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.

Conversations

I had two very interesting conversations this week with two of my favorite kids. They got me thinking about the type of children I hope to raise and the values I hope to teach them, the passions I hope to share with them, and the compassion I hope to instill in their precious hearts.

The first conversation really caught me off guard. I was driving E out to the barn the other day when she said, "Natasha, will you take me to Africa someday?" I've shared my experiences and love for Africa with the kids before - my volunteer work, what it's like to be an orphan, what Africa is like as a continent and culture - I've shared pictures, too. But it's been a while since that first trip and those conversations. I told E I'd love to take her to Africa someday... then asked if she'd talked about this with her parents. No, she hadn't. I explained to her that going to Africa is a big deal - it's a beautiful place but life circumstances of the people there are hard, the things you witness can be difficult to understand, and the logistics of traveling to a place like Africa can be complex. I told her that perhaps in a few years, when she's a little older, we could explore the idea of visiting Africa together (and after discussing it with her parents, too!). Then I asked why she wanted to visit Africa. She told me she wanted to volunteer there, maybe with kids, maybe with animals. She wanted to go on a safari, too. She told me she just really wanted to visit Africa. She reminded me of how eager I was to see the continent at her age. I pray that her heart continues to yearn for Africa and that someday I can be with her as she experiences Africa for the very first time.

The second conversation happened yesterday while we were all having lunch. I was wearing my "I need Africa more than Africa needs me" shirt. One of the girls asked what my shirt said and I read it to them. Little D was sitting next to me. He looked up at me and said, "Wait a minute. That doesn't make sense. Africa needs us more because it is very poor. Your shirt is backwards missy." Bless his seven-year old heart of gold. He's completely right - the continent of Africa is poor. And they probably do really need us more than we need them...logistically, financially, and spiritually that is. I tried to explain what the shirt meant. How Africa changed me and my life so much - how I needed to experience Africa, and be reminded of it and it's poverty, disease, and orphan crisis continually. I think that was more than a seven year old can comprehend. His response: "Well, guess we all need some Africa then, huh?" Yes, D, we all do.

Two simple conversations. They reminded me of the influence I have in the lives of these children - children who aren't even my own but who I care for deeply and who I consider my family. I pray that someday, I'll be having these types of conversations with my own children. From an early age I want to instill Christian values in them - teach them about love, compassion, and forgiveness. I want to help their little hearts understand the greater world in which they live = to love their Christian brothers and sisters in Africa. To pray for kids who have less than we do. To pray for their little brother or sister that someday will join our family from across the world. It amazes me what children can remember and what they can understand. And the overwhelming amount of compassion they can demonstrate when we least expect it.

As a side note, please read a truly inspiring and thought-provoking post about our prayer that God continues to break our heart for what breaks his. Andrea shared some great thoughts on this today and I encourage you to read what she wrote - I'm not sure I could say it any better myself.

Tanzania

I had the privilege of spending the Summer of 2006 volunteering in the East African country of Tanzania. Tanzania is a beautiful country - home to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Masai Tribe, and the Serengeti. It is a country that has been relatively stable for the past decade. It was one of President Bush's stops when creating PEPFAR and Wisconsin's own Mark Green recently finished his service as the country's Ambassador. Unfortunately, Tanzania is facing similar crises as other countries in the sub-Saharan Africa region. HIV/AIDS is rampant, there is lack of clean drinking water, the number of orphans continues to rise, and too many children go without an education. In 2007, there were an estimated 1.5 million people in the country living with HIV/AIDS,with nearly 150,000 dying from the disease each year. It is estimated that there are 2 million orphans due to the disease in Tanzania alone. One in six children will die before their fifth birthday. Tanzania's economy ranks in the bottom 10 percent globally in terms of per capita income and depends primarily on Agriculture for more than 40% of its GDP and 85% of its exports. More than 50% of the country is below the poverty level. Tanzania still hosts more than a half-million refugees, more than any other African country, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the international community's efforts at repatriation. These statistics sound familiar, right? Unfortunately, they are the reality of many developing nations, especially those in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Despite these grim statistics, the people of Tanzania are amazingly happy, generous, loving people. They have so much to give and give they do! They are open to sharing their struggles and honest about their needs. They are intelligent people, most dreaming of receiving an education. I fell in love with this country the minute I stepped off the airplane. The smell, the scenery, the language, the music, the people - I loved, and continue to love, it all.

