God stuff | 1000 Fields of Roses

…And Then We Danced….

I have been wanting to teach the boys some forms of dancing….

As I am… *ahem* … choreographically challenged 😉 …. my first thought was to get some DVDs from the library. This is a great idea… I just keep forgetting to do it. I do, however, have a Watoto DVD from last year. We put that on this morning, and we all danced.

Sorry about the blurring. They were moving too fast…

We tried to follow the Choir, but it’s difficult to follow when it’s so fast. We eventually decided to just worship with dance…. We danced a few songs, then watched a couple of the bonus items. The boys heard about the plight of orphans, and the way some people are forced to live…. which led to many questions and heartfelt prayer.

All in all, a good morning!

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on August 2, 2011 at 1:53 pm Comments (1)

Watoto Continued…

Yesterday, we set the boys the task of writing an essay about the Watoto concert they went to the night before, and about what they learnt…

Biggest boy has had some issues with not taking time to really think about his work, and just doing the bare minimum to get by… we were pleased that he wrote from his heart 😀 Here is his essay….

Watoto – Concert of Hope

The Watoto Choir is a vibrant, energetic choir with kids that have been orphans for a while. The children are usually found on the streets. The children are found by a worker from Watoto and taken to the Watoto village. There they are put into a house with seven siblings and a mother. They eat good food, go to school and make new friends.

When the Watoto Choir sings the room is lit up by the happiness that they show in their songs and their stories.

I really liked the Watoto Choir, their happiness and their love. My favourite bit was the auctioneers when they were selling the drums. They kept swapping over to be on the side that was giving the highest bids.

We are luckier than a lot of the world even if we have problems. There are people that are homeless and rejected. But we can do our part to help those people.

I sung to most of the songs and we even got up to dance. These kids once were hopeless and lost, now they bring joy to everyone who hears them.

All the kids have a different story but they all end in hope and faith.

The Watoto Choir is Christian and all the kids believe in the Lord. Every kid sees the Lord as their saviour and loves him very much.

Watoto sings of hope and love and is always good to hear.

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on August 2, 2011 at 1:43 pm Comments (1)

Raising Future Leaders…

Just spent an evening with the Watoto Children’s Choir…..
a beautiful, uplifting evening…. hearing from those who have endured more than most of us would in a lifetime, but have found Someone who loves them and will never forget them 😀

Truly a Concert of Hope!

Here’s a clip, if you’re feeling forgotten today….

I Am Not Forgotten

Another one for praise….

Paki Rwoth
(These are from a couple of years ago, but are the clearest I found… you get more of the energy at a live performance, though :D)

The Watoto Choirs tour internationally as ambassadors for Watoto, presenting the vision and mission through music and dance…..
An excerpt from the brochure –
“Watoto is an holistic care programme that was initiated as a response to the overwhelming number of orphaned and vulnerable children and women in Africa. It is positioned to rescue an individual, raise each one as a leader in their chosen sphere of life so that in turn they will rebuild their nation. The Watoto model provides for physical care, medical intervention (including HIV/AIDS treatment), education (formal and vocational), counselling and emotional wellbeing, moral and spiritual discipleship.”

Here’s the site –

Watoto – Rescue Raise Rebuild

Go have a look – there’s lots of info…. you can sponsor a child, Baby Watoto, a house mother, or a woman living with HIV/AIDS… you can even buy great merchandise, and support the various projects.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even find out how to visit! 😀

A final message from the children….

African Lullaby

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on July 31, 2011 at 10:18 pm Leave a Comment

Noting Thankfulness…

This is the post I meant to write today! 😀

Yesterday we went shopping, and outside the shop, past the checkouts, there was a stand of flowers. There were bunches of bright yellow/orange narcissi (the shop called them jonquils), so I breathed in their wonderful scent. They made me smile….
When I first went to England, and I started to get regular pay, I would go down to the precinct on a Friday (when I got paid) to stock up on flowers…. it was Spring, when my favourite flowers bloomed. We were on a tight budget, but I could get bunches of daffodils and narcissi for a couple of pounds, and they brightened up the flat for days. Sometimes, if I was feeling flush 😀 I could get some irises, or, more rarely, tulips or freesia. Sometimes, in the early Spring, there would even be snowdrops. The fragrance of the narcissi brought back that time, with all its excitement and newness…

What else has made me smile the last couple of days?

Coffee! (Yeah!)

Time to chill out on the verandah.. drinking coffee 😀

My dearly loved family…

Being able to search through the Psalms with a couple of lovely friends, and talk about God!

Knowing I have other wonderful friends, dotted about the globe (you know who you are!)

Knowing that, despite everything, I am extravagantly and abundantly blessed!

There are so many more things throughout my days, the fleeting moments that make me catch my breath in wonder, or the recognition of miracles already there, but often unnoticed…

….but – how about you? What made you smile today? 😀

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on July 26, 2011 at 11:34 pm Leave a Comment

I wasn’t going to post this, but I’m still feeling unsettled…. perhaps to write it out will be helpful….

Today, I had a bad headache, and I had a sleep early afternoon, after lunch. I was woken, a short time later, by a horrible dream, in which something terrible had happened to my littlest bean….
You know that state, between sleeping and waking, when you’re sort of not quite there? All I knew was that I had to pray, urgently and specifically…. so I did, the panic passed, I went back to sleep.

Was woken a little later by littlest boy crying.

Every so often, he thinks it’s hilarious to put things on his head. Usually they’re things like buckets…. today he chose the plastic bag one of his games came in. It was long and thin, and fairly tough. Somehow, he’d got it on, but it had slipped down, pressing against his nose and mouth so that he couldn’t breathe, but slipped down far enough that he couldn’t get it off again. He was panicking when he got to Daddy, who couldn’t get it off, either. He eventually tore it off, using brute force – the bag is in pieces, and I don’t think any of us want to look at it again….

I slept through it all.

Sweet bean was panicked and angry (through fear). He came upstairs, but pushed me away when I tried to cuddle him. We eventually calmed him down, hugged and talked… no lasting damage, and I think he’s talked his fears out…

But what if I’d rolled over and not thought to pray? It’s probably a moot point – the urgency was too great to ignore.
One of my greatest fears is that I won’t be there someday when my precious boys need me. I know (intellectually) that I never will be able to be there every minute of every day, and I pray for their protection every day…. sometimes I forget to “not worry”.

I’m so glad that I have a Father who is looking out for them, and who alerts me when needed…
“He will not let your foot slip –
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:3,4

I am so glad that “I (can) lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” – Psalm 4:8

….and I am so glad that there is a precious little boy, sleeping peacefully in the next room, who will wake again safely tomorrow for another fun-filled, energetic day!

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on July 26, 2011 at 11:13 pm Comments (2)