Meeting our sponsor child's sister

In 2008 we travelled to Uganda to visit our sponsor child, Joseph. He was in the African Children's Choir in 2005. When we visited Joseph we got to meet his whole family. Some time after we came home, we found out from the organization that 2 of his siblings were in need of sponsors. My mother-in-law and her neighbor decided to each sponsor one of them. My mother-in-law has been sponsoring little Grace now for 3.5 years and we found out this spring that Grace auditioned and made it into the African Children's Choir! She began touring the US in July. We were so excited that she made it into the choir and we prayed that the choir would come our way so we would get to see her. I contacted the Canadian office and asked where they would all be touring. They told us they would only be touring the west coast and they wouldn't be coming our way at all. I was so disappointed, but I didn't give up. I checked their tour schedule on their website regularly. I kept hoping that they would somehow end up coming our way. Then one day I saw they were coming to Minot, ND! I looked at the map and figured hey, we can make that drive. That's only about 4.5 hours away. I know how special it is for a sponsor child and sponsor to meet face to face, because sponsorship is suddenly not just a photo anymore. It's a relationship with a real person and letters mean so much more. I looked at the tour schedule and couldn't believe they were actually coming our way, so I contacted the office again, to make sure this was actually Grace's choir that was coming this way. They replied saying "No, that's a different choir. Grace's choir is only touring the west coast." I still didn't want to give up and replied saying "Are you sure? Can you please check with someone?" She said "I believe that's not Grace's choir, but I'll check with the tour manager." The tour manager emailed me and said "Yes, that is Grace's choir!" I just about jumped for joy!! I was so excited that we could get to see her! I called up my mother-in-law and asked "Would you like to meet Grace?" And of course she said yes, and was extremely excited about the possibility. She said I made her day!

So, I began looking for a hotel room in Minot, since it would be too long of a trip to make in one day, plus we needed to get there by 9:30am to see their Sunday morning concert. I had absolutely no luck. Every single hotel in Minot was booked solid! I began searching neighboring towns, and still every place was booked. I tried B & B's and they too were booked. I started asking questions about why everything was booked. It was due to flooding and also the oil rush, I was told. Every hotel had been booked solid for months already. There was no chance of getting a room anywhere near Minot for a long time yet. The closest we would get would be at least 3 hours away. What would be the point of that? We live 4.5 hours away! I was crushed! Grace was coming so close and we wouldn't get to see her. But I still didn't give up. I kept searching every neighboring town I could possibly find, for a room. Finally I found one in Rugby, ND which is only 1 hour away from Minot. They had only a couple of rooms left. I was thrilled! I booked one room for the three of us and another room for my mother-in-law. We would get to see Grace after all!

So, on October 1st, the four of us made the trip out to Rugby and stayed the night. The hotel clerk told us they've been booked solid for months and there's no chance of getting a room there for a long time yet and that we were very luck to have gotten a room when we did. I felt, wow, God really saw to it that we should see Grace. We stayed the night and headed out to Minot the next morning.

The choir had two morning concerts and we arrived at the tail end of the first concert. We were standing in the foyer when the concert ended and they kids came running down the aisle and into the foyer. The kids were giving high fives to numerous people as they ran past. We were standing very close to them and I spotted Grace and said "Hi Grace!" and she gave me a high five. She stopped for a moment and looked at us, like she thought she knew us and then ran off with the choir. She probably wondered how I knew her name.

While we waited for the second concert to begin, we met with the choir chaperones in the foyer. We had been in touch with them previously and they knew we were coming to see Grace , but they hadn't told Grace. They wanted it to be a surprise. We talked for quite a while with one of the African chaperones and he knew our sponsor child's family quite well. He updated us on how well Joseph is doing and how tall he is getting. We also asked about some of the other chior kids we've hosted in the past and he updated us on them as well. The choir chaperones sure showed their appreciation for us and thanked us for supporting them and then they invited us to stay for lunch so we could visit with Grace for a while. We were so thrilled! We felt honoured!

At first the chaperones were going to take us back stage before the concert so we could meet Grace briefly, but that didn't work out, because of the kid's schedule. We sat in the first row for the second concert so we could get some good pictures. When they kids came on stage, Grace looked at us right away. I think she was beginning to figure out who we were. Then she didnt' take her eyes off of us for just about the entire concert. It looked like she could hardly concentrate. At this point, I wasn't sure if she had been told about us being there or not, but it sure looked at though she recognized us. I know she had seen pictures of us.

Here's a few pictures from the concert. Grace had a number of solo parts, so you see her with the microphone quite a bit.

After the concert we waited and waited in the foyer for the chaperone to come get us and meet Grace. Finally, when just about everyone had gone home, the African chaperone and Grace came walking out to us. Wayne, his mom and Kumera were waiting around the corner and I had been wandering around chatting with some people, so they came to me first. When I saw Grace she was smiling from ear to ear! I bent down and gave her the biggest hug! I knelt down to her, took her hand and asked her if she would like to meet her sponsor. She said "Yes, auntie!" Then we walked around the corner and Grace and my mother-in-law met for the very first time. I'm not sure who was more thrilled about meeting each other... Grace, or my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law wanted to give her lots of gifts, but they really don't have room for a lot of gifts, plus they want to keep it fair for all the kids. But she did give her a small envelope with a few stickers, a bracelet, a pencil and a pair of socks. Grace seemed thrilled. Her big smile never left her face!

And finally, here we're sitting with her at lunch time, visiting.

Grace and Kumera together.
3.5 years ago, I never imagined seeing this.

She actually remembers us visiting her home 3.5 years ago. I asked her what she remembered about that visit. I expected her to say something about the suitcase full of gifts we brought, because I remember the family being very overwhelmed about that. But that's not what she said she remembered. She remembered me being shown the back room of their tiny 2 room home. The tiny room, which was very dark with the only source of light being the daylight shining through the cracks in the walls, had personal belongings piled up in the corners and the only furniture was two beds. There was hardly any room to maneuver in the room. One bed looked like a double and the other looked like a single. I quickly calculated in my head how this had to work. There were 9 people in this household... and two beds ... in very cramped conditions. I came out of the room very sobered from what I saw. Grace remembers this. She was four years old. Kumera is now four years old. It's hard for me to wrap my head around all of that.

Here are a few photos from that visit in 2008.

Grace standing in front of her home.

Us with the whole family in front of the home. Joseph is the one in the gray shirt holding the kite and Grace is in the red shirt.

Grace, just 4 years old. Isn't she a doll?

I feel so blessed to have this family in our life. They have opened our eyes and have taught us so much. I'm so glad that God opened the doors for us to see Grace this weekend, when we were told it wouldn't be possible. I truly believe God's hand has been in this relationship, right from the start, including the very first time we met Joseph when we hosted him in our home. That wasnt' supposed to work out either, but it did. Our trip to Uganda looked like it was going to fall through, but it didn't. Meeting Grace wasn't supposed to work out, but it did. And I am hopeful that we'll travel to Uganda again and visit this family at least one more time. God is so good!

Child sponsorship with the African Children's Choir is truly amazing! These kids lives are turned around! The African chaperone that we talked with spoke about how the kids become so healthy, happy and confident after they join the program. He sees how their lives are changed. Teaching the kids the gospel about Jesus Christ is also a main priority for them. And I've seen this in the past choir children who are now grown up and touring with the choir as chaperones. Living for God is their goal. I would recommend child sponsorship with this organization to anyone! They are truly an amazing organization!

To learn more visit their website: http://africanchildrenschoir.com/