My Last Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas from all the children of the African Children’s Choir, and of course myself!! We are all excited to go home and spend Christmas with our families in our local traditions. Now that the children have a return date, the African Children’s Choir Primary School in Intebbe is

busy preparing for their coming. After the children go home on December 7, they will spend a few weeks with their families and then return to the boarding school for further studies. Even though they are very excited about going home, Jeniffer told me the other day, “I want to go home for a vacation and then come back on tour.” The children have had so much fun and I know all of the chaperons will miss them dearly. My life will be very different without them. I am starting to save up money so that I can visit Uganda and Kenya in the next couple of years. I feel so connected to many people there and I need to see, first hand, how this organization can help them.

It can be a very hard process to get the children back to Africa with everything that they need. The airlines there are not as secure as European and American airlines and things are often lost or stolen. When a group of this size goes back, it is almost guaranteed that something will be taken, so we always pray that everything works out. The agenda of getting everything sorted and ready for a plane ride can also be difficult and generally takes several days of preparation. Please remember all this in your prayers the next two weeks.

Finally, I can’t believe this is my last letter!! All of you have been an amazing blessing in so many ways that I can’t even begin to thank you. This wonderful experience would have never been possible without the continued efforts of your prayers and support. Every time people ask how I can do this, I always say it is thanks to my support group at home and God’s direction. Life is very interesting and things change every day. I have recently stayed with a host family in London and they have offered me a job as an au pair. Please pray for me as I

am discussing and planning how this will all work. If anyone were to ask me a year ago if I thought I would be living in London, I would have laughed and said, “I wish.” But here I am, very serious about staying here for a while. Obviously I am nervous and want to do the right thing, but things are working very well. The visa is a little difficult to secure, so prayers for that portion of the process would be amazing. Also, if this move does not work out, I am at a loss for what the next step should be. Most of the other chaperons are in similar situations with uncertainty as to where life should lead them. Please keep all of us in your prayers, God works in mysterious ways and we all know that he will provide.

May you truly be blessed for supporting such a worthy cause and being my amazing friends. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all !!!!

“Auntie Jamie”

The Giant's Causeway

According to this web link: http://thenorthernirelandguide.co.uk/giants-causeway-and-legend-finn-mccool, the story of the Giant;s Causeway goes something like this:

Finn McCool an Irish Giant lived on an Antrim headland and one day when going about his daily business a Scottish Giant named Fingal began to shout insults and hurl abuse from across the channel. In anger Finn lifted a clod of earth and threw it at the giant as a challenge, the earth landed in the sea.

Fingal retaliated with a rock thrown back at Finn and shouted that Finn was lucky that he wasn't a strong swimmer or he would have made sure he could never fight again.

Finn was enraged and began lifting huge clumps of earth from the shore, throwing them so as to make a pathway for the Scottish giant to come and face him. However by the time he finished making the crossing he had not slept for a week and so instead devised a cunning plan to fool the Scot.

Finn disguised himself as a baby in a cot and when his adversary came to face him Finn's wife told the Giant that Finn was away but showed him his son sleeping in the cradle. The Scottish giant became apprehensive, for if the son was so huge, what size would the father be?

In his haste to escape Fingal sped back along the causeway Finn had built, tearing it up as he went. He is said to have fled to a cave on Staffa which is to this day named 'Fingal's Cave'.

A more scientific explanation for this amazing view and great pictures is that a

volcano erupted 60 millions years ago leaving lava to cool by the sea. The lava cooled in a way as to crack the stone in hexagons all the way down. As the land moves and shifts some of the stones move up and some move down. Many people consider the causeway to be the eighth wonder of the world. The children had a great time and a little science lesson on this cold Saturday.

October Letter

Hello Friends and Family,

What an amazing time we are having in Europe. The children will be able to say they have been to America, Jamaica, France, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Hardly any African children get the opportunity to see one of those countries, and Choir 34 has seen them all. The choir is such a privilege. But with all the excitement does come hard work and requires a lot of energy. We are forever changing host families and meeting new people. God has been so gracious in keeping us safe and well fed. With all the traveling we have done, not once have we gotten into an accident. How amazing is the work of God.

