May

May 1-

DAY OFF! This is our fist official day off. We have been on the road for 1 month now and we are ready. For their first day off a few of the kids went to the Dr. The group keeps passing a cold around and a few of the kids were holding on to it tight. 2 of the kids ended up with a chest cold and something similar to bronchitis. They also got to enjoy spending time with the Lanore family. They all went to Wendy's for dinner and experienced their first "frosty". Much to everyone's surprise when given the choice of a hamburger or a chicken sandwich 18 kids chose the chicken sandwich and 14 chose vanilla over chocolate shakes. The group also did a family outing to Wal-Mart to get shoes to wear during their performances, up until this point they have been performing in bare feet. Because they have been traveling so often and are constantly hearing the voice on the GPS Robert has started mimicking and even mocking it so when they were done at Wal-Mart he said "Prepare to exit Wal-Mart". The resort wants them to stay there because they are, and I quote "the best guests we have", they have fallen in love with the kids, so much so that the employees took up a collection out of their own pockets and raised $85 for the choir, thank you so much to the staff!

After seeing a food court sign . . ." Why does the food have to go to court?" Daniel

May 2-

The Lanore family decided to take everyone to breakfast at a diner before the drive to VA. The kids sang a song for the employees and patrons of the diner and got half knocked off the bill, look what these kids can do with their beautiful voices. After breakfast the team packed up for what they thought was going to be a 4 hour drive to Springfield, VA. 4 hours turned into 7 and they were glad to finally arrive back in VA again. The exciting thing about this day was they were all going to stay the night with host families. The group was split up into smaller groups of 3 - 4 kids and a chaperone to go to 6 host families. The kids really enjoyed them selves and were so happy to see how American families lived, but they were still looking around for their GCCI family, up to this point they have been traveling in a pack of 25 people so they may have felt a little lost.

May 3-

The kids got to do a lot of fun stuff with the host families from going on a hike to watching a movie to playing at a park and they all had a great time. That afternoon they arrived at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church to get ready for the service and do a mini concert. During the service Robert was shining while singing "Jesus loves me", many people in the church commented on how big his smile was while singing a song be believed so highly in. Carrie said most of the kids had never even heard that song before then. That night the Church hosted a pot luck for them and they went back to stay with the host families that night for some much needed rest.

While having their pictures taken someone said "Say Prince of Peace" and what came out was a bit different, "Prince of Pizza" - Mudu started that one. He has had a taste of pizza and I guess he likes it!

May 4-

After breakfast and some rehearsing they had a concert at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. After the concert some of the people from the church took them down town to the National Zoo. There was a group of 36 people so it was a large crowd to keep up with. While driving through DC Carrie pointed out the Mint and explained that was where they printed money. Someone in the back said "If that's where they make money why don't we just stop by and pick some up?" That evening when they got back to the church they were picked up by their host families and went to their houses for dinner and got to hang out with them before bed.

May 5-

Everyone arrived back at the church by 8 am. They spent the morning making mother's Day cards for their sponsors with art supplies donated by the Varacalli's. Carrie said they had never used markers before and they had a great time being creative. That afternoon Mr. Jefferson (an professional football player from the 60's) made them a BBQ lunch. The kids all ate the chicken while the Americans ate the beef. After a fantastic lunch they packed up again and headed to Richmond. Once they arrived there they went to Westley Memorial Untied Methodist where they did a concert. The pastor was originally from the Congo and he enjoyed it so much he danced the entire time. After that a group of 6 grandmothers made them a meal they will not soon forget. It was a traditional southern meal complete with boiled greens, fried chicken, fried corn bread and more, all of the kids LOVED it. After a great evening at the church Jamie took 6 kids to a host families host and Carrie headed to a hotel with the rest. SO far they had only stayed on the first or second floor and this time they were staying on floor 14. One they way up the elevator they were a little scared. Once they got in the room Jackie said "Stand back", she didn't want anyone to fall out of the window. Someone else asked if an airplane was going to hit their building because they were up so high.

