On The Road … Again

Tuesday, January 17

2012-01-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Where has the month of January gone? We have been in Bend, Oregon for most of this month with 2-3 performances scheduled every day. Today, at last I had my break, my much longed for "day off" – Luciana was sick in the night, and I volunteered to stay home with her, and in the process get some work done on my computer. I spent most of the morning working while Luciana slept, then helped her start a movie this afternoon, then took a nap myself for an hour. And now... well, I'm ready to go back. She still has some stomach pain, but hasn't vomited since 4:30 this morning, and she kept down all the food she ate today. Pray for her health. I'm afraid that if the pain in her abdomen doesn't go away we may be taking her in for appendicitis. It's weird, she's not vomiting, she doesn't have a fever, and she's not tired, but her stomach hurts as much now as it did this morning when she got up... and much less than when she was writhing in pain on the floor trying to fend off the vomit. Any doctors out there know a possible prognosis?

We are currently in Prineville, a town of 9,000 in the western foothills of the Cascades. They've predicted 11 inches of snow tonight, and a major storm in the mountain passes – which is exactly where we are heading Thursday on our way to Portland. We'll be in Portland for a week beginning Thursday night, then head down to southern Oregon, and we'll be in Northern California before the month is out. The way time flies around here that's not much time at all.

I'm greatly looking forward to the day we reach the heat of Southern California and I can shed my winter clothes until the year is through. The kids are looking forward to reaching warmer weather, as well.

Tomorrow morning we perform in a school at 9:45am and at our host church at 6:45pm, leaving the afternoon free... I hope we can finally start school! Everything's crazy around here, and much more involved than I ever could have imagined. But I love it all, and I love the crazy leaders and choir kids that I am blessed to spend my days with. Three months ago I was bored beyond belief and looking for a change, a way to get involved. Well, I've found it. I may never get any work done, but I love every minute of it!!

Wednesday, January 4

2012-01-04T21:04:00.001-08:00

We're on our way!

Early Monday morning we met up for the final time in Washington. It was the day after New Year's Day, and let me tell you, it seems like it was a week ago already! Our 3-van caravan headed south down I-5 with plans to arrive in Bend, Oregon in the late afternoon. I would say mid-afternoon, but we were scheduled to be here for dinner between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., and it gets dark around here way before that time.

This was our first day of long travel, and we did relatively well getting everyone in and out of single-restroom gas stations at our various stops. We slipped and slid over the base of Mt Hood as we made our way into the high desert that is central Oregon.

It's beautiful here - mountains tower to the west while barren, rolling hills surround us. For our first week on the road we are all staying at a Catholic camp about 30 minutes outside of Bend. Comfortable beds, beautifully paved & graded walking paths, and the magnificence of creation surround us at this spiritual retreat. And did I mention the sun? How I've missed seeing it in the last month. We've been given the run of the campground, even providing our own breakfast, which is a nice change. As long as we have eggs of some sort, everyone is happy.

As I said earlier, by the end of Tuesday I felt I had been here a week already - and we had only been on the road two days. And this isn't in a bad way. We are constantly changing schedule, adjusting plans, slowing down, speeding up, as we get our bearings and really start to work with the people on this team. There are no others around us anymore. There is no going home at the end of the day. There is only the tour, the choir, the team, and the lessons that God will teach us along the way. There are kinks - there will always be kinks. There is also a bet that I will marry one of the guys on the tour before the year is through. Did I mention we've only been here since Monday? Oh, the adventure!!

The sunrise yesterday morning as I was on my way to breakfast. I've missed the sun.

Sunday, January 1

2012-01-01T21:43:00.001-08:00

What a tour it's been... And we haven't even left Washington!! Tomorrow is our day of reckoning as we hit the ground at 8a.m., destination Oregon. The trailer is packed and organized. Everyone should have a suitcase full of clean clothes, there will be no turning back. Our first stop is Bend, OR where we'll be performing and recording for two weeks. Yes, recording. Someone has made their recording studio available to us free of charge, and the whole team will be working together to produce a great CD. The new year has arrived and the fun is about to begin. In other news, we had our final performances in Washington this morning, and with the pastor's promotion we saw 19 kids receive the gift of sponsorship. All of the choir kids have sponsors already, so this was sponsorship for children who haven't yet been given that gift. If the sponsors stick with the Program, these children will receive food, clothing and an education all the way through the university level. We have definitely been blessed by our week here in Enumclaw, WA.

Tuesday December 27

2011-12-27T22:38:00.001-08:00

Enumclaw, Washington. It's our final week in Washington and, after a week of rest and relaxation, we're gearing up for the final sprint. This time next week we'll be holed up in Bend, Oregon off on the road trip that will span 9 months. The kids are hard at work prepping to record a CD, and the leaders have begun packing and planning. The less we have to leave behind, the less we will need to mail later. 3 vans, 1 trailer and a camper. Our home for the next 9 months. 8 Liberians, 7 Peruvians, an Argentinian, a Welshman and 13 Americans. Our family. This is gonna be one crazy trip.

Monday, December 19

2011-12-19T07:25:00.001-08:00

7:20 a.m., waiting in the church parking lot, 2 sleeping Peruvians by my side. It's going to be a busy day with 3 performances at two different schools. But after today we'll be done performing for 2 weeks. Tonight we head an hour east of the city to our Christmas retreat. Not so sure I can call it vacation as the kids will be working hard most of the time. But we'll all be together. Merry Christmas!!