This last month we have had the pleasure of working with the children of the American School of Paris. What a blessing they were for us. The people were so friendly and asked to help in any way possible. Before we drove away from the school, we had to sort through a whole room of donated clothes. When there are 23 children to cloth, it is great to have an overflow and wonderful selection. We provided workshops for most of the children at the school, but were still lucky to be able to leave in the afternoon with time to drive through Paris and see all the famous sights. We drove past La Louvre, La Grande Palais and La Petite Palais. Our coach driver was amazing and even set up a microphone to talk us through the history. We did stay in host families and several of us w

ere able to see the Eiffel Tower glowing at night close to our apartments. Amazing!!! We were all fortunate to be able to climb to the second floor of the Tower and look down over all the sights. Everything felt like a dream. Hopefully, this is a dream that the children will always remember and talk about the rest of their lives.

Just to add to the excitement, the children will be going home shortly. They cannot wait to see their friends and family. As the children do prepare to go home, please pray they will adapt easily to their return. They have had a wonderful time in the west, using hot water for showers and having warm houses at night. When they go home, most of those luxuries will be gone. Yes, they will be home among friends and family, but they will also be returning to a third world country. Things are not the same there.

The road has been a wonderful experience, but it has not all been easy. As the chaperons think about going home and the cost of starting over, please keep us in your prayers. Many of the chaperones have left everything behind and are afraid of what lies ahead. Several of us are looking for jobs and a place to settle down. Currently, we are also looking at the cost of plane tickets home and how we will be able to fund that. Tour is coming to an end, but now more than ever we need your prayers and support. God is good and will provide for us, but it is always good to have a little encouragement.

Thank you to all who have helped me over these last 18 months. Nothing you have done has gone unnoticed. Everyone on the team knows and has felt the support of so many other people from home. None of us would be here today if it wasn’t for our support team and the people who truly care for us and our dreams.

May God continue to bless you

“Auntie” Jamie

September Update

Hello again to all,

I still can’t believe I am writing to you from across the Atlantic. Things over here don’t seem much different than home, apart from the accent of course and maybe the architecture. The children have adjusted very well and I don’t think the new countries have fazed them at all. They have been enjoying the different foods and learning new accents. One of the great things about seeing the world with African children, is that they have such a humble look on life. We have been able to do such exciting things together that I would have had fun with, but seeing everything with these children has opened my eyes. They have done things that they have never heard of before. Ride on cable cars and seeing the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. At least most of us have heard of such things.

These children had never heard of cable cars, and at home, they would have

had no chance of riding one. No bucket list to experience before they die, because they never thought they would leave their village. Now, what a treat, their minds have been lifted to new ideas and possibilities. If a glass bubble can be lifted up the mountain by a wire, what other things can be invented? The children just want to know everything and they are constantly asking questions. How does this work? Or, what is that? It is fascinating to watch their minds grow on tour.

We have also been fortunate to see Sunderland v. Manchester City at the Stadium of Light. What a great experience. I was sitting next to some of the loudest boys, who could shout the whole game and one of the quietest girls who still went wild at the end. I must admit, I am not the most excited person when it comes to football “soccer” but what an experience. We first took pictures on the field “pitch” with John Mensa, one of the players on the Ghana World Cup Team. And then later in the game, we watched him score the

winning goal at the net by our seats. We were in the action. The whole game nothing happened, but people getting hurt and being carried off the field by stretchers until the very last minute. During that last minute of overtime, Mensa scored the only goal on a penalty shot to win the whole game. That quite little girl sitting beside me was not so quite when that goal was shot. She jumped from her seat and began yelling and screaming. She became a completely different person.

We have been having great fun, but those joys don’t come without our service to God. Recently, we have been able to reach out to the communities of Balham, London and Easton, Bristol and several others. These places have not only been a blessing to us, but I hope we have been able to change their lives in a small way. Both of these communities are very multicultural and some places we’ve been in really need God’s love. As chaperons even coming in from the bus to setup for a concert, we have been able to talk to the homeless. I pray that joy has come from our faces as we tell of the concert that night and the strength these children have. Only God knows the true impact we have had, but isn’t sharing the gospel what Jesus was saying in all of his lessons?

Lastly, I want to thank all of you for keeping these children and this team in your prayers. Thank you for supporting me, even just during talks. I cannot begin to explain all the ways I have been encouraged just by talking with friends during this tour. God has a plan for Africa. He will not let these amazing people go.