May 6-

They arrived at Martin Luther King Middle School where they performed a concert at 1pm. Then they met with the excelled learning kids and got a tour of the school. After the tour they went to the church and everyone took a nap in the pews, this has become a usual thing with this group. They all get to stretch out on their own pew and no one bothers each other and they all get a great nap, you have to do what works for you! That evening the church made Fried Chicken and spaghetti dinner for them. That evening Carrie took 8 of the kids to the pool and worked with them on their swimming skills. Jamie and the other kids went to host families and did laundry and watched the cooking channel.

Carrie now has the cold that the kids have been passing around; we hope she feels better soon.

May 7-

After breakfast they packed up once again to hit the road, this time to arrive in Lynchburg, VA. They didn't arrive until after 2:30 so they found where they were going to stay, got settled and got ready for the concerts coming that evening. They had a mini concert at 5 pm and a full concert at 7 pm. That night they stayed in these 4 small cabins in the woods, 2 for the boys and 2 for the girls, by an old (100 yr. old) abandoned church. Although the cabins were small they all enjoyed them.

May 8-

The next morning they ate breakfast and had some much needed and deserved free time. The church Pastor took them to the local YMCA to go swimming. They all had to wear life jackets. It took some awhile to get used to but Emma got it really quick. He was floating on his back in the middle of the pool with the Pastor and because he was wearing his vest could not see him. He started to get really nervous and said "Pastor? Pastor!!!” he felt like he was abandoned in the middle of the ocean but of course the Pastor was right there with him. That afternoon they went back and took their naps in the pews again, I told you this was becoming a habit. That night they performed a full concert. There was a news article written about them in the "News & Advance" a local Lynchburg paper. To read the article click on: http://www.newsadvance.com/lna/news/local/article/african_childrens_choir_performs_at_church/4679/ They drove back to their cabins that night in a huge thunderstorm, the Pastor had to save them from a snake and the kids slept through the storm that continued all night.

May 9-

They woke up and had breakfast before leaving to drive two hours to Fredericksburg. They were planning on staying with host families but when they arrived the host families’ homes were already filled with hurricane victims. The choir sang for the misplaced people before heading to a hotel for the night. That afternoon they went bowling and who knew... Olivia is a bowling hustler. She was crowned the bowling champion after scoring 114 and 107 on her games. Way to go Olivia! After that they went to Chic-fil-la for lunch and to do a concert. The owner has an orphanage in Ghana and was so happy to have them there. They were told to pick anything they wanted on the menu. After they ate they did another concert and then enjoyed ice cream cones. Imagine their surprise when they found out they could EAT the cone, needless to say that made them very happy. That night they went back to the hotel and swam until 10:30 pm, the kids are all doing so well in the pool and they enjoy it a lot.

May 10-

They woke up and had breakfast and sang for the other customers eating, and then spent the morning back in the pool. Since the kids are learning so quickly Carrie wants to keep it up. They headed back to their room and got cleaned up and packed and ready to hit the road again, this time a short 1 hour drive to Orange, VA. When they were getting ready to leave the hotel staff told Carrie "These are the best mannered kids we have ever had stay with us". Once they arrived in Orange, VA they went to Emanuel Baptist Church. They then performed a concert in the city park; it was a beautiful setting for the beautiful voices. That afternoon they had hotdogs, hamburgers and watermelon for lunch. That evening they drove to Chester, VA and met their host families by 8 pm.

May 11-

They arrived that morning at Chester United Methodist and sang at both services. Since it was Mother's Day they of course sang "Mama" to all of the moms in attendance. If you have ever heard the song you know there was not a dry eye in the house. After the services they got an afternoon off to spend with their host families. Each family did different things such as a soccer game, took naps, had a BBQ and some even worked on beading. They all had a great time and I am sure that the host mom's were so proud of the "new family" on Mother's Day.

May12-

The crew hit the road again, this time to Norfolk, VA. After arriving they did a big family trip to Wal-Mart to get black socks for their dance shoes. When asked if they would ever where them, Carrie said they are getting used to them and they actually like then now. That evening they stayed with host families again. When they were unpacking the trailer they had extremely high winds and Carrie truly thought the littler kids might blow away, so she held on tight.

