'Keepers' bring faith to Malta

Those that missed Keepers of the Faith (KOTF) quartet perform at the Malta Assembly of God Church last Tuesday, July 21, likely missed one of the strongest a cappella groups to come through the area.

The group has been performing for over fourteen years now.

"Our dad was given that vision to start this group and this is where it's at now," Ace, one of the band's founding members told the PCN.

The band consists of lead singer – tenor Lima who is the oldest brother , Ace who sings Baritone, Levi Jr. who sings tenor and the team's newest member Kevin Mills who sings bass.

"We're originally from Hawaii," Ace said. " My younger brother and I were born and raised there."

The oldest brother, Lima, was the only brother born outside of Hawaii, in San Jose, CA.

After performing in Hawaii for several years, the band moved inland and have been based out of Puyallup, WA, a town southeast of Tacoma. There are a few things Ace misses about Hawaii.

"The one thing I really, really miss the most is the ocean and the beach," Ace said. "And the food. There's no place that makes those Island plate lunches that we want to have at times but can't get it up to the States."

He mentioned some places try to replicate the food but it's not the same.

"I truly miss Hawaii sometimes," Ace said.

For those that think the group is solely a Southern Gospel band, Ace doesn't keep to the label.

"People like to label us as Southern Gospel, but we just say Gospel," Ace said.

If there was ever a group that influenced the KOTF, it would be a quartet that has made music for nearly a century called The King's Herald, based out of Tennessee. It was a band that the three brothers grew up listening to.

"That group and then for this type of music (that we sing) the Gaither Vocal Band was one of our big influences," Ace said noting that it was the Gaithers that got them into Southern Gospel.

He also named the Cathedrals Quartet as an influence, though they are now disbanded.

The three brothers have been a part of the band since it's birth, however Kevin Mills, who is from Virginia, has been a part of the band for the last six years.

"He loves to eat squirrel," Aced said non-jokingly. "He was emceeing at a program at Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada and he was singing and at the time we really didn't like his singing but he was ok," he continued jokingly.

KOTF and Mills became good friends and stayed in touch and after meeting at several venues, the group was in need of a bass singer.

"All of a sudden, through my little nephew, who is not so little anymore, God spoke through him saying, why don't you guys give Kevin Mills a try," Ace recalled. "We did. Not knowing that Kevin was praying to God at the same time that we were looking for a bass singer. Kevin wanted to come back to singing."

Ace called him one Saturday and it was confirmed that the parties had a mutual interest.

"He was the last resort," Ace joked. "Kevin is a blessing to this ministry."

Ace felt that the show in Malta went really well, though the day wasn't ideal.

"On a Tuesday night, it was a blessing for people to come out after a hard-working day, at work or at home watching their kids to come see a bunch of thugs and a white boy doing gospel music," Ace said. "We had a great time tonight."

The band had come from Lincoln, NE the night prior. The drive was a 16 hour trek. They got into Malta around 12 midnight.

They headed to the Glendive area a day after their show at Malta Assembly.

"God has opened up so many doors," Ace said. "We went from being weekend warriors now to a full-time ministry for five years now. From 30 something dates to 270 something dates. It's only God. God can do that."

One interesting fact about Ace is that at one point, he weighed in at 555 pounds, though today is a much leaner 260 pounds.

"I was a big man," Ace said.

The main trigger for him to try and overcome his obesity was at a show in Louisville, only two years ago.

"Some people put video of us of YouTube and someone emailed us saying that we were on YouTube," Ace recalled.

He took a look to see his group perform.

"I watched the video and all of sudden the Lord just paused the video right on myself and he said 'Listen to me. If you don't wake up from your ways that you're living, you're going to end up six feet under,'" Ace recalled. "I was doing this ministry but I was killing myself with a lot of the stuff we were eating on the road."

He admitted being on the road is tough at times because of the food people bring them, specifically in the realm of sweets.

"They read my bio on our website that I was a sweet-tooth guy," Ace said. " I made a commitment the day I watched that video."

He promised to give up sweets and get healthy. Since then no matter what or where, Ace works out at 6 a.m. every morning and he has adopted a vegetarian diet. With no sweets.

For those struggling in that department, Ace said, "Take it one day at a time. I know people want results overnight, but set a plan for yourself and commit to it. If you're not committed and not dedicated, it will never happen."

He admits that without God, he couldn't have finished his commitment.

For more about the group visit their website: keepersofthefaithministry.com