So far Northern Ireland has been my favorite place we have been on tour. The capital of N. Ireland is Belfast (one of the children called it "Breakfast" by mistake! ). I was lucky enough to spend quite a few "days off" in Belfast. Each of the chaperones get 1 day off a week and I really enjoyed going to the city for the day. One day Eleni (another chaperone) and I went up in the Belfast Wheel to get a good view of the city.

Portstewart, Northern Ireland

Portstewart, Northern Ireland

I was so surprised to find beautiful sandy beaches in Ireland! Portstewart was absolutely gorgeous! The girls REALLY wanted to jump in the ocean and I had to hold them back! It was way to cold to even consider it!

Nomkhuleko, Phephile and Nompie at the beach!

African Children's Choir in Armagh

Watch my kids sing! This is an outdoor performance we did in Armagh, Northern Ireland. The kids sang a couple songs with a group called The Tenors and Divas Incognito but the majority of the concert was the choir. Let me know what you think!

The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway was my favorite place to visit in Northern Ireland. It is called The Giant's Causeway because of the legend that says a Giant built it as a bridge to Scotland. Here is some info about it:

The Giant's Causeway (or Irish: Clochán na bhFómharach)[1] is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim, on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about two miles (3 km) north of the town of Bushmills. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and a National Nature Reserve in 1987 by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland. In a 2005 poll of Radio Times readers, the Giant's Causeway was named as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (36 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places. The Giant's Causeway is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.

We took the choir there on a fun morning out. It is an amazing reminder of what a wonderful creator our God is! I love how the rock formations fit perfectly together!

Welcome to Northern Ireland!

I can't believe we are leaving Northern Ireland on Saturday and I still haven't posted pictures on here about our time on the Emerald Isle! These are photos of the day we arrived on Sept. 4th. We came on the Ferry from Scotland. The first photo shows Musa on the Ferry with Ireland in the background. Armstrong, Siyabonga, Musa and Selina are posing in the next picture. A beautiful rainbow greeted us upon arrival!

























Pretty smiling under the rainbow!

Meet the Choir #33 Chaperones!

Choir #33 Chaperones in a Telephone Box!

Angee (American from Oregon), Agreenth (South African), Lindsay (Scottish), Eleni (Canadian from B.C.), Lauren (American from Washington), Michelle (American from West Virginia), Godfrey (Ugandan) and Me

Fun at the Park in Edinburgh!

We took the children to some great parks in Edinburgh!














Hope















Siyabonga

Auntie Jenny and Siyabonga















Jabulile, Nompie, Pretty, Nomkhuleko, and I

At the Beach in Edinburgh

Jabulile, Hlengiwe, Tintswalo and I enjoyed staying with hosts that lived near the ocean when we were in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh with the boys!

I stayed with Musa, Siyabonga, and Maxwell (Pictured below in that order) at a host family in Edinburgh. We climbed on some paths around a big mountain (or maybe it's just a big rock, but when you are from Illinois it looks like a mountain!). The view was beautiful!

I'm back in the blogging world!!!

Hi everyone!
I hope someone still tries to follow my blog! Sorry for the lack of posts! My laptop broke after only a week in the U.K. Thankfully God has provided a great new one and now I hope to get back to keeping up with blogging! I love sharing stories and pictures with you. It helps me to process all the many things I do and learn while on tour and I LOVE reading your comments so keep them coming!!! Love from Ireland, Jenny

At the park

Siyabonga















Pretty





















Nancy





















Hope












Penuel and Amazing





















Suprise

Double Decker Buses!

Gabsile, Phephile, and I have been staying at a host family at the edge the city of Edinburgh. Each day we have been taking the bus into the city where we meet up with the rest of the choir for school, rehearsals, and concerts. We have been enjoying the double decker buses and girls love to sit at the very front on the top!


Phephile and Gabsile

Please come to our show!

Hello from Edinburgh, Scotland! We are here in Edinburgh until the end of August. The children are performing concerts for a famous art festival called The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We have performances 4-5 times a week in a beautiful old church in the center of the city. The festival is throughout the whole city in different venues and also street performers. The children have been enjoying going out on the streets to pass out flyers advertising the show!


Nomkhuleko, Tinswallow, Hope, Sikhunbuzo, and Maxwell


Who could say no to her? :)




















Tintswallow and Hope

Praying for Choir #33

Thank you to so many of you who want to pray for Choir #33. I thought it would be fun for everyone to know who is praying for who! Some of you may even know one another. I think I may have missed recording a few of you so if your name isn't on the list please let me know! Right now the choir is in Dubai performing at a special event. Pray for endurance of the heat (highs of 107!) and safe travel back to the U.K. on August 4th. Please continue praying for my preparations for joining the Choir on August 9th! Pray that God would give me peace and that I would rely only on Him during this time of transition. Enjoy the photos of these beautiful children!



Xolane
Xolane is prayed for by The Cale Family and Kim B.















Tintswalo (Tint-swallow) is prayed for by Barnes Dental Associates and The Williamson Family




















Suprise is prayed for by Jonah (age 12), The Gerber Family and The Amble Family














Siyamthanda is being prayed for by my parents, Ben (age 4), and The Bogner Family





















Siyabonga (See-ya-bone-ga) is prayed for by The Fry Family and Howard and Jean F.
















Sikhunbuzo is prayed for by The Weitekamp Family and Aideen (a blog reader!)
















Selina is prayed for by Ilse G. and The Pascavis Family
















Johan Samuel (He likes to be called Sam) is prayed for by John and Mary Ellen B. and The Gilroy Family
















Pretty is being prayed for by The Fry Family, The McMains Family, and Tanya E.
















Phephile (Pep-pea-lay) is being prayed for by Rylie (age 4), The Gerber Family, and my Aunt Sue.




















Penuel is being prayed for by Johanna B., Tara B., and Todd H.















Nompie is being prayed for by Leah S. and Tiffany W. (a blog reader!)




















Nomkhuleko (Nom-koo-lay-go) is being prayed for by Sue W., The Rice Family, and Andrea

















Nancy is being prayed for by Gloria S. and Dave & Mary T.




















Musa is being prayed for by Josiah (age 5), The Meade family, and Jim & Julie G.













Maxwell is being prayed for by Wes & Pat H., The Pascavis Family, and Natosha S.















Jabulile is being prayed for by The Cale Family and the Knowlton Family



















Hope is being prayed for by Mike & Kim H., Tanya E., Kendall (age 8) and The Gerber Family


















Hlengiwe (Thang-ee-way) is being prayed for by Bill & Arla M. and Rick & Marilyn S.













Gabsile (Gab-sea-lay) is being prayed for by Lydia (age 6), The Meade family, and Taunya S.













Banele is being prayed for by The Hodge Family and Alyssa G.















Armstrong is being prayed for by The Hodge Family and Julie L.





















Amazing is being prayed for by Carol M. , Kay T. and Natosha S.