While shopping Flora asked Carrie "When is Aunties Day?" Carrie told her there was no Aunties Day and Flora said "Yes there is and it's tomorrow". She wanted to buy a skirt for Jamie and it was 13.92 (That might not be an accurate #, sorry if it's not), since they have been collecting change Flora took out her money and told Carrie she had enough, in one hand she has 13 cents and in the other 92. Carrie of course appreciated the thought so much that she was allowed to buy the skirt, after explaining how much $13.92 really is.

May13-

Flora got up and made Jamie a card and brought her Auntie's Day present. What a thoughtful girl. Let me tell you another thing about Flora, when I met Flora on 4/13 she wandering around camp lost and did not know much, if any English; luckily she found Mama Ginny who found her group she had been separated from. Carrie said she is now not only understanding and speaking English but she is teaching the younger one. Again, she is an amazing girl.

They went to a school in the morning and the beach for the rest of the day. They spent the day swimming in their underwear; once they got out they had to dance until their clothes dried. If you are at all familiar with Norfolk you know there are a lot of cargo ships, so they spent the day watching them and talking about them. Then they noticed a man wind surfing and he told Carrie that one of them asked him "What country did you sail in from", they thought that he was traveling like the cargo ships were. That afternoon/evening they returned to their host families. 2 of the families got together and went Kayaking. Some of them got stuck under the dock but once they got the hang of it they had races and a great time. 4 other host families got together and had a huge BBQ.

May 14-

Did a concert at a preschool and had 30 - 40 preschoolers join them to sing and help play the drums, they all had such a great time. That afternoon the got to go to the Virginia Aquarium, the kids loved the sharks and turtles. That afternoon when they got back then took a nap so they would be ready for their concert that night. Once they work up they had a spaghetti dinner and then did a full concert all at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Norfolk, VA. After their performance the youth group presented the choir with a big basket of apples because previously they had mentioned they liked them. That night they went to stay with their host families.

May 15-

After returning from the host families houses Flora ran to Olivia and said "We stayed at the president's house, it was so big and beautiful", Carrie had to explain to her that it wasn't the president's house but the host family just happened to have such a large beautiful home. They went back to the church and did some chores and took care of a few things they needed to do, it was a house keeping kind of day. They got the tailor cleaned out, the uniforms got dropped off at the cleaners and other misc. things. A few of the kids went to the Dentist to get their teeth cleaned and Emma happened to be one of them. Even though Emma had been to the Dentist before (since arriving in the US) and had teeth pulled this time was much more traumatic, you know how loud the tools are when you have your teeth cleaned, apparently having your teeth pulled quickly and quietly is much preferred to having them cleaned. Mama Betty got to go to the Eye Dr. to have her eye's looked at, she has been wearing glasses you can pick up at any store instead of real glasses she has been needing. They were invited back to the preschool to have lunch with the kids and they really enjoyed it. Because all of their trips have been hours in the vans the kids have gotten very used to them, so they packed up and headed out to go to the new church. Carrie and Jamie decided to surprise them and when they arrived 10 min, yes, 10 min later they were all excited to find out they had already arrived. After rehearsal and a nap in the pews they had another spaghetti dinner before performing a full concert. That night they went back to their host families houses for a good night's sleep. Carrie's host family was wonderful as the children were able to pictures from when the father was stationed with the Navy in Bangladesh. This was a glimpse into a side of the world they never get to see and very interesting to all. The kids also discovered hide-a-beds on this night and thought they were really cool. They are still trying to figure out how to take such a great invention back to Uganda with them. Leave it to the SIFA Choir and I am sure they will be able to figure it out.

May 16-

After breakfast they went back to the church and hung out for awhile longer then they had planned. They were supposed to pick up their uniforms at 9 am but they were not ready until 11 am. Luckily they had built extra time in their day and it didn't interfere with any of their other plans. Once the uniforms have been secured the packed up and headed to Waynesboro, VA. After a 4 hour drive they got to meet their new host families around 5 pm. This time there were 8 generous host families that they got to go spend the evening with before heading to bed.

