Happy Thanksgiving

November 22, 2007...My first Thanksgiving away from home; it wasn't bad. Granted I did miss our annual football game but as a friend reminded me, "I'm sure they'll be playing next year." Good reminder! I have to admit Thanksgiving day alone was not that exciting but the five days that surrounded it were quite exciting. Week one of tour we all, the entire choir, stayed together at a camp; since then we have been in host families. Until...Wednesday November 21. From Wednesday to Sunday we all got to spend time together at the same place. The first two nights were at the Church we preformed at; we slept on the carpeted gym floor. The second two nights were spent at a church camp, where we saw our first snow...this I will talk about it a little bit.



The day after Thanksgiving my Mom and Grammy came up to visit. It was nice to spend time and visit with them. I was even able to spend one night with them in the Hotel. They arrived Friday afternoon and came to the concert that night. Actually, Beth and I were doing laundry at a laundry Mat and they found the two of us there...as soon as they got settled into their hotel. Side note: Doing laundry for 26 children is quite expensive!!! Mom and Grammy came to the concert that night and Mom bought out the entire product table...everybody knows what they are getting for Christmas now!!



Saturday they came to the camp we were staying at and were able to spend time with the kids for a little bit. Not only did they get to spend time with the kids for the first time but it was the kids first time to play in snow. The night before Mom and Grammy came it snowed...oh about 3-4 inches. They arrived at the end of rehearsals....so...they got to see a bit of rehearsals and then play with the kids in the snow. It was a great time!!! The kids built snowmen...well half snowman half leaf man, they made snowballs and snow angels. I have lots of pictures on my picture site. Then they took, Beth, Rosette and I out for lunch and shopping. We ate at Chili's. Funny, restaurants you take for granted back home become five star restaurants when you do not get to go to many restaurants. After our outing we dropped Beth and Rosette back off at the camp and I stayed with mom and Grammy. They took me out to eat at some fancy, home-style chicken restaurant; it was nice. It was a set menu, so you ate what they brought out and boy did they bring out a lot. Chicken, Mashed potatoes, cream corn, rolls, cottage cheese, fruit, gravy, jelly, and to top it all off ice cream. When dinner was over we went Christmas light looking. There were a few houses that had already put their light up. Then it was back to the hotel. The next morning they came to church with me. This was the first Sunday we have not had a concert. So...the kids sang one song and then went to children's church and all the chaperones plus Mom and Grammy stayed for the service. It was a nice visit, I am so glad they were able to come! After church we headed our separate ways; them to the airport and us on to our next concert.






One more reminder of home came Monday night. My host family went over to another host families house and we had a hot dog roast!!! The Uncle had built a ka small fire and we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over it. Some of the kids tell me they ate 26 marshmallows...this I can not believe...but they did eat a lot! I stayed by the fire as long as possible for many reasons. One it was very cold outside!!! Two it reminded me of our camping trips back home...I was wishing Mr. Fordinal, Mr. Urban and Mr. Dillow were all with me and had their guitars. Third it reminded me of our annual girls weekend at the ranch...for that I wished Cassie was there with her guitar. Last but not least reason number four...I love the smell of campfire and I wanted it to sink into my coat as much as possible....oh and it did.
The past few days have been very enjoyable. I had a great Thanksgiving holiday and I hope all of you did as well!




P.S. if you go look at my picture site I am aware that I spelt marshmallow wrong in every picture!

God is good!!!

1 Corinthians 8:6 "yet for us there is one God, the Father from whom are all things and FOR WHOM WE EXIST and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and THROUGH WHOM WE EXIST"


"Auntie my seat belt will not enter." "Okay...keep trying." A few seconds later (Bridget) "God is good Faulanta" (Faulanta) "yes I know" (Bridget) "the seat belt was not entering and the Lord gave me the wisdom (pointing at her head) to fix it."
"Auntie the trees are worshiping God" (Prisca) "What did you say?" "When the trees sway back and forth they are worshiping God." "Yes, you are right."
"Out of the mouths of Babes." How convicting a simple, innocent statement from a child can be. How often do I give God the glory in the big things, much less the small ones. When Prisca mentioned "the trees are worshiping God." I was reminded of my first week of tour. We were driving through Indianna and I looked up at a cluster of trees after I had just finished reading "the trees/creation growns for their redemption." The Lord used that time in my life to remind me how great He is and how we take so much for granted. The trees know the Lord's goodness and cry out while we step over it every day. We exist for God...just think about that statement for awhile!!! I did not create God He created me. I am a bondservant.


I can't believe Thanksgiving is only two days away...my goodness!!! We will be staying at a camp together for a few days, over the thanksgiving holiday. I am very excited. I will miss our annual T-Day football game but hopefully me and the boys will have a place to play our own game of T-Day football. On Friday my mom and grandmother are suppose to be flying up to visit...another exciting event!!! One other exciting event happened last night...I was able to talk to three dear friends on skype...that made my night. I miss you all!
We are now in Nebraska now; we will be heading for Kansas on Wednesday. There is never a dull moment.