Monday, December 12

2011-12-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

It's been one of those days. The kind of day that's good but not great, that's full of miscommunication and misunderstanding but not about anything that I can put my finger on. A few frustrations have been brought to my attention and a few of my own frustrations have come out. What can I say? This is a team of people and children who are still in that "get to know you" phase. Sure, we've been together for awhile now but attitudes, personalities, and... well, people... have started to emerge. Fights break out between the kids. Arguments happen between the adults. Three (primary) cultures. Three ways of life. Almost 30 people. Coming together everyday from 9:00 to 5:00. Of course there is going to be miscommunication. We may be learning to love each other, but we're still only human.

For example, today was Alexis' 3rd birthday. Today she decided she didn't want to be 3 and proceeded growl and grumble at everyone most of the day. But she's still 3. We still love her. And so we sang to her and celebrated with her in the midst of her grouchiness. So also with the tour. We may get frustrated. We may want to leave, it's not going to be easy. But we're learning to love the kids. We're learning to appreciate each other. Day by day. Just one step at a time.

Thursday, December 8

2011-12-08T08:11:00.001-08:00

We've got another late morning today, and I finally have a chance to sit down and write.

Yesterday morning I was out the door before 6:30 a.m. and on my way to a middle school about 30 minutes from where I've been staying. If you've ever driven around Seattle you know that it's a sprawling city with huge suburbs and lots of commuter traffic. You can easily drive for an hour or two before you ever reach the city center. Needless to say, we've only been to the city once.

The kids performed at a middle school yesterday morning, one with over 1,000 students. I imagine it was a little overwhelming for the Matsiko kids at first, but they soon got into it and did not mind in the least. The students completely got into the performance, waving their hands, clapping, and even giving a standing ovation... and then a <i>stomping</i> ovation at the end. The Matsiko kids were treated like celebrities for the first time signing arms and T-shirts with permanent marker. Everyone wanted to see them, talk to them, hug them. They never wanted to leave!!

Of course, leave we did, but I'm sure the Matsiko kids are already anticipating their next school event. We all stuck around the school through lunch so we could sell some of our merchandise – jewelry, bags, hats and decorations from Uganda, Liberia, India and Peru. The students (especially the girls) loved it!!

2011-12-05T21:52:00.001-08:00

It's 9:40 Monday night and I'm already in bed. There's no such thing as a relaxing weekend anymore, not with the Matsiko World Orphans Choir in town. Yesterday was an overwhelming success, with a lesson in spiritual-ness thrown in for good measure. No mention of Christ in that church, although there was a quote from Buddha hanging on the wall. Today was a bit more relaxed as we rehearsed in a new church--one with a nursery just right for Emily and Alexis!!--with a late start and the kids practicing Christmas songs all day. Tomorrow will be more of the same although we may be hoping to start school... which reminds me, I'm in charge of school for the Liberians and I have no idea where their books are.

The First Few Days

2011-12-02T11:03:00.001-08:00

We made it to Seattle in record time – considering there were 3 kids under 3. My brother-in-law was not willing to stop for anything, and after leaving Nebraska around noon on Monday we arrived in Seattle just before 8:00 Tuesday night. And I thought it would take us three days...

I'm currently staying with Brad & Rhonda, and the Mark & Kate et al are sleeping in their camper in the driveway. It's been nice to be close to help Kate with the kids in the mornings. It's been an adventure so far.

The choir kids arrived just over a week ago, and their first concert was 1 week later. 6 kids from Peru and 7 kids from Liberia make up the whole of the Matsiko World Orphans Choir this year. While the Liberian's native language is English, the Peruanos have it a bit harder. A few of them speak some English, but they've been learning pretty quickly.

Alexis loves to see "her kids," although at the end of an over-tired day after the concert on Friday night she kept complaining of "too much dancing." It was pretty cute.

It's Sunday morning and we're in the process of loading up the vans once again. We've got 2 concerts today at Spiritualist (New Age) churches closer to Seattle (we're about 1 hr outside of the city). It'll definitely be an interesting day. It's been a pretty tiring week for everyone, although with no concert yesterday and an early night everyone should be a little more rested.

The big adventure for the day: the choir kids are changing host families and as of this morning there is no place lined up for them to go. If nothing else, they'll stay with Windham's, the family behind this organization. With only 13 kids there should be plenty of space - apparently the entire choir from the first tour slept at Windham's a few times, and that time there were a lot more kids.

2011-11-28T14:19:00.001-08:00

Somewhere in westwrn Nebraska... in the bumpy backseat of the Matsiko van.I've been listening to sermons by Bob Thune, pastor of Coram Deo church in Omaha. Does it count as listening when I slept through an entire sermon?Emily's yelling her ABCs and i assume the other two kids are sleeping.

1 Hour til Liftoff

2011-11-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

Everything's packed and ready to go. My house is clean, and most of my belongings have been stowed in the closet. The dresser is empty, the bed is made, and my bags are packed … let's get this show on the road.

I'm leaving this morning for an 11-month road trip with the Matsiko World Orphan's Choir. It's gonna be crazy … exhausting … amazing … and crazy.