My favorite part of Tanzania was the simple way of life. "Pole pole" the locals would say to us Americans. "Slowly, slowly" they were telling us. They would laugh as we would rush from place to place. Or complain about hunger, or lack of transportation. They reminded us ever-so-nicely that we needed to slow down. Somedays I whisper "pole pole" to myself still. I was amazed at how people with so little could be so giving. Every house I entered I was offered tea (the best Chai in fact!). Goats were slaughtered in our honor and beds were spared for us to sleep on. Kids wanted to share their English-speaking skills with us, greeting us with "Hello Teacher" or the ever-so-famous Swahili, "Muzungu, muzungu" (white person). They would touch our skin and giggle at their finger imprints. They would run from the hills to greet us with their smiles and hugs. Tanzania is truly a beautiful, beautiful country. It is also a country that changed me forever. Before I went on my first mission trip to Central America, I was told, "Be prepared to be ruined". I didn't truly understand that phrase until I set foot in Africa. Africa ruined me in the best way possible.

There's the background on the beautiful country I've grown to love. Tomorrow I'll be sharing about my experiences at the Nkoaranga Orphan Center, the reason why I choose Tanzania and the reason I am so passionate about orphan care!

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day, a day that I hate to say even exists. I hate that this day exists because it means that a cure has not yet been found...it means that people will continue to become infected and people will continue to die.

My first experience with HIV/AIDS was when I was in Africa in 2006. I spent some time at St. Lucia, an AIDS hospice in Tanzania. I held the hands of children infected with HIV. I loved on the children at the Nkoaranga Orphan Center who were left as orphans because of AIDS. This was my first experience with this deadly disease... and it certainly wasn't my last. This experience sparked a curiosity within me. Was this a disease that affected people in the U.S.? Where I lived? Was there a cure for this horrible disease? Did people even care about all the infected people and orphans here and thousands of miles away?

My curiosity and need for answers led me to choose an undergraduate internship with the Center for AIDS Intervention Research at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Here, I worked on a specialized HIV/AIDS prevention project that taught me more than I ever could have anticipated. I learned that people in the U.S. are in fact infected with HIV/AIDS and continue to be infected at alarming rates. I learned that while most people in my community have access to prevention programs as well as treatment, including anti-retrovirals, most people in developing parts of the world are not as fortunate. I learned that while there is no cure YET (and I say yet because I believe there will be one day soon) there are people who spend every day trying to find one. Most importantly, I learned that people do care about those infected with HIV/AIDS.... but sometimes they don't know how to show that they care because of the fear and lack of knowledge about the disease.

I could list a bunch of facts about how many people in the world are infected with HIV or the number of orphans due to AIDS. I could tell you the ways you contract HIV (and no, you cannot get it from touching an infected individual) and all about treatment. But I won't. Because today is about raising awareness that this terrible disease exists. It is about finding a cure. It a day dedicated to honoring the lives lost and the children left as orphans because of this disease.

I encourage you to do some research today - to learn the facts. Knowing the facts is what helps protect yourself and others. Knowing the facts is what helps eliminate the prejudice and stereotypes associated with HIV/AIDS. Today I remember all the children who have died from this disease and those left orphaned because of it. Today I remember all the patients I sat with here in Milwaukee as they were told they tested HIV-positive. Today I remember all the conversations I had with young and old people alike about how to protect themselves from contracting HIV/AIDS.

Today is World AIDS Day and I hate that this day even exists.

Visit www.aids.gov for more information on HIV/AIDS.