I promise, I used to be an English teacher.

Since traveling with the children, and since many of them are just still learning English, there are a few phrases/habits I have picked up from them. For example...

1. Over annunciating.

"GooD morning RiTah. HoW are you ToDay?

2. Forgetting about contractions.

"You can not stand on the bus if the bus is moving. When it is stopped we will all stand up together."

3. The word "catch" and what it really means. The children often say "catch" in place of the words hold, take, and touch.

"Auntie, my shoes are catching me." (translation: her shoes are getting tight)

"Auntie, catch this for me." (translation: take this water bottle out of my hand)

"Auntie, I was catching the seat and then I fell!" (translation: I was holding on to the seat and it fell)

4. Toilet = Washroom = Bathroom.

Potato, Poh-taa-toe - or is it?

5. Pronouns - overrated?

"Auntie, this one she is funny!"

6. Over-use of "me" "myself" and "I"

"Me, I used to like cheese."

we've been... doing lots of things!

not so sure about the raspberries:

roasting marshmallows:

Eunice & I:

museum (this thing was so cool):

At the aquarium:

during playtime:

a host family's beautiful garden:

It's been a busy couple weeks! stories to come!

what a DAY!

Yesterday was one of the greatest days I've had in a while - and mind you, the past few weeks things have been really good.

The family that I am staying with has a cabin on Hayden Lake in Idaho and yesterday we all went up for some fun on the water. It is so interesting to watch these girls come out of their shells - to see them interact in a different environment, away from the rest of the choir, with new people, new surroundings, and new things - like tubing. yes. It was fantastic.

I had with me Priscilla, Eunice, and Deborah, and throughout the course of the day there were transformations in Eunice & Priscilla - especially Eunice. Let me give a little breakdown on their personalities:

Deborah: Fearless. This girl would jump from a plane if you told her it was fun. She's awesome.

Priscilla: The youngest of the three - often plays the "I'm so adorable" card - and she is so adorable. A little shy, though I think it's part of the cute card :)

Eunice: Strong, but timid. If that makes sense? haha. Hesitant. Kind. Lovely.

So we began the day at the lake. The girls had life jackets on, Priscilla was content to stay on the dock, Deborah was in the water before we knew it, and Eunice stood on the edge of the dock fearful that her life jacket would sink. With some coaxing, she and Priscilla slowly climbed down the ladder into the water and began swimming around like four-legged octopuses, not sure of what to do with their arms and feet. Deborah, the confident dare devil, was giving swimming lessons to the other two, convincing them that their life jackets were indeed always going to float, to kick with their legs, and paddle with their arms. Her confidence leaked onto them like oil leaks out of my car onto the driveway. By the end of the day the three of them had jumped off the dock, swam for so long their lips turned blue, gone on a boat, went tubing, and got thrown off the tube - to which they laughed and screamed and cried "again! again!" (we thought they'd freak. As soon as we watched them flip I stood on the side of the boat frantically ready to dive in after them, not that I thought they'd be hurt, but because I thought they'd be freaked... they weren't, they loved it). SO.... yeah. We had a blast.

Here are some pics from the day.

Priscilla on the boat.
Eunice on the boat.
Deborah on the boat.
Deb & Eunice tubing it up!
Deb & I on the tube!

camp!

On Thursday, the 23 beautiful children of the 35th African Children's Choir arrived in Seattle - exhausted but sooooo excited! The first day we went to a park and Arby's for some chicken nuggets and french fries (which they may or may not remember, they were sooo tired!). Then we came to camp for some training, rehearsals and fun before we start the concerts. It's been awesome so far!

Here are a few pictures from this week!

the prayers of children

This weekend I was commissioned by my church. During the service I was invited forward and the congregation came and surrounded me, lifting me up in prayer and lifting up the Choir. This by nature is a very special time - but what made it simply wonderful this morning was the three first-grade girls that came and took my hands, bowed their heads and prayed for me amidst the sea of adults. I loved it. Last night (my church has a Saturday night service as well) another girl came and stood on the step behind me during the prayer. After service she came and talked to me and asked TONS of questions about the kids - like are they being taken care of, do they have clean water (I asked, she is only seven) and are they safe. I answered her questions then she indicated that she wanted to whisper something in my ear. I leaned down and she said "I was the one that put my hand on your head during the prayer, and your hair is really soft." I smiled and laughed and said "That's because I washed it today." She didn't know what to say... She was so cute though, I'm so thankful that I have prayers like hers - prayers lifted through the faith of a child - supporting me while I travel this upcoming year.

love.

and so it begins!

Eleven days - one week from Saturday - and I’ll be hopping on a plane to Seattle, Washington, where the other North American Choir Chaperones and I will meet and start our time together serving with the African Children's Choir (ACC). I am having a little bit of a hard time containing my excitement. These next to weeks are bound to be a whirlwind of emotions as I say goodbye to my family, co-workers, friends - and my best friend, who is also leaving - not just for one year but for two. She departs on her own adventure tomorrow, and I ask that you pray for her earnestly over these next couple years.

It's hard to believe that just three months ago I had no idea what I would be doing after these short summer months. I continually marvel at how quickly God has brought these plans about. And not just any plans - the best laid plans I could ever think of. Amazing.

For a solid year I'll be living on a bus with 24 beautiful African children, teaching them, loving them, and learning with them as they travel through North America singing of the joy and hope they have as Africa's future. It's going to be a blast.

I'll do my best to keep this updated with stories, pictures, and whatever else I can come up with along the way.

Please feel free to email me at amy.haiti@gmail.com (I lived in Haiti for 6 months this year, hence the "haiti" part of the address). If you'd like more information about the African Children's Choir, please email me or visit www.africanchildrenschoir.com.

More to come!

Above: Missy & I on our last "hoorah" in the mountains before we head out on our separate adventures....