Patrick, Julius, and Nelson from Uganda

On Sunday, the first day the boys from the African Children's Choir were with us, we made peanut butter cookies. Here are Patrick and Julius stirring the dough.

Nelson was not interested in making cookies, because he liked picking out notes and tunes on the piano. He has had access to pianos since the tour started in the USA last September. He plays the drum for the performance.

Here are Patrick and Julius watching me plop the very sticky dough down on the cookie sheet. They learned how to press forks on the top.

We enjoyed having Patrick, Julius, and Nelson at our house along with their chaperone Steve from New Brunswich, Canada. They stayed with us for three nights. Monday night was their concert, which packed the huge sanctuary at First United Methodist Church. The ways they sang, moved, and danced amazed us all. It was fun to be in the audience.

And here is a picture that shows Nelson standing up with his drum with some other boys:

This particular choir tour has been in Texas since the end of November. They'll be in the state until the end of this month. The next major metropolitan area they'll be in is Houston, so if you are there, try to catch one of their shows!

Three boys at our house

On Sunday afternoon, three boys from Uganda and a chaperone came to our house. Patrick is 8 years old; Nelson and Julius are 10 years old. Their current chaperone for our visit is Uncle Steve from New Brunswick. Out of respect, they also call my husband and me "Uncle" and "Auntie Jan." The boys are very polite and say "thank you" for any little thing we do for them or show them.

I was surprised and pleased at how much they liked the meat pie I fixed for dinner last night. That's an old favorite of my children, but I did not know if it would seem odd to them. They have been in the United States since September and so they must be somewhat accustomed to American food.

Tonight is their performance. Nelson plays the drum. Patrick said he likes to dance most of all. It will be fun to watch them.

If you click on each country, you will find out what the African Children's Choir is doing there:

Uganda

South Africa

Rwanda

Ghana

Sudan

Nigeria

Kenya

African Children's Choir

One of the groups of the African Children's Choir will sing at First United Methodist Church on Monday night. They were here two years ago, when MJ was still home, and four little girls and an adult from Uganda stayed at our home. We are going to host some children again, though MJ will still be away at college.

The African Children’s Choir is made up of some of the neediest and most vulnerable children in their countries. Many have lost one or both parents to poverty or disease. The African Children’s Choir helps these children break away from the everyday cycle of poverty and hopelessness.

In Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, Sudan, Nigeria and Kenya, children are chosen to attend music camps. Before being selected to join the Choir, children, generally aged between 7 and 11 attend Music for Life camps. These camps are fun and stimulating environments that provide a break from the daily hardships the young children face at home.

We'll have the children staying with us from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday morning. So now I am getting rooms ready for them to sleep in and buying food to cook. All I can remember is that they really liked sweet potatoes.