to move on, go to college, you know, think of our future careers and all of that. And then, before we were going to hang it up, you know, the gloves, we all decided, you know, this. We should record a song, just so we could show our future kids that—”hey, look, Daddy used to sing.” And we recorded this song and it was a song called, “Say You’ll Stay”. And, we decided, you know, well, just for fun, you know, since we’re going to quit anyway, but let’s just send it out to all these radio stations. Because we had friends. who were also working at radio stations, who kind of gave us, you know, the information to where to send it. And so we sent it out just for fun, not thinking anything of it. And before we knew it, you know, these stations were starting to play it and it was gaining popularity, like people were actually starting to request it. It started there in the Deep South, there in Louisiana—
Aliw: Louisiana of all places!
Brother Andrey: Yeah, and so before we knew it, it was gaining popularity, getting noticed by Billboard. You know, we were charting on Billboard as an unsigned act. And so, that’s when we were getting calls, you know, from major record labels. And so, you know, I guess the rest is history, right? Then we went on to do some things in the music industry.
Aliw: And what was that one big record label company that actually came knocking on your door?
Brother Andrey: It was several, but we chose to sign with a record company called Geffen Records. Yeah. Geffen Records, who are also part of Dreamworks, and we were able to do tours and all of that, other experiences, performing with very big acts and names.
Aliw: So before you, I mean, obviously you were the only member of the Church—
Brother Andrey: During that time.
Aliw Pablo: …during that time in the group. How did you come to the decision to join? You had to be signed to be a, you know, officially signed with a record label company, which meant you’re going to tour and there’s just a lot more demands. So what was that decision process for you like?
Brother Andrey: Well, you know, part of that decision was my membership in the Church Of Christ. That was one of the things that I took serious consideration in, especially being reminded by my dad and my family, you know? “You better not miss the worship service.” And it’s true, you know, and I think at that point, you know, just to bring me back down to Earth, I needed to hear that. You know, I can’t, I can’t miss the worship service. I have to include God in this plan, you know, every step of the way.
Brother Andrey: …which was also what I heard from many of the ministers that I was asking advice from during that time. Brother Steve Kroll, you know, he advised me so much during that time. And, I remember him telling me, “You need to include God in every part of this plan. He has a plan for you. Make sure He’s part of it, and so, you know, before I signed the contract with the record label, I asked if they could add a stipulation—
Aliw: In the contract.
Brother Andrey: Yes, that my religious practice, my attendance of the worship service has to take precedence over all things—shows and everything. And they said, okay, they put it in. That’s when I said, okay, fine, I will sign.
Aliw: And the rest of the group—they were okay with that?
Brother Andrey: Yeah, the guys knew how important my membership in the Church was. They never questioned it. You know, and if anything, you know, when I mentioned that, they were like, “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Can you put that in the contract for him?”
Aliw: Oh, that’s nice.
Brother Andrey: So, you know, I signed it. And you know, I know that God was part of the plan because when I talked to one of the high executives of Geffen Records. We were talking with him, you know, and then that whole thing about Church came up. And he said, “Church Of Christ, Iglesia Ni Cristo? Do you have a church there on Clay and Divisadero in San Francisco?”
Aliw: He knew!
Brother Andrey: Yeah. And I was like, “Yeah, how did you know?” He’s like, “I used to live across the street.”
Aliw: Wow.
Brother Andrey: “You guys took all the parking every Sunday and Thursday.” He was just joking. But he said, you know, “The brethren in your Church are amazing. They’re so nice and accommodating.” So he remembered that, and he said, “Yeah, yeah, you can go. You need to go to church.”
Aliw: So of all the executives, right in this huge—
Brother Andrey: Yeah, out of all the record labels that they were, you know, we picked this one who happens to know—
Aliw: And the executive you were assigned knew the Church. And so what did you have to do to make sure that, you know, they checked the cities?
