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.

Touring Iowa

"I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to His service." 1 Timothy 1:12
Where to begin...truly my strength is not my own. It feels like we put a months worth of travel into one week. I shall give a brief itenary of what we do...rather how the last five or so days have gone.
We left camp on Wednesday morning and arrived at our first church in Davenport Iowa, that afternoon. We had our first concert that night; I feel it went very well. We packed a 600 seat auditorim with about 700. After the concert we met our host families went home and went to bed. That would be at about 10 or 11 at night. We were at the church the next morning at 8:45 to begin our day. Packing it with, chicken pox shots, school, lunch and a bit of play time. Then we went back home with our host families for the night. The next morning we arrived at the church at the same time and left the church around noon to head to our next destination, Iowa City, Iowa. We had a performance that night. A four hundred seat auditorium with about 500. After the concert we went home with our new host families. Again it was straight to bed. Luckily the next morning we could sleep in. I slept till 8:30 (I must be getting old :) ) All the host families from that church wanted to meet at a park; so all of us met at a park, played and had lunch. After lunch we all headed for the church and then out for our next church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. That was only a 40 min drive. After arriving it was nap time. Not for me however. Once we arrive at a church that's when I start all my paper work. Assigning chaperones to children and then assigning host families. Finishing up the offering, product and sponsorship count, etc... We arrive on Saturday night to spend the night with the host family of the church where we will be singing at Sunday morning. That is where we are now. We have 2 concerts in the morning. After those concerts we have a few minutes drive to our other church where we will do one more concert and stay the night with a new host family from there. Normally that is a three night stay but this time it will be a two night stay. Since we head to Philly early Wed. morning. (More on that later) So that has been the last four days plus our day tomorrow.
It is neat to see so many firsts. We were looking out over a lake the other day and a man was standing in his boat. Jacob said "Auntie look that man is standing on water." I couldn't help but laugh and then explain it was a boat. Another first: After meeting our host family on Wed. night they told us they would like to take us out on the Mississippi River for a boat ride. The girls were very excited about that. There were three of them: Sara, Bridget and Faulanta. Then the husband of the host family told me I could try to water ski and of course the children wanted to see that. Since it is all for the children I went ahead and water skied. I would just like to say water skiing is much harder than it looks. I did not make it up till my very last time to try...but I did make it up. The girls had a blast!
I probably could think of much more to write but it is getting late and I need to be up at six tomorrow. So I shall call it quits for tonight.

It's the Little things

"Auntie, Auntie look at my pajamas!" "Auntie, Auntie look at what the Lord has given us!" "Auntie, Auntie don't I look smart!" (Smart = Beautiful) These are the phrases the children would say with excitment as they found there new bags with there very own items in them.
My job began Tuesday evening. We arrived at the camp in Indianna a day early. Our job was to prepare the rooms and bags for the children. We packed bags, equivalent to athletic bags, with items such as underwear, tank tops, socks and a tolietry bag as well. Five pair each. We layed the bag along with a nap blacket on the Children's beds, in preperation for when they arrived wednesday.
Wednesday the adventure began. The chilren along with the African chaperone's arrived. We picked them up at Chicago's O'Hare International airport. We loaded the bus and drove through Chicago to arrive at our camp in Indianna. The Children's eyes were wide as we passed tall buildings, billboards, other cars...especially hummers. (By the way Chicago is pronounced Chee-cago; at least by the children) We arrived at our camp and the surprises began.
There first surprise was the bag I mentioned previously. And what a surprise it was. It would be an injustice to compare it to our Christmas gifts because we are thankful for things but most the time we are not truly grateful. There is quite a difference and these kids were truly grateful! They had no idea the next day they would be recieving new outfits as well. Bear in mind the only thing they came over with was the clothes on there back. Thursday we were all assigned three or four children and we fitted them with clothes that had been donated. Nice clothes. The children were so excited. "Auntie, Auntie these are my best clothes. I am going to wear them again tomorrow!" They were so grateful! And there was still more to come. Friday we took them shopping for new shoes. Shoes are a big deal to Africans. They take care of their shoes like we take care of our vehicles... like some of us who care about our vehicles take care of our vehicles. To top it all off after our outting to Wal-Mart we bought ice-cream/popcicles from the store next door and oh how the children enjoyed those.
Soft grass, hot showers, warm beds, beds we don't have to share, toothpaste, lotion we do not have to share, toilets that flush, food and plenty of it at our finger tips, etc... all things we take for granted. One boy said, "Auntie the grass is so soft I could roll in it!" One girl, said "Auntie look at what the Lord has given me." That quote has resonated in my head. All these things we take for granted as Americans and truly the ONLY reason we have them is because the Lord blesses us with them. He does not have to. He is the Lord and he will show mercy to whom He shows mercy. I am gratefull and becoming more grateful for the little things...especially as the Lord reveals Himself in the little things. I had asked the Lord to make me grateful for the small things and he sent me the African
Children's Choir.

Truly is blogging this simple

This is my test blog... this is only a test... Is it working? Is it working? How do I put pictures up on this thing? hm...