Exciting News

I have been following some blogs of families that are adopting from the orphanage I am visiting in Uganda. Today I found out that three of the Moms are flying to Uganda the same time as me. We are actually all on the same flight! We are making plans to meet up at Heathrow Airport. This is such a blessing because I have been praying for them and their children! Here are pictures of 2 of the families when they first met their children in April:



The Pari Family with Jay

The Gunderson Family with Judah

Good Morning America!

African Children's Choir to Perform on Good Morning America! Wednesday, July 11th at 8:45am. Check local listings.

The bandannas have arrived!

I had a little help practicing for the project I will do with the children in Africa. Here are the results. What do you think?

Great work Lydia and Josiah!

Africa: Popular travel destination?



Apparently the answer is a resounding NO! Tonight I was in Barnes and Noble and the INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL section caught my eye. I wandered over and began looking for Uganda. I then realized that the books were categorized by region so I began looking for Africa. Know what I found??? 7 books...that's it...7 books. There were 5 bookcases full and less than 1/2 of a shelf was dedicated to Africa. This served as a huge reminder of God's goodness to me! Not very many Western people will get to visit Africa in their lifetime and here I am traveling there for the second time! "Every good and perfect gift is from above."



Just in case you forgot how BIG Africa is or ever wondered where Uganda is I am providing this visual:)

I just ordered 55 doz. bandannas!!! Please pray that they come in on time. I ordered several different solid colors that the kids are going to tie-dye with bleach. I had an interesting time in the ordering process. The first place I found that sold them in bulk had the smaller size (14x14in) available for the great price of .30 each ! BUT, when I called to order they mentioned that this size would not work for the kids to tie on their heads....bummer! The next size up would cost almost twice as much and I could only chose ONE color. On top of all of that....the amount I was ordering would weigh 58lbs!!! I had to laugh...their was NO WAY that was going to work! So I decided to wait and pray. The next day I was searching websites once again. I found a place where I could order the larger size in many colors and it would cost the same as the smaller ones AND (surprise!) they weigh only 42lbs! God is so good!

Help! I'm stuck in the baby department!

HELP! I'M STUCK IN THE BABY DEPT. OF WALMART!

In anticipation of making Amani Baby Cottage the first stop of my Uganda trip I have run into a slight problem~Walmart Baby Dept.! The two little outfits above have strawberries on them so of course I HAD to get them. I am hoping the pink dress will fit baby Violet who I met last year. But if you see me wandering in the Baby section of Walmart please chase me out! I can only fit so much in my luggage! The orphanage specifically requested pajamas and cloth diapers so I am trying to make that my priority! The next pictures are of pajamas that Mary Ellen, Peggy, and I found at garage sales and some new pairs from a CCA family. I can't wait to dress the babies in them!

60lbs of school supplies

60 lbs OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

I have one bag almost packed! I filled a whole suitcase with craft supplies from an organization that collects used school supplies at the end of the school year. Now I have enough crayons, pencils, scissors, glue, and watercolor paints for all 625 students!!! I am hoping to use the last 10lbs allotted to this bag for cloth diapers and pajamas for the orphanage. Thankfully, the airline allows me to take three 70lbs bags because my trip is considered a "humanitarian effort". The next few weeks, at my church, I am collecting items specific to the crafts I am planning. I need safety pins, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, fun foam, construction paper, and colored drinking straws. Any help with these items is appreciated!

Performance on American Idol

It was really amazing for me to see the ACC kids performing on American Idol last week. These are the same kids my group visited in Uganda last summer. They were just learning to sing and dance and they practiced for us on the front porch of the house that was their temporary home and school. When we arrived the yard and house was so quiet~we found out that the kids were having "nap time". The headmaster woke them up with a little bell and they rushed into the room to immediately give all of us hug after hug after hug. It was really their first contact with a group of Muzungu's (white people). We played games with them in the yard. The most memorable moment for me was when these kids cheered because we had brought them underwear. Yes, that is what I said, UNDERWEAR! How much we take for granted! Several people have mentioned to me how hard it must be for the choir kids to go back to Africa after they have been to the United States. I have pondered this issue also...I have actually asked myself is it really fair to give them a taste of the "good life" and then send them back? I think God is beginning to show me a different perspective on this issue. Would I rather have my kids be thankful for receiving clothes as a gift or have them complain about not getting that new game or toy? Does it really matter if a child grows up without an opportunity to be constantly busy with swimming, piano, karate, tennis, or golf lessons? What if they never go to a movie or visit Chuck E. Cheese? Aren't we a somewhat prideful saying that we are so much better off here? Thankfully these children, unlike many other African kids, will have their needs met. The choir kids will go back to Uganda to attend the Music for Life School with loving Christian teachers, food, and clothing. I am also thankful that these children are taught from the beginning that God has given them a great opportunity to make a difference in the United States AND Africa. Click below to see Choir 29 on Amerian Idol.