HUMMER!!!

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 "To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." In this verse "worthy of his calling" is referring to salvation not neccissarily our career in life. I used this verse though because after researching it a bit, I came across a very good quote that fits where my life is right now...“May God fill you with all that good which is pleasing to him.” (Oldshausen). I like the fact it says "all that good which is pleasing to HIM." Not the good which is pleasing to me...the good which is pleasing to me might be an easy way out. The good which is pleasing to the Lord might be placing me in a host home that I might find a bit stressful...maybe they have young kids that want to wake up at 8am on my day to sleep or maybe I'm just not use to the way they do life. Yet during that time I could easily go crazy the Lord is using it to stretch and grow me...that is "the good which is pleasing to him." That's just my little verse for the week. Moving on...






"Hummer! Hummer!" A word wich is all to familiar. Hummers are a big deal to these kids. From the time they have arrived in the states anytime we are driving they are searching for a hummer and when they find one we all know about it. And so it happened we sang at a church where a host family had a HUMMER! Not just one but two. The kids and I'm not gonna lie some of the Aunties and Uncles were excited. The host family that the car belonged to took girls so three girls got to ride in the hummer. Actually 6 girls because she gave my girls a ride to our host families house because of how excited they were. It was all to cute. Okay I can't lie...I still don't see a hummer as an amazing vehicle I see it as a gas guzzler...but I like the fact that the children get so excited. We took all the kids pics infront of the hummer...they loved it!
I want to share a story on the innocense of these kids. Last night the host family I stayed with had a stuffed animal that talked. It was Eore from Winnie the Pooh. You could press his leg and he would talk. When we pressed his leg he said..."go ahead ask me a question." So Julian just steps right up and says "What is your name?" When he didn't respond she asked again "what is your name?" Then I explained that he was a stuffed animal and could not respond back...it was cute! Two months into it and there are still so many things that haven't been seen, heard or done.




Like I said two months into it. It's hard to believe that two months ago today I landed in Indianna to prepare for my adventure. It seems like it's flown by and yet it also feels as if we've done about six months worth of work in the last two. I would not trade it though...I love it all..the hecticness (if that's not a word it is now), the traveling, meeting new people, seeing new houses, the kids and the other chaperones. I just want to end with one verse...Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

Travel...Travel...Travel

In the last 45 days I've stayed in about 25 different cities...is that not crazy?! I've met so many different people and been in an array of houses. I've stayed in houses where I sleep on the couch, I've spent the night in houses where they have allowed me the entire bottom floor to myself. I've slept in small houses, new houses, old houses, just last night I stayed in a house that was built around 1890...that was an interesting house. I've been to Chicago, Indianna, Iowa, Minnasota, North Dakota and now South Dakota. It's been an amazing journey thus far and I'm only 5 or 6 weeks into it.


Traveling so much we spend a good amount of time in our bus. The kids pass the time by singing, reading books, talking...(my goodness for kids who have only been learning English since April...these kids can talk)...while others braid their Auntie's hair. Anna my seat mate is obsessed with my hair. So she likes me to put my head on her lap while we drive so she can play with my hair. Of course I don't mind because it puts me to sleep. The other day she was playing with my hair and began to rub my face, she said, "Auntie you have dusites on your face." I laughed! I explained that the "dusties" as she liked to call them were freckles. She also informed me that my head was very white. I'm suprised she has not noticed the rest of my body is white.

The kids aren't use to animals. The last host family me and three girls stayed with had cats. Well Jackie said she did not fear cats so the host family let them out. We were all sitting around the table preparing to eat and the cat walked by and touched Jackie's foot and up in the chair and onto the table she went. I guess she does fear cats.
Those are just a few of the little adventures I get while on tour. We also have stopped at parks to let the kids play. We stopped at a swedish park in Minot, N.D. one day and let the kids play. It was more like a museum outside. Always something new and always something exciting. Things I would not think to be exciting end up being quite interesting with 26 kids.

Just a little side note. I realized the other day that I am in a church everyday. Everyday I am at some church or another but I realized I have not been to church since I left home. So if ya'll think about it you could pray that the Lord speaks to me in different ways. Pray, as a friend of mine said, that I will get "drinks from the Lord!"




P.S. As you can see we are a close team. This is Auntie Beth, Uncle David and Uncle Vic

Laughter

Psalms 95:1 "Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!" I know there are many different types of joyful noises but I do believe one noise that falls into the joyful category is laughter. I have been surrounded by laughter. I love to hear the children laugh, it makes my heart glad! Anna Banana has pretty much one of the cutest laughs I have ever heard. Granted sometimes I have no idea what she is laughing about but when she laughs it is contagious.



Last night we went to a water park...that's right I said Water Park. We are in North Dakota. We walked into the water park with coats and hats then we prepared to swim. The kids loved it. There was a slide that would spit us out into a giant circle and we would spin around about three times and then be shot out the rest of the way. The kids loved it. The Aunties would take turns taking a child down. They were two man tubes.
Today we had about a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. So... we treated the kids to a movie... one of my favs...The Jungle Book. It was a hit! They were laughing at the movie as well as imitating different scenes. I was still getting questions about the movie tonight after the concert. We might be singing the Bear Necessities for awhile now. Maybe it can become one of our concert songs... I wouldn't mind that.