Brother Andrey: Oh, they asked for a copy of the latest issue of the God’s Message Magazine. Because at the back, (at that time) it’s still the 1990s, you know, there’s a whole directory. And they would base our travels and everything on the schedule of the worship service of where we were going to be at. And so, I was like, you know, God is really part of this, which was, you know, it made me more confident to pursue it even more. And, you know, another thing that I realized, now looking back, God really wanted me to learn about the music industry, maybe, and how to produce music and to write and how to use a studio and all of those things, so that now I can, you know, be blessed to be entrusted, to be contributing to the music of the Church.
Aliw: Decades later.
Brother Andrey: Decades later. And so, I know that was the reason, you know, and I’m so happy and I feel so blessed to have that kind of guidance to where it would lead me to be able to contribute to the needs of the Church.
Aliw: You know, let’s go back a little bit on the whole, you know, your dad, you know, did say make sure you don’t miss worship service, you know, but you’re a kid at that time, you know, you’re a teenager, young—
Brother Andrey: Seventeen, eighteen.
Aliw: Right? You’re, you know, and it would be so tempting to be like, “Well, my dad’s not with me on this tour. You know, I could just..I mean, I’m busy. I’m tired. I just had a concert and—” But what was it that just at that age, you know, that you just never you never let go of that, and you just really made no excuses no matter what.
Brother Andrey: Yeah.
Aliw: You were still—
Brother Andrey: Even if I had to drive three hours by myself. Because we were that far away from a chapel in some part of the country, I would go the night before. I would look for it just so the next morning I wouldn’t get lost. So, I would always make that effort only because, you know, number one, you know, I was God-conscious about everything. That he was really behind this—you know, talking to the executives, talking to Brother Steve Kroll—who guided me through all of this. I already knew that he was— And so, you know, me, being God-conscious, I didn’t want to, you know, not hold my end of the bargain, my promise that he would be part of the plan. And I would make sure that my services to him would never be hindered, you know, by this great experience that he’d—Imagine, you know, he’s already blessed me with this kind of experience. And then that blessing is the reason why my services to him would be hindered? I would not allow that to happen, you know? And so, I would always make time and. And, you know, and even though my dad or my family wasn’t with us on the road, you know, God was with us on the road. He’s with us all, all the time, everywhere…
Aliw: He would know if you miss worship service.
Brother Andrey: He would know. And so, I guess my integrity to my promise to God was one of the things that drove me to be serious about it.
Aliw: So, even though you were, you know, seventeen, eighteen years old at that time, you were already—you weren’t a minister yet, obviously, but you were pretty—you were always sharing your faith already.
Brother Andrey: Yeah. I was, you know, the Church, you know, all the teachings that we hold. And when it comes to salvation, you know, even at that young age, I already knew that, that the Church, it was necessary in one’s life to be able to have a relationship with God, to be able to have a peaceful life, to be able to, you know, have that peace in the end, you know, when everything has gone. You know, the day of judgment, salvation, that kind of thing. So, meaning to say, you know, in the grand scheme of things, our membership in the Church Of Christ is a matter of life and death. And so, I wanted to share that with everyone that I cared about. You know, I even shared it with my band mates, you know, introduced it to them, and invited them all the time.
Aliw: I mean, just you making sure that you never missed worship service.
Brother Andrey: Absolutely. They saw it, you know, they saw it. And there were times when some of them would come with me, you know? And so, you know, in that sense, you know, I wanted to be able to do my part to invite. And I knew my part was to invite, the rest of it would be God, you know, letting them hear the word of God, letting them have that seed of faith being planted in them.
Aliw: Right.
Brother Andrey: And once that’s planted and they expressed their interest in the Church, then I would be the one to take care of them. So, that was always what was in my mind.
Aliw: So, a lot of people who have known you, you know, since Kai days and they’re watching this, you know, and seeing you for the first time in decades, probably wondering, how do you go from, you know, Kai, how do you go from being with, big record label company and now a minister of the gospel? This podcast is called Making Changes, right? How do you go from that to making the biggest change in your life?
