watoto (lululululu)

What a treat to have the Watoto Children's Choir in church this morning.

These Ugandan orphans are bundles of energy, music and smiles. Can they sing and dance!

Their stories touch the heart. So much pain in their short lives. Most have lost parents to illness, often AIDs.  Some were abandoned in hospitals when they were infants. Others were left in the care of aging grandparents, older siblings, or to fend for themselves. Each child's story is full of pathos.

"I Am Not Forgotten" sung by Watoto

It was lovely to see the affection these kids get from their chaperones (the taller four people in the choir). These are young people from the Watoto church who accompany the choir on their six-month tour to look after the children, some as young as eight.

I was moved by their enthusiasm, gratitude, joy, energy, and hope for Uganda's and Africa's future.

This group, along with five other choirs, are currently touring. Check their website to see if a Watoto Choir is coming to your area. If they are you won't want to miss them!

Check out the video for a sample of their sound and energy.

good

This musical and dramatic production was very good!

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week:  Light (Photos of beautiful light, reflecting, shining through, colourful,...)

island adventure 7 - Baker Road: a church and a beach

Hubby has checked online and picked out Bethel Pentecostal for us to attend on the Sunday we are on Salt Spring. Thursday we do a reconnaissance drive to find the church.

Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island, BC

We step out of the car in the parking lot of the cute little wooden structure and hear a piano playing. It turns out the pastor and his wife are both on site, so we meet them and have a chat. I give them a copy of my novel for their library and while visiting in the parking lot pastor's wife points out the paintings done by her predecessor on the rock wall. I love these!

Bible verses painted on the rocks, Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island, BC

Before we leave they explain how to get to a beach at the bottom of their road (Baker Road). The beach on Booth Bay ends up being one of the most interesting beaches we find on our Salt Spring Island stay. At low tide every pool is alive with creatures and under every sea-weedy rock hide the most brilliant purple starfish you'll ever see.

Starfish on Booth Bay beach, Salt Spring Island, BC

And what about these rocks! I think they're shale.

Shale rock formation, Booth Bay beach, Salt Spring Island, BC

We return to church on Sunday and are struck by the beautiful quarry setting that frames the brown wooden cross—seen from the church driveway. We even meet the man who made and installed it, as he happens to be at visiting the service that day. It's wonderful that because of Jesus we can feel a deep bond with people we've just met.

Cross on the driveway leading to Bethel Pentecostal Church, Salt Spring Island

a pastor to seniors tells it like it is

One of the things I've wanted to do from the time I started my focus on aging and seniors issues is to interview real seniors and the people who love them.  I was thrilled when the seniors pastor at my church, Arlene Trauter, agreed to do an interview right here on the blog. Her photo is only a glimpse of the vivacious personality and warm heart that so endear her to us.

Here are my questions and her answers:  

1. How long have you been a pastor to seniors?  

Pastor Arlene: 10 ½ years

2. What attracted you to the job & how did you get started? 

Pastor Arlene: I have had a great love and appreciation for senior citizens since I was a small child.  I was asked to give leadership to the CLA Seniors’ Ministry when Pastor Don Cantelon stepped down and directed his attention to the Visitation Pastoral role.  

3. What are the things you do as a pastor to seniors? 

Pastor Arlene: I plan, organize and facilitate weekly/ monthly events (including a dinner), trips and special events for seniors.  I am presently planning a 12 day trip to Israel for May/2013.  In overseeing this ministry, I contact guest speakers/musicians,   recruit volunteers, work with an executive, have a ministry to widows, call & make contact with seniors.

4. What’s your favorite thing about this job?  And what other things do you enjoy? Not enjoy?

Pastor Arlene: My favorite thing is to provide care and value to a group of people that are so often overlooked   I love seniors and I love to be around them.   

I love hearing their stories and gleaning from their lifetime of experience.  I love learning from them.   There will never be another generation like them!   

Not enjoy?  I find it hard when seniors pass away.   That is the hardest thing about my job.

5.    Has this job changed you?  If so, how? 

 Pastor Arlene: Yes it has. I have learned so much from this generation in terms of them being….. hard working, persevering, forgiving,  predictable, consistent, strong, faithful, trustworthy, content and having a ‘never giving up on life’ attitude.  They have experienced hard times and I love that pioneer spirit, survivor mentality, overcoming mindset and an unshakable faith and trust in God that so many embrace.  I believe that this job has challenged me to greater appreciate the wonderful life that I am so privileged to enjoy!

6.    What have you learned about your own aging as you’ve worked with seniors?  And how have these insights impacted your life?

Pastor Arlene: I have learned that how you view growing older has more to do with your mind than your body.   Staying positive and upbeat and seeing the glass half full, rather than half empty is the way to live.  

However, we do need to care for our body through proper nutrition and exercise and staying active.  We also need to be involved with things that we love to do and that bring us life.  

Keeping our mind sharp by reading, taking a class, playing games, doing puzzles, learning new aspects of the  computer world, travelling etc. is a bonus as we age and keeps us young at heart.   