American Idol 6 Finale - African Children's Choir in HD !!

This is Choir 29 performing on The American Idol Finale in May 2007

ACC Choir 29 in Uganda, Africa

This is choir 29 practicing in July 2006.

My Plane tickets have arrived!

I just received my airline ticket in the mail! I leave from O'Hare Airport on Tues. July 3rd and arrive home on Sun. Aug. 19th.

Here is my schedule while I am in Uganda:
July 5-11 Volunteer work at Amani Baby Cottage in Jinja Uganda
July 12-31 Planning & facilitating camps at schools supported by the ACC
Aug. 1-18 Chaperone Training with ACC staff

Max~The Best Dog Ever

I hope you all got to meet Max....but if you didn't here are some of his best pictures:

I miss my Max! He was such a good friend and I think he thought he was a person....when he rode in the back seat of the car he put his paw on the arm rest while looking out the window. The last time I took him for a walk I sat down at a park bench and he jumped up right beside me and sat down like it was totally normal! Also, I had to give him his own pillow or I would wake up in the middle of the night with HIS head on MY pillow!

***He was very smart....he would get so excited when I put on the shoes I always wore when I took him for a walk. He also knew when he was in trouble and would put himself in "time-out". I always knew that if he didn't meet me at the door when I got home that he had gotten into the trash or something because instead of being at the door he would be in his "time-out" place in the bathroom!

***The most interesting thing Max ever tried to eat was a bag of sugar. He got about 1/2 way through it and when I got home I learned where the term "sick as a dog" came from. Thankfully Max never learned how to open the fridge but I did have to put child locks on the cabinets.

***Max was great guard dog and took such good care of me. He could sound so very mean and vicious and would bark when anyone seemed threatening to him...even if it was just my Dad or a friend! I always felt so safe with him around.

***Now it seems like he should always be there following me around. When I sit down I am just waiting for him to be there trying to jump up on my lap. He was my 75 lb lap dog!

***As silly as it may sound...Thank you Jesus for my special puppy who you sent to me when I needed him most!

Choir 29 with Simon Cowell and Josh Groban

at American Idol: Idol gives back

I'm going to Amani Baby Cottage!

I AM GOING TO AMANI BABY COTTAGE!

I just found out that I am going to be able to spend 1 week at Amani Baby Cottage before I meet up with the Team Africa group for the camps we will be running. I visited there last summer and even though we spent less than an hour there...I know I left a part of my heart there! I am very excited to have the chance to spend some more time at this wonderful place. Check out http://www.amanibabycottage.org

This is my friend Andrea from Quebec. We met last year on Team Africa and share a similar love for the Ugandan people. She is actually going to Amani at the beginning of May and will be there when I visit in July. It will be wonderful to see a familiar face after traveling so far on my own. We can't wait to play with the babies together!

With or without an E

WITH OR WITHOUT AN E......?

Being a bad speller I often rely on my spell check. Well, I have to tell you it has really let me down. I REALLY knew that chaperone was spelled chaperone....BUT my spell check kept saying chaperon. So, I finally decided to break down and actually look it up...on a online dictonary of course. Well, come to find out, it says you can spell it chaperon OR chaperone!!! So my next thought was well maybe I'll just leave it chaperon because of the spell check. Then I had 2 different people proof read a support letter for me....one recognized the missing e as wrong and the other didn't. So, then I decided to pull out the big guns and get out a real dictionary. GUESS WHAT? It also says that it is spelled chaperon or chaperone. All this to tell you, if you really care, I have decided on the e. I guess you never really know what you are going to learn when you decide to become a missionary.

FAQ's

FAQ's

I thought I should address some of the frequently asked questions about my future chaperone adventure:

DO THEY PAY YOU PRETTY GOOD TO DO THIS?
My position is actually a volunteer/missionary position. I will be raising support for my personal and travel expenses.

SO WILL YOU BE TRAVELING AROUND STAYING AT HOTELS?
The Choir tries, as much as possible, to keep costs at a minimum so that the majority of the funds can go directly to where it is needed most. Therefore, the children and chaperones stay with "host" families the majority of the time. These are families (from the church that is hosting the concert) that have invited a few children and a chaperone to stay at their home.

WHEN AND WHERE WILL YOU BE TRAVELING?
My tour will begin in mid September when the choir arrives from Uganda in Chicago. Next ,we will travel up to Minnesota. Rumor has it that we will be doing concerts in North and South Dakota and Kansas after that and the rest of the tour is TBA. I will keep you updated!