Brother Andrey: You know, when it comes to making that kind of a change in your life, something so drastic. And that was pretty drastic.
Aliw: That’s huge.
Brother Andrey: You kind of have to understand the will of God for you and know that he has the plan for you and allow that change to happen, embracing and trusting in what God has planned for you. And so that’s kind of what I experienced. You know, I was in this singing group, you know, and we gained some type of popularity. And I understood, part of it is me understanding that God is the One who allowed me to experience this great opportunity and experience and to hold on to that promise that you made to God to dedicate your life to Him in service.
Brother Andrey: And so God was really the one who called me into the ministry, because if it was up to me, you know, it wasn’t something that was in my mind to join the ministry at all. I also had a career in real estate before the ministry, and, you know, just looking at everything on paper by human standards, I was good. I was doing well, in life, you know, I could establish my life already, but I just couldn’t get the ministry out of my mind. And so that’s what I often tell young brothers that I get to speak with. When they asked me about the ministry because they feel like maybe they’re being called, I said, you know, if you can’t get it out of your mind, that’s God calling you. Now, you’re either going to answer the call or not. But imagine the great blessings you’ll receive, what you will gain if you are able to answer the call of God and to submit to His plan for you. Allow that to happen, you know. And that’s what I did. I just allowed it to happen.
Aliw: So, how did you get the first call?
Brother Andrey: Okay, so, our resident minister during that time was recruiting me to join the ministry, or he was encouraging me to join the ministry and I was a little resistant in the beginning. But I said to myself, okay, you know, this might be God calling me. Let me have a panata for one week.
Aliw: What’s a “panata” for those that don’t—
Brother Andrey: Panata is a devotional prayer. You set a time, every single day for that period of time that you’re going to have that panata or devotional prayer, and you hold your devotional prayer. And I held mine in the chapel for seven days.
Aliw: Right.
Brother Andrey: So, first day, up until the seventh day, I exit the sanctuary of the local of Fremont. I’m walking to my car, and then the resident minister pulls up.
Aliw: And you had already finished your seven days of devotional prayer?
Brother Andrey: I’m already finished and I’m thinking I’m done. I’m going to go to my car. Go home. And then he said, “Bro. Andrey, come with me to my office. I need to give you something.” I’m like, okay, I’m not thinking anything of it. Right. He said, go ahead and sit down there on the desk. I said, okay. Then he pulls out of the drawer. He puts this piece of paper down on the desk and slides it to me, and it’s an application form for the Ministry. I said, okay.
Brother Andrey: Yeah. So you know, and I signed the application and filled it up and they sent it in and then, not thinking anything of it. And then there was a special gathering for the applicants. And so we went, I went to go meet there, and there were more applications to fill. And the one leading that particular meeting was Brother Bob Pellien.
Aliw: Right.
Brother Andrey: He was the District Minister at that time. And so, you know, me being still kind of 50/50 about it, you know, he said okay. “I need you to read the directions, and I need you to fill out the form.” I said, “This is probably God’s calling.” So, I said, going back to God’s calling me. And then I attend the first preparatory class, which was held in the US West Office, at that time in Daly City. I was lacking confidence, to tell you the truth. But I just kept going. And I kept learning. And, I was able to finish the preparatory class with him. And I gained so much knowledge about the words of God, the pristine teachings that we uphold, the characteristics and values, the qualities that ministers should have, the values . And, you know, I started getting more serious about it. So if during the beginning of prep, I was 50/50, I was more 60/40 now.
Aliw: Yeah.
Brother Andrey: And so, you know, after prep, “we’ll request from the church admin, no guarantee, guard your hearts, pray alot. I was thinking to myself, I was probably not going to make it. Then I got a call, you know, a month later after that. “Brother Andrey, you’ve been approved to go to the Philippines.”