May God bless you, now and forever

“Auntie Jamie”

First few days in England

Oh my word have we been enjoying our stay in the UK. Upon arriving in England we were welcomed for a five night stay in Hartlepool. There they treated us like Kings and Queens. Everything fun was planned and the children did not have one boring moment. We saw one of the oldest ships in England, the Trincomali. This ship was built for the British Navy in the 1700s. During that time, people would not enlist in the Navy, so the sailors would come into villages and capture men. Once on the ship, these men were forced to work for little pay, if any at all, and would be fed maggot infested food and rock hard bread. It was a very good example of how far we've come.

That afternoon, we sang the half time show for the Hartlepool Football Club. And then the next day went to see the Sunderland Football game against Manchester City. Before this game, we were invited on the pitch to take pictures with John Mensa. Mensa was one of the players on the Ghana World Cup Team. What a first impression at that 30,000 seat stadium. Sunderland even won with one goal during the last minute, in over time, on a penalty shot. The crowd went wild. It was so great to experience all of this with the children. During the Sunderland game I was sitting with Rebecca who did not say one word the whole game until that last minute when the goal was made. At that sight, she jumped a foot from her chair and screamed. Thank you Hartlepool for a great five days!!!!

August Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for the safe travel of this choir to Europe. We are here and did not lose one piece of luggage. The transition has been smooth and the children are slowly beginning to understand the dialect of the British people. Also this is an exciting time for the choir; we are in the process of bringing two more choirs to America. Lastly, school in Africa is going well and the children

from my last choir were able to see some of the previous aunties and receive a letter from me.

We are having so much fun in Europe and getting to learn about many things I never would have thought of before. Our first few nights in Scotland, we stayed close to the Highlands in Pitlochry. What a beautiful way to start in a new country. We rested there and enjoyed walking around the town and playing football. There, we also

met up with Auntie Rachel from Northern Ireland and Auntie Sharye, who has been working in the UK for a few weeks without us. It was so nice to reconnect and meet a new team mate. After Pitlochry, we started our tour, first with a performance for Annie Lennox at the Scottish Parliament and then three full concerts that weekend. It’s nice to start out with a busy schedule. After that weekend anything seems possible. This past week in Scotland has been a dream come true and now we have moved to England. At the border we saw the most wonderful sight of both Scotland and England. Creation is just magnificent and I can see God in everything.

So that is what has been happening on the other side of the world, now back at home. In America, choir 35 has been performing in Alaska and enjoying the beautiful Alaskan summer. The choir has not been to Alaska for a while, so it is nice to be able to share a little with them.

Also this month, choir 36 and 37 are preparing to come on the road. The Ugandans have already left for America and the Kenyans from both of these choirs should be arriving within the next week. Please pray for continued safety in traveling and strength for these choirs to create a sense of family which is so important for these children.

The past choir children are also benefiting this month. The African Children’s Choir Primary School in Entebbe has been blessed to receive 14 shelves of books from Libraries of Love and the organization is already planning on sending more. What a treat this donation has been. The first library at the school was only half a book self and now the children have so much more. The choirs on the road are also working to build this library. With every choir that goes home, they too bring books that were donated while on the road. Reading is such an important part of learning and it is amazing to see the children in Africa excited about God’s blessing.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping in my mission to impact the children in Africa. I pray every day they will not forget the impact they have in spreading God’s Gospel and making a better Africa through their own education. Please see more pictures on my facebook. With your help we can make a difference one child at a time.

With love and much thanks,

“Auntie Jamie”

Safe in the UK

We have made it safely to the UK. Amazingly, with 70 bags only 5 went missing, and we were able to receive them that same day. God is good!! I can't begin to explain how beautiful this place is. God's hand is clearly in everything.

I am also loving the time the team has been spending in devotions together. We did a lesson on prayer today, and several points really struck me. Our Tour Leader read a passage from the Screwtape letters about Demons hating when Christians pray. However, Screwtape said if demons can get us to be lazy and make us feel like our prayers have been heard, they will win. How often do we go about life not really convinced God is answering our prayers? How often do we feel that God knows all, so why should we tell him anything else? But just like the only way to truly know these children is by talking to them, the only way to know God is by doing the same. I learned two very important lessons about my job and God. First, if I want to be a good Auntie to these children, I must sit down and really talk to them. I have to ask them questions and find their pain and happiness. That is my favorite part of this ministry, knowing the children like no one else. My second lesson is to know God as deeply as the children and then some. I will say that is going to be harder, but it is truly worth everything I have. Without God, this team would fall apart, these children would still be hungry and people would go without knowing the true love of a father.