African Children's Choir

Last night Dave and I went to see the African Children's Choir perform at a local church. I was so excited when I found out the group was coming to town. When you live in Wisconsin, you realize what a rarity it is for something big like this to actually come close enough to attend. The Choir's been touring the southern/eastern states quite a bit lately so to have them in our very own backyard was great!

If you've ever seen the Choir perform, you know how talented the children are. And if you've ever been to Africa and seen children sing and dance in their own culture and language, you can imagine how different it was to see them singing up on a stage, in English, in suburban America. As I looked around the packed room, I couldn't help but wonder what drew all the people there to see them. Had they too experienced Africa firsthand... fallen in love with its children, culture, and beautiful landscapes? Were they simply interested in music and dance? Did they have a heart for His children? No matter the reason, we all gathered in the sanctuary of Christ Church with one mission: to support the children and mission of the African Children's Choir.

As the Choir was introduced and the children ran past me, up on stage, I felt tears begin to stream down my cheeks. The memories, the love, the heartache, and probably the pregnancy hormones overwhelmed me. It's rare that I can talk about my experiences in Africa without crying, for so many reasons, but to see those children on stage and realize what being a part of the choir means for their lives, for their futures, it overwhelmed me. Thankfully the room was dark :) The show was amazing and so were the stories. The children shared some of their backgrounds with us - poverty, disease, abandonment, life as orphans. They shared their dreams for the future - doctors, nurses, teachers, Presidents. They shared their love of Jesus - their love in our Father, their thankfulness, and feelings of being blessed. They also played a short video that showed former Choir members back in Africa, mostly in Uganda and Kenya. The choir members talked about how their lives changed for the better because of their involvement in the Choir - they now had college degrees, they overcame extreme poverty and disease - one even said he would probably be dead if he hadn't been a part of the Choir. I was thankful that Dave could see the video especially. He could see images of the slums of Kenya and Uganda, hear the stories from the Children's mouths, and feel the pain and suffering they described. I love how much his heart has been changed in the past year. He really gets it - he gets why I'm so passionate about orphan care and Africa, he gets how my experience and time there changed me, and he understands why I feel so strongly about adoption. He talks about when we adopt and asks questions about what the process will be like. He really just gets it which to me shows that God has been working on his heart... breaking his heart for what breaks His slowly and confidently. When we left the concert last night, Dave said how amazing it was and I could just see that he was broken a little more.

I must also note that our little one apparently has a love for music, especially African music. Baby was moving and moving all throughout the concert...more than I've ever felt before. Dave thought it was the coolest part of the night, of course. All those pregnancy books and blogs say that the baby will start to move when you either eat something they like, talk to them, or when they hear noises that stimulate them. You can bet we'll be adding some of the Choir's CDs to our collection for baby :)

So, if the Choir ever comes to a city near you, whether in your own backyard or a few towns over, I HIGHLY recommend making the trip to see them perform. I promise you'll fall in love with the children. In fact, the children informed the audience at one point that they were certain some of us probably wanted to adopt them right then and there (mindreaders I tell you) but they weren't available for adoption - instead we could buy a CD, DVD, or Tshirt and bring them home with us forever. Such great little salespeople and talented singers. And beautiful, beautiful children of God.