Aliw: Had you been to the Philippines before?
Brother Andrey: I had been to the Philippines before, but with the band.
Aliw: Oh, that’s right. Yes, yes.
Brother Andrey: Yeah. And so, my experience of the Philippines was red carpet, you know, nice hotels, good food, the restaurants, all of that. And so, I’m thinking, “Wow, the Philippines is nice.”
Aliw: Air condition all the time.
Brother Andrey: Air condition all the time. This is going to be a breeze. You know? And so, I leave for the Philippines for the ministry. I get there. I was like, thinking, I was like, maybe I should call my mother to get me a ticket to go home, you know?
Aliw: But what made you stay? You obviously didn’t go home, what made you keep going?
Brother Andrey: You know, my family. Has a big part to do with them. My dad, my mom, you know. Well, “you’re there already, you know, man up”
Aliw: That’s tough love right there. You made your bed…
Brother Andrey: “You’re already there. What are you doing?” You know. Yeah. So I said okay, fine. But, you know, I would spend nights in my bed crying, you know, and I set up another panata or devotional prayer in the [Central] Temple, you know asking if He was really calling me. “Are you sure?”
Aliw: Because you’re like, “Because I’m not.”
Brother Andrey: Yeah. And so, you know, I was struggling, you know, I didn’t understand Tagalog. Look, I probably, you know, if I were to attend the Tagalog worship service around that time, I probably understood maybe 3 to 5% of what it means because I really didn’t know any Tagalog.
Aliw: Really?
Brother Andrey: Any Filipino. The language.
Aliw: But you could sing Tagalog songs?
Brother Andrey: Because it’s on the screen in the karaoke. Like you can read them.
Aliw: That’s true.
Brother Andrey: But I didn’t understand them. and so, you know, I was having a really difficult time. How am I going to learn? All the classes are in Filipino. How am I going to, you know, communicate with my roommates? They’re all speaking Filipino, right? And so I’m in the [Central] Temple every day.
Aliw: Culture shock, then.
Brother Andrey: Culture shock, and just everything shock. I’m in the [Central] Temple, praying every single day, at a particular time, about it. But, you know, about a month into my devotional prayers, you know, I found myself kneeling in the [Central] Temple, crying, thanking God for calling me in the ministry. It was just, I guess, another change was made in me and, from that point onward, you know, I couldn’t see my life without the ministry.
Aliw: Wow. Yeah. You’ve been in the ministry now, Brother Andrey, for how many years now?
Brother Andrey: Many years.
Aliw: When you were ordained— What year? 2014?
Brother Andrey: 2014. The first ordination after the Centennial.
Aliw: But you first went to the Philippines in 2007. Okay, so the math is about seventeen years to—
Brother Andrey: About seventeen years.
Aliw: So in your seventeen years of being a minister, and even now as a district minister, obviously you’ve baptized so many souls, you’ve—you know, you’ve been an instrument to help change the lives of so many people, right? But looking back, there is one friend in your life that God used you to call. Tell us about him before we bring him on.
Brother Andrey: All right. You know, Brother Errol was one of the guys that I used to sing with. One of the more amazing vocals that you’ll ever hear, you know, coming out of a five foot one—I’m just kidding.
Brother Andrey: And, you know, I would consider Brother Errol’s life one of those, spiritual success stories, you know? It’s such a privilege, you know, to know that God may have used me as an instrument to be able to to help my friend, to help my brother. So, yeah Brother Errol.
Aliw: In our next episode, we’ll meet Errol. We’ll get to see and hear how special and deep his friendship-turned-brotherhood with Brother Andrey really is. And how their special bond that started with music, literally saved Errol’s life. Stay tuned for part 2 of this story.
Aliw: And if you found value in what you heard today, please share this with a friend or anyone you know that could use this story in their life. Listen to more episodes of Making Changes anywhere you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening and may your change uplift you!
