sunshine and green grass

Today was lovely. We enjoyed the sunshine outside in a huge grassy courtyard at the church (I may have enjoyed it a bit too much - as I got sunburned, on HALF of my face because of the way my hair was resting.... dang...).

In attempts to be a tad bit more frequent with my blog.... here you have it: Windows 7 to work:

1- had a nice little "So what's it like to be 8 years old?" chat with Priscilla, who's birthday was on Saturday. Then she stole my shoes. Ahh yes, the joys of being eight.

2- wrote some thank-you notes. Don't get too hopeful though - I only finished four.

3- enjoyed the hot tub with Stacy & the girls.

4- enjoyed the hot tub with Stacy after the girls went to bed - while watching Anastasia with the subtitles (since the jets were too loud) and drinking mango juice (that gave Stacy heartburn). I love when doing things like that at a complete stranger's house is just another Monday night.

5- sat in the sunshine. Did I mention how nice the sunshine was today? and the green grass? because it was truly spectacular.

Jonah, Alesha, Derrick, Ivy, Grace, Eunice, Priscilla & I on Goofy's couch at DISNEYLAND! I'll talk about that another time. perhaps.

I'd like to call this one, "Windows 7"

Blogging (verb [blaw-ghing]): Writing your thoughts and/or experiences on the world-wide-web for the world to see.

Now, to me:

Blogging (noun [blah-ghing]): The silent thing for which I usually have very, very few words & subconsciously choose not associate myself with, most of the time (ratio of posts to days on tour, like, 1/100?).

*insert awkward/shameful silence here.

Not that I don't have lots to say, you need only meet me to know that.

But on the web? oi. I like lists and order. If I were lame enough I would actually fill out those things on facebook etc. that say "List 4 places that you'd like to visit, 4 People you'd like to go with, 4 things you'd bring..." yada yada. But I don't care about what those things say, and nobody else does either.

However, my life at this point is a tad bit more exciting than "1. Haiti, 2.Central Asia, 3.Kenya, 4.Uganda" and I'm under the slightest impression that the unnatural affinity I have for blah-ghing may need to be forced... *sigh.

My solution for this dilemma is to create a system that doesn't scare me into writing random thoughts each day or giving a mundane synopsis of my life in three paragraphs or less. So while I am currently feeling inspired, here I go.

As often as I remember, I'm just going to list good things that happened during the day and maybe stick a picture in for visual interest. Simple. That is a way of blah-ghing that doesn't trick me into being too deep or too dull. OK.

March 1, 2010

- We are at a wonderful church, full of extremely hospitable, kind, generous people

- I have great hosts that are fun, clean, and simple

- John has a hard time saying his "R's" when there's really an "R" and not an "L" and today he was talking about how he will see Tinkle Bell at Disney tomorrow, which inspired Alex to sing "Tinkle Bell, Tinkle Bell, Tinkle all the way."

- I got a beautiful dress today that is completely casual AND dressy AND it folds into a tiny, tiny ball so I can fit it in my suitcase. It's a triple win.

- The children gave me so many random hugs today, it was LOVE-ly.

Above: What happens when it's a Play-Travel-Sunday (with flamingos).

Cover your bases, right?

Okay. New system... has... starTeD.. w ilL no-t cRa.shhhh...

sooo..... how have you been?

In receiving my monthly "Alumni Update" from BBC... and then realizing that I'm in the update, and that my blog is in the update... I figured it'd probably be a good idea to let everyone know what I've been up to recently!

DECEMBER:

WOW! What a crazy month. Knowing that Christmas Camp was right around the corner and the stresses of our intense schedule would soon come to a drastic halt was always an encouraging thought. One of my host families took us to Downtown Disney for supper - I've never been to Disney World (and still haven't...) but it was so fun walking around the shops and looking at all the Christmas lights! The girls and I had a fantastic time.

Now for the big one... on December 23rd the children made a guest appearance on Jay Leno! Preparation for it made out for a very busy week, but we had so much fun in the end. I conducted for it, which was awesome! I had so much fun, and the children were wonderful!

Christmas Camp hit as soon as Jay Leno was over, and we very quickly made ourselves at home at a wonderful place called Gleanings for the Hungry in Dinuba, CA. There we played lots of soccer, games, read a lot of books, had Christmas together, yada yada yada. Our big task for the time off came later into the break - getting ready for our Opus concerts in -

JANUARY:

OPUS! A tiny little glorious taste of what Choir 34 is doing with Journey of Hope. Rather than our regular church concerts, the children performed in large Theaters in Arizona and California. We started in Phoenix, and worked our way back up to Dinuba for one final night at Gleanings. I absolutely loved it. I realized as I walked back stage that I miss doing theater - though my personal experience is somewhat limited, I grew up in rehearsals for shows. It was wonderful. I got to stand in the back with flashlights in my white gloves and conduct the children, which was probably the most hilarious looking thing I've done in a really long time. Kind of bizarre... but fun. The children loved the little excursion into JOH, doing something new and different than the norm gave them new energy and enthusiasm for tour. It was a wonderful, wonderful week.....

Quickly after that we jumped right back into church concerts and have been going strong ever since. Every day a new place, with new faces and new challenges. Ahh... the joys of tour.