May 17-

The morning was spent playing with the host families. Some of the families got together to watch the Pastor's daughter's soccer game. They all met at the church and after the flat tire on the van was fixxed they and went to the Waynesboro Heritage Museum, while there they were able to do lots of hands on demos. The kids really enjoyed this experience and asked when they would be back to stay with these families. Carrie figured she had not explained this well enough and told them that this was a museum and this is how things used to be done and not how things are done now-a-days. They were excited to stay with a blacksmith and others they had met and since they were all dressed in period clothing they just assumed they were meeting their new host families. After their outing they returned to the host families’ houses to relax a bit and get ready for the concert that night. They did a concert at a youth center called The Solid Rock Cafe. That night an MPM family member, Edward Rhea, joined them. He is wheelchair bound due to having ALS disease and he had driven 78 miles to see them. He and Carrie really hit it off and they talked for hours. He is a big fan of Ginny's and according to Carrie and incredible person. Thank you Edward for attending. You are an inspiration to the kids!

May 18-

They arrived back at the church that morning sang a few songs during each service. They enjoyed pizza (Mudu's favorite!) for lunch and had a full concert afterwards. Half of the people in attendance were people from the community so they brought a lot of new people into the church. After church Jamie and Carrie went to fix the second flat tire on the van (same one again). That evening they got to go back with the host families to have some fun, and I do mean fun. Some of the boys got to go for a ride in a corvette on a country rode (Carrie says: "too fast, I'm sure"), some boys got to go drive go carts (which potentially went faster than the Corvette since Paul and Robert were racing) and the girls worked on beading (making more jewelry). The host family Emma was with had washed their clothes and that evening during devotions Emma said "Thank you God for clean clothes and two pieces of chicken". Clean clothes that our not washed by hand or hung out to dry are still an amazement to the children. Thank you host familes for helping us keep up on laundry!!!!!!! This is a huge blessing to Jamie and Carrie!

May 19-

Today they are driving to Raleigh, NC - it should take about 5 hours to get there.*

Opps! One scenic detour through road construction on a breathtaking road outside of Waynesboro and we were actually on the road about 6 hours including two potty stops and gas. "Aunt Carrie, I think Aunt GPS (Our GPS system has affectinately been named "Aunt GPS") is having a bad day. She is not being respectful. This is a very little road and I think Aunt Jamie's trailer is going to be stuck soon."

The children continue to make us smile and laugh at every turn. We are so blessed to share these months together, growing and learning as a family! Lunch was on the road today thanks to our gracious host families who packed wonderful lunches for the children to enjoy. The chicken legs won out on the favorite lunch and best bargaining tool for trading. Hard Boiled eggs came in a close second, followed by Snapple Ice Tea. Our arrival at St Paul's Episcopal Church was the best one yet. We were greeted by all the host families (sorry we were late) and a gift bag with a helium balloon attached to each bag of goodies which included silly string, bubbles, stuffed animals, stickers, bookmarks, and other fun little goods. All five adults were included in the gift bags which was very thoughtful touch. The children enjoyed the evening getting to know their new host families and doing activities like jumping on the trampoline and going for a walk around a lake. Several of the boys and Paul are staying at a home that purchased an Ugandan Flag and had it flying when then arrived. The boys were so touched and amazed. What a special way to be welcomed. All of our host families have been wonderful and gracious. I wish I could share all the wonderful stories with you. I also want to thank Jacki who has graciously been calling me daily asking me for the updates and then getting the information posted online. This is HUGE! I am writing this update tonight to thank her and give her the night off. (also because I am very much enjoying having Internet in our host home) Thanks also goes out to all of you who are reading this for your love and support on our journey. If we have had the pleasure of meeting you already, we miss you and hope our paths will cross again soon, and if we haven't yet me we can't wait to see you soon at one of our SIFA Concerts. Blessings to everyone! Carrie

May 20-

Today we were able to spend the day together at St. Paul's Episcopal Church doing devotions, school, lunch, resting, and preparing for our evening concert. The children really enjoyed the day together and not having any outings. It was great for everyone to have a low key day. In the late afternoon the sky filled with big dark clouds and rain and a tornado warning was issued as people came to the church for a fellowship meal before the concert. However, just before the concert was to begin the storm passed with no damage and we proceed with the concert. It was a wonderful evening of singing and dancing. We enjoyed meeting new friends and people who had traveled to see us. We returned home to our host families and enjoyed a snack before bed. Tomorrow is a travel day so Jamie and Carrie were eager to get to bed early. Goodnight!

