What's a Watoto?
There are two great questions in the English language. The first is "To be or not to be?" (William Shakespeare); the other is "Why a duck?" (Chico Marx). And to them I add, "What's a Watoto?"
"Watoto" is an African word for "The Children". Last night at our church we had the Watoto Choir, from Kampala, Uganda (East Africa) put on a concert at our church and it was pretty fabulous. The music, dancing, and displays were top notch (which inspires another good question - What is top notch, and why should we care about it? But I digress), and the Missus declared it "wonderful".
I got up to the church yesterday at about 12:30. By 1:00 a TV film crew was there to get some info; they interviewed me (there was no one else around) and left to come back once the choir arrived.
The choir got there at 1:40, in a brightly painted tour bus in need of a good wash (driving on Northwest roads through several winter weeks will do that for ya). They unloaded the equipment and spent the next few hours doing a very professional job setting it up. (You know, when guests come to put on a program at your church you never know for sure what you're getting, but these men and women knew what they were doing, and did it right.)
The bus (and children) headed for the laundromat; when they got back they did a high-powered rehearsal and then sat down for an all-you-can eat chicken dinner provided by the church, some friends of ours from the preschool, and a local grocery store. Thanks guys - you came through big time!
By the time the program started at 7:05 the parking lot was full and the church was packed. IT WAS ROCKIN! We couldn't have asked for a better concert. It was in English and at least one African language, and I wouldn't have missed a minute of it. They even sang some songs we sing at our church, but in new arrangements... and in some local (uh, non-English) language. Everyone - choir and audience - were grinning and laughing. What a blast.
By the time we got home at 9:45, with four Africans in tow (three well-behaved friendly boys - Michael, Ivan, and Eddy - and a great chaperone, "Uncle" Peter) we were exhausted but we stayed up until 11:30 drinking milk and singing songs. Taught Peter to play "Holiness" on the piano. He tried to teach me a couple of tunes, too. Many thanks to all the great families who hosted the kids!
We were up about 7:00 cooking sausage and french toast (stole the church's big griddle to facilitate the feeding) then were back at the church by 9:00 to see them off. Then? about 3 hours of clean up to get the place ready for worship and Bible study tomorrow.
Wow. Big times. Great times. Great big times? But now you know, "What's a Watoto?", and you know that if you ever get a chance you should hear the Watoto Choir.
Find out more about the Watoto choir, their mission with AIDS orphans, and their dreams, at www.watoto.com
"Watoto" is an African word for "The Children". Last night at our church we had the Watoto Choir, from Kampala, Uganda (East Africa) put on a concert at our church and it was pretty fabulous. The music, dancing, and displays were top notch (which inspires another good question - What is top notch, and why should we care about it? But I digress), and the Missus declared it "wonderful".
I got up to the church yesterday at about 12:30. By 1:00 a TV film crew was there to get some info; they interviewed me (there was no one else around) and left to come back once the choir arrived.
The choir got there at 1:40, in a brightly painted tour bus in need of a good wash (driving on Northwest roads through several winter weeks will do that for ya). They unloaded the equipment and spent the next few hours doing a very professional job setting it up. (You know, when guests come to put on a program at your church you never know for sure what you're getting, but these men and women knew what they were doing, and did it right.)
The bus (and children) headed for the laundromat; when they got back they did a high-powered rehearsal and then sat down for an all-you-can eat chicken dinner provided by the church, some friends of ours from the preschool, and a local grocery store. Thanks guys - you came through big time!
By the time the program started at 7:05 the parking lot was full and the church was packed. IT WAS ROCKIN! We couldn't have asked for a better concert. It was in English and at least one African language, and I wouldn't have missed a minute of it. They even sang some songs we sing at our church, but in new arrangements... and in some local (uh, non-English) language. Everyone - choir and audience - were grinning and laughing. What a blast.
By the time we got home at 9:45, with four Africans in tow (three well-behaved friendly boys - Michael, Ivan, and Eddy - and a great chaperone, "Uncle" Peter) we were exhausted but we stayed up until 11:30 drinking milk and singing songs. Taught Peter to play "Holiness" on the piano. He tried to teach me a couple of tunes, too. Many thanks to all the great families who hosted the kids!
We were up about 7:00 cooking sausage and french toast (stole the church's big griddle to facilitate the feeding) then were back at the church by 9:00 to see them off. Then? about 3 hours of clean up to get the place ready for worship and Bible study tomorrow.
Wow. Big times. Great times. Great big times? But now you know, "What's a Watoto?", and you know that if you ever get a chance you should hear the Watoto Choir.
Find out more about the Watoto choir, their mission with AIDS orphans, and their dreams, at www.watoto.com
posted by David Hardesty | 8:22 PM
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