I have to say the past month or the past five weeks has been a joy and a blessing. I've never been so sure I am where the Lord wants me for the time being. He has given me the strength, patience, understanding, and everything else I need. He is my supply and of that supply I will never run out. I'm not saying I am always raring to go and exploding with energy... oh no, no, no... But when I'm tired I soon get rest. The mornings might be the hardest for me, having to wake up and all... but then I am greeted by the kids with hugs and smiles and I remember where the Lord has me and the purpose of my life right now.
I have a couple of food stories. Before concerts churches prepare us meals. We were all eating our meal before concert and I looked at Joseph, who was sitting across from me, and he said, "I can not finish." I asked "why" He replied "it is to good." He then took a piece of meat enough for one bit and turned it into 7. I laughed and turned to tell Beth who said, "Yeah, that's what you do back home because you don't know when you will have another meal like that." I stopped laughing and began to think. We take so much for granted here in the U.S. Nothing we have really belongs to us nor did we do anything to deserve the luxuries we have. Then Christine was asked if she wanted to go back for more to which she responded, "The heart is willing but the body if full." I love this answer!
The picture below is Auntie Rosette and Auntie Beth. I just thought it was a cute picture. Now when some of you here me say names you can have faces to put with them.

Nathan and Ryan...this is for you. I miss you both. I also miss frisbee golf so whenever the next time I am home is you both better be there so we can go play.

The Four Corners of the Earth

Rainforest Cafe... a place full of mechanical, life likes reptiles, mammals, etc... Adventurous is the word I would use to explain the decor of the restraint. New and exciting are also adjectives one could use to describe there first time at Rainforest Cafe. Twenty-six children from Africa strolled into the Rainforest Cafe souvenir area and the place will never be the same. Picture 26 kids who have only ever heard about or seen real crocodiles stumbling onto a life like mechanical crocodile. Mr. Crocodile made a little move, opened his mouth and roared and the kids took off to the four corners of the earth. After gathering they back together again, some with tears falling down their face, that the crocodile was a giant puppet. I had to touch his nose to show he was okay. Praying that the time I am touching his nose would not be the time he would decide to make his little move and send me flying. Finally we calmed them down and here comes Mr. Sharky. Round 2 begins: some person dressed up in a friendly shark outfit strolling down the aisle (promoting underwater world) sent the kids scattering once again. Again we gathered them back together and explained how there is someone inside the shark outfit. Once they understood they loved Mr. Sharky and inundated him with hugs!!! The kids love to hug!!!


A few days later I am watching these kids who scattered from the crocodile and Mr. Sharky perform on stage and a thought occurred to me... "When did I grow up?" (Cassie I did not say "When did I get old" :)) I just thought to myself... "Was it not just a few years ago I was that age and people who were the age I am now were old and cool. The people I looked up to." Now I am that person. I am the person the kids look up to. They watch my every move and remember everything I say. For the next year the Lord has blessed me and 6 other people with the privledge of raising these children in the way they should go. What have I done to recieve such a blessing? The answer is quite simple... Nothing!!! The Lord has blessed and I am grateful!
We are just a few days shy of one month and already thejourney has been exciting and full of stories.

Grace

Imagine if you can... a child who grows up in the west. Able to go to school from 8am to 3pm. Maybe that child is also involved in a sports activity after school. After the days events the child is picked up in a nice warm car and drove home. Upon reaching home there are countless things to entertain himself with. Maybe basketball, playstation, computer, etc... A nice warm dinner that someone, more than likely mom, has cooked. Then after dinner a nice warm bed to sleep in and to wake up in the next day and start the days activities all over again.
Now picture a child who is not privledged with such luxeries. This child wakes up at 4am to be at school by 5am. Class does not end until 10pm and he does not get home until 11pm. When this child is on the way home he sees where warring tribes have ravaged his home/village. They have set fire to stores, homes, and huts. Yet this child still goes home to wake up the next morning to start his day all over again as well.
Is it not the Grace of God to allow both of these children to live where they live? This is the question I have been pondering the last week. Maybe you can ponder it as well and let me know your answer. The Lord allows us to live when truly our rebellious, mocking tendensies most the time spit in His face; that is grace. He allows us to come to the relization of who he is this is also His mercy and grace. Both children have advantages and disadvantages but both are under the mercy and grace of the Lord.

That is my little tid bit of thought for the past week. Now on to an exciting piece of information. The kids where asked to sing for Bono as he recieved the Liberty Medal for his work in Africa. President Bush Sr. was awarding the medal. The children were the closing act and they stole the show. Mr. Bush even did a little jig in his chair while the kids performed. Bono sang along in his chair and then we all crossed paths backstage. It was a neat experience.
Well I am about to go teach my first social studies class so I must wrap this blog up. While there is so much more I could write this will have to suffice for now.