HOW DO YOU TRAVEL?
Most of the time we will be traveling in The ACC bus. It sounds like it will become my home away from home soon. This is a picture of Choir 28 infront of their bus.




HOW LONG WILL YOU BE GONE?
I have committed to at least 1 year of travel with the choir. Sometime during the year I will take a 2 week vacation to come home.


WHAT WILL YOU AND THE CHILDREN DO ALL THE TIME?
The children give 4 concerts a week (Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday nights and also Sunday mornings). We will spend some days traveling of course but other days will include time spent doing school work, dancing and singing practice, rest, and play. Every few months we will have what they call "camp" where we stay at a retreat or camp-like place and the kids don't have class or choir practice all week. Here is a picture of a Choir kids (and a chaperone) having some fun at camp.

"Aunt will you come back next year?"

"AUNT WILL YOU COME BACK NEXT YEAR?"

This is the question many of the African school children had for me as I left camp last summer. It warms my heart to remember them saying, "Aunt, I wil miss you." and "Thank you for teaching me Aunt." And now... I am happy to answer "YES, I WILL COME BACK"! I will be joining the Team Africa Trip in Uganda July 12- Aug. 2 before I go on to have my chaperone training. Yippee!


I hope some of you will start leaving comments so I know someone out there is reading! :) (they can be short!)

In case you missed the email I sent out at the end of March...Here it is:

Hi Friends and Family,
I am going to try to start sending out some mass emails to keep everyone informed about my African Children Choir Chaperone plans. I am so excited about the way things are shaping up and I can't wait to share with you what God has been doing. I have already learned that things can change in a moment so keep that in mind as you read of my "plans"! As of now I will be going to Uganda for at least 2 weeks in Aug. for chaperon training. This is the first time the Choir has done this but it seems very beneficial in my view. All 6 of us Western Chaperons and the 2 African Chaperones will be able to train together and begin to get to know one another. We will get to meet Choir 30 and maybe even see some of their schools and homes. I imagine this will be very helpful to all of us and especially to the chaperones who have never been to Uganda. Last summer I got to see the schools that the Choir supports and spend time with the students that get to attend school because of the funds from the Choir. It will be wonderful for all of us to have the same understanding of where these kids come from and also see where the money that the choir raises goes. After the training in Uganda all of us will go to our homes and have about a month to get ready to travel on tour. I will meet up with the choir when they fly into Chicago from Uganda in September. From that point it on we will be traveling in a bus and having 4 concerts a week at different churches and community events. That is the news for now. Here are some additional praises and prayer requests

1. I have a roommate moving in in June. She will be taking care of Max(the best dog in the world) when I am away. Please pray that she can find someone to live with her when I am gone
2. I would really like to spend more than the 2 training weeks in Uganda. I am praying about going earlier. Please pray that this would come together and that God would give me wisdom and guidance.
3. I will officially begin fund raising May 1st. I am going to need somewhere around $1,000-1,500 of support a month. The majority of the support will be for my airfare and health insurance.
4. Please pray that God would give me many opportunities to share what God is doing in my life and in Uganda.

Thanks so much for your love and support! It is hard to believe I will really be traveling and being Auntie Jenny to 25 young kids in just a few months! Love, Jenny

Team Africa "06 in pictures

I had high hopes of journaling all about the trip that has inspired me to move on to become a chaperone....BUT it seems too big of a task for now. So...I will post some of my favorite photos for you and hope that they tell a story....

These are some of the girls at one of the schools we had a camp at. Most young girls had their hair this short.

Morning devotion time at African Outreach Acdemy

This little girl's name was Happy...I think she is happy in the Lord!

I did craft activities with the kids at both camps. At African Outreach Academy I had 50 students in a class!

This girl lived out in a village that I traveled to with another group member. Our vehicle was the only one in sight, the roads were dirt, and there was no electricity or running water. I brought this doll and some other small toys for the children.

This is some of our group hanging out at The Music For Life primary school where the choir kids go after tour. Baby Violet is a orphan at the Amani Baby Cottage. She is going to live with her forever family in California soon.

Amani Baby Cottage

Jenny on a Boda Boda!!!

The Calling (Part 2)

In the fall of 2005 The African Children's Choir came to my church, East White Oak Bible, for a concert. At this time in my life I looking for possible opportunities to go to Africa during summer break. I had checked out many orphanages on the web but it seemed as if they all wanted money, not people. Considering I had no money to give it was frustrating. At the concert I was amazed at the dancing and singing but mostly at the smiles of joy coming from these beautiful children. During the concert they told of the need for volunteers and that is when I feel God began my journey to Uganda.