FEBRUARY:

We started the month on a proper note: a day off on Alcatraz. It was fascinating - and we were keeners. We were the first to answer all the tour guides questions. Go us.

So... that may have been a very brief, semi-mundane entry. But as a general, quick gist of what's been going on here on Tour 35.. I suppose it will do!

Bless!

answers to prayer

It's no secret that I lived in Haiti - and while I was there I saw a lot of things (if you want to know about any of it, let me know, I'll tell you. but you'll have to ask me to stop eventually, because I have a lot to say).

Poverty, brokenness, poor health, terrible living conditions, these all within feet or inches of me - always. Specifically the Saline. On the Saline there was a house with a man in it who was elderly, physically broken, and in need of serious medical care. My neighbor, Beth, and I visited often and she (a nurse) would do her best to help him, but her skills were limited for his needs. On one visit, I knelt down and prayed with the man that he would receive medical attention.

Someone took this picture of me praying and talking with him:


Today, I was looking at random pictures of La Gonave on google images, and I stumbled across this picture, taken on April 9, 09 (so says the stamp) - I left Haiti on April 1. Three weeks after I prayed with him.


The prayers of both Beth and I were answered in this picture, and I am blessed and elated that I found it!!!
The power of prayer... my oh my.

big lessons from a little man

His name? Nehemiah.

God has a way of putting things on our hearts at what we feel are the most random times. Like a few days ago when He said, "Hey Amy, why don't you open to Nehemiah tonight?" and I said, "mmhmm, ok, but I don't see what building a wall has to do with the African Children's Choir..."

Oh my, I mean this short little man and I are like twins, metaphorically speaking.

Reading through the chapters, Nehemiah finds out about the destruction of the city wall, he feels a call to rebuild it, he asks the king to go, the king says yes, he goes, he plans, he builds, he faces opposition, he keeps building. He keeps building. He keeps building until the work is done.

Do you see it yet? Do you see how we're twins? No? yeah. Took me a while.

It clicked in my head when I got to 6:3, where Nehemiah says these words: "I am doing a good work, and I cannot come down."

A few years ago my pastor did a sermon series on Nehemiah, and that verse is what I remember from it. Occasionally it runs through my head when I maybe don't want to do something other than what I'm doing, and I say the verse in pride. As if to say, "ha, as if, I'm busy doing good up here, so too bad, I cannot come down." But sometimes I say it in humility as a personal reminder. "I am doing a good work, and no matter how tired I am, no matter how much I may want to go back home, no matter what anyone else says, I cannot come down."

Building a wall around Jerusalem surely wasn't an easy task. Fifty-two days, chapter six tells us it took. Fifty two days - God had a pretty big part in this - because fifty-two days for a wall around a city is making quick work. (If only road construction in the 21st century could go as quickly.) But the stones were still heavy, the work was hard, with it came blisters, sweat and pain as they worked to restore the wall. But the joy they had in amidst the difficulties, the sense of accomplishment they must have had when they stepped back and saw just a little bit more of the wall completed. Isn't it worth it?

And I look at my life right now; I look at the beautiful faces I see each day, the joy and the hope that is in the eyes of each and every one of those kids, and I see my wall. I am Nehemiah, and the ACC is my wall. Some days the work is easy, some days it is hard. Sometimes I feel that the section I built yesterday came crumbling down today. Some days the work is quick and the party at the end of the day is a grand celebration of the accomplishments. Some days are just average - but I must rejoice in them all. For God has called me to this work - and when I continue to rely on Him, the wall will get bigger. It is good.

I won't be home for Christmas (this year you can't count on me, despite how much I would love to go home for Christmas) and I won't be home for Easter, Thanksgiving, my sister's birthday, New Years, or anything else for a while, but I am where God has called me to be. My wall right now is here, on a bus. I am doing a good work, and I cannot come down.

So you see? Me and Nehemiah, we are twins.

P.S - I like mail :)

Hey! This is my mailing address while I'm on the road, and I'd love to hear from you!

African Children's Choir

c/o Amy Thompson, Choir 35

PO Box 31683

Bellingham, WA 98228

Quotable.

In my tour journal I have a page dedicated to quotes from the children. Soon, I will have two pages dedicated to quotes... then three... then four... then five...

For now, here are a few of my favorites for you to enjoy.

Eunice, at the drive-through: "There is a man in the box who is talking!"

--

Me: "Stella, can you tell me what time it is?"

Stella: "It's two, two little, two little dots, nine, eleven, eleven, nine, one, one, dots, two dots, nine eleven, it's nine twelve."

--

Now to explain this one, I have been telling them in rehearsals to pretend like God has tied a string on top of their head and he's gently tugging it to help their posture. So this was Ruth one day, talking to herself & grimacing in pain:

"Ow! OW!! ow. OW! God is pulling the string!!"

--

Me: "Children, do you like Christmas music?"

Ivy: "Oh yes! (sings) Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

--

Stella: "If you catch the water the fish will spank you!"

--

Esther: "Auntie! Me I am brown like you!"

--

Jonah: "Derrick is cooking up harmonies!"

John: "In a SAUCEPAN!"

More to come, eventually :)