Keeping a great sense of humor and not taking yourself so seriously has to be one of the best things we can do as we age.  Grumpiness is a downer and will keep people at bay.  

Community is also so important and having good friends and staying in close touch is vital as we age.  We were meant to do life together and not in isolation.   

On a spiritual note,  Psalms 10 states that God satisfies my years with good things, and that my youth is being renewed like the eagles.  I am not growing older, but better!  I desire to live with a cheerful heart and to nurture an attitude of gratitude.   I must keep looking to God, believing and trusting Him in all things! 

(Those insights have shown me) that life truly is a gift!  That I must not wait until everything is perfect in my life before I decide to enjoy this amazing journey!  I need to embrace and live life to my full potential now! 

7. What qualities are helpful for people working with seniors?  

Pastor Arlene: Patience…….. giving value to them, by being attentive and hearing what they have to say……….respecting and honoring them…………….embracing their life experience and asking them questions about their journey…..giving quality time.

8. What advice would you give seniors about relating to their church and the pastors who shepherd them?  

Pastor Arlene: Seniors must guard their heart against criticism, because change is inevitable.  There is a book out entitled Change is Inevitable, but Misery is Optional.  Although this book isn’t about seniors, this book title is appropriate for aging seniors  because they will be confronted with the choice either to go forward with  change and embrace it, or stay ‘stuck’ in the past.  The church does not look like it did 60 years ago, although the message is the same.   And the music is not the same as it was even 20 years ago.   If seniors can embrace change in their church and pray for and encourage their leadership, this will be invaluable to them.

  (Emphasis added)

Thank you so much, Pastor Arlene! 

For readers in the 50+ age group, Langley, B.C. area,  we'd love to have you join us for the fall seniors program which begins in September. Check out the CLA Adult Ministries web page for information on how to contact Pastor Arlene and get details. 

music

Worship leader

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: STAIRS (Straight, Spiral, Indoor, Outdoor, Fire Escape,...)

lavender just keeps on giving

You have probably heard me talk of the Lavender Project the women in my church have been involved in. Through it we harvested and sold lavender products to raise money for plastic surgeries to reconstruct the mutilated faces of women in Uganda.

I was excited to find out, today, that our leader and the idea person behind this project, Cherril Holcombe was one of four women honoured by the Langley Rotary Club at a luncheon just in advance of International Women's Day tomorrow (March 8th). Read about it here: "Local women are honoured for good works."

How fabulous is it that the story I wrote for our denominational magazine, testimony magazine, also published this month. "The Lavender Project- a fragrant offering of hope" begins:

"Cherril Holcombe listened with horror as Marilyn Skinner, guest speaker at the May 2010 Life Women Conference in Surrey, B.C., described the facial mutilation many north Ugandan girls suffer when they try to escape from sex slavery at the hands of soldiers from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Marilyn first became aware of the problem when she saw a photo of Nancy, a woman with no nose, no lips, and no ears. Then Marilyn met Nancy and heard her story. Nancy was only seven years old when she was abducted by the LRA. She escaped but was abducted a second time. After her recapture, another child soldier was forced to do the facial mutilations with a razor blade.


Marilyn went on to describe how it was virtually impossible for these women to integrate back into normal society. Their repulsive appearance and the way food dripped out of their mouths when they ate meant that nobody wanted to be around them. When they started businesses, no one wanted to do business with them. They were rejected by everyone, even shunned by their own families and left isolated with no hope." 

Read entire... 

Related: "Lavender sales rebuilds slaves' faces lives.

soldiering on (#853-860 of 1000 gifts)

"Persistence is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." - Walter Elliott

I am in the middle of a book edit. It's a scary time. I know, in my imagination, what I want to achieve. But sometimes it feels like I'll never get there.

My temptation is avoidance. The fridge beckons. So does the TV. I am fighting the urge to tidy my office. Sometimes I daydream lists of things I'll do when this is finished. I try to make the job less overwhelming by setting small goals. One chapter at a time. Just do it!

853. I am thankful that I cleared the deck of my life to have time to do this.

854. Spring is starting to show her lovely face.

Snowdrops

Pussy Willows

855. The fans have done their work and the house is dry.

856. A Valentine dinner with hubby at Galini's.


857. I left my editing seclusion on Wednesday morning to spend time with friends at Women By Design. So glad I did.

858. For some hours on Saturday I watched Whitney Huston's funeral. It was sad and beautiful and even uplifting—a huge testimony to the importance of faith in God and what's important in life.


859. Our church begins its annual month of missions emphasis each year with a flag parade. The photo below was yesterday. Love it!

A parade of flags starts our annual missions emphasis

860. Church + a walk by the river + lunch at Ricky's + curling (on TV) = a perfect Sunday in February.

Dragon Boat training on the Fraser River

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If  you'd like to join me and many others collecting One Thousand Gifts,  please do. Some members of this gratefulness community post their gifts  on blogs, while others list them in private journals. Instructions on  how to join are here.