May 21-

After our morning devotions and goodbye's at St. Paul's we traveled to Hickory North Carolina (only a 3 hour drive) and were greeted by another group of excited host families. We are once again blessed to be with such caring and wonderful families. Two of our host families have spent time living in Uganda and Kenya and our children are excited to hear about there adventures. Paul and the older boys are going to have African food tonight and boy are they excited! Our host coordinators are friends of mine (Carrie) and I am so excited to be able to share our wonderful children with them. They have done an amazing job of coordinating a pool party for everyone tomorrow and we are delighted to be able to spend the day together having fun. Emma get to sleep on the bottom bunk tonight with another 6 year old on the top bunk and they two of them are still giggling! It is such a joy to see Emma growing up. Many of the girls are staying with other girls there age and I am sure there are a lot of late night slumber parties going on. Some of the children went to youth group at a local church tonight and really enjoyed themselves.

May 22-

Thank you Cotrell Family for arranging for a great pool party for the children. What a fun afternoon of being together. 65 people for dinner! Wow! Also the Cotrell's had been accepting packages for us from friends, sponsor, and previous host families who wanted to mail us some things. The children enjoyed receiving package and letters! Thank you to all who sent things. Our next address to send things to is SIFA CHOIR C/O McComb Family PO BOX 434 Evergreen CO 80437. We will be there from July 7-30th. As always feel free to email the children at info@sifachoir.org and specify a name in the subject line. A big thank you for your contniued prayers and support along the journey.

Just when we thought we had overcome the swimming obstacles, Flora jumped right into the deep end today and quickly began to sink (all the while smiling). Fortunately Carrie had removed her cell phone from her pocket and was able to pull Flora to safety. Once to the side of the pool, all the children watching said "Mama Carrie . . .YOUR CELL PHONE!". I smiled and said I left it inside. All were relieved and the party continued. Flora watched swimming for the rest of the day to help her remember pool rules and safety. Teacher Paul also got in over his head and Mr. Cotrell had to help him out of the water. Of course his cell phone was in his pocket but since the last cell phone swimming experience we had learned to dry it as much a possible and put it in dry rice. Sure enough 24 hours later the cell phone was dry and working. Priase GOD!

Host families took the kids home after dinner and I think most were in bed early. Boy does SIFA like to swim.

May 23-

We had a morning concerts for the students and staff of Christian Family Academy. We had a great time with lively student participation. The children love it when the audience gets excited. The students collected a very generous love offering for the children that was a tremendous blessing! Then we went to recess, lunch, and then the children were able to attend classes in the afternoon. It was a fun day with Christian Family Academy! The church were the school is held was setting up for a yard sale so the children were able to find some treasure with the money they have been collecting. We then played a giggly game of twister in the grass and went in for dinner. Dinner was provided by the school perform their school play Peter Pan which the children were also able to attend. The play was enjoyed by everyone. In the play there was a girl who has a large white and black dog costume on. After the play Emma wanted to go a pet the dog. By the time he made it to the stage the girl had take the head to her costume off. Emma looked at her quizzically and then got the biggest smile when she put the head back on. A pet and a hug and I thought we were done when Emma pulled out his toy cell phone given to him earlier in the day and asked me to take his picture with the dog. I told you he is growing up! That little boy never misses a beat. Back to host families and off to bed. Tomorrow is a big travel day to Asheville and on down to Atlanta.

May 24-

We had a wonderful day today! A long drive, but oh so beautiful. We left Hickory at 9:00 . Thank you host families for having everyone there on time. It makes a huge difference when we can leave on time. Once again it was hard to say goodbye. We love getting to know our host families and so often we don't want to leave. Once we prayed and had a traditional "family hug" we were on the road to Waynesville. We arrive at Dr. Martin's office and Jamie and Carrie were able to get wonderful chiropractic adjustments. THANK YOU, Dr. Martin! Then we went to another friend of Carrie's house and had a BBQ. The Bradley Family of the Beatitude House and their friend prepared a wonderful lunch for all of us and then we had a 20 minute concert. We enjoyed our time there very much and hated to eat and run. But we had commitments in Alphabet GA and had to get back on the road. We arrived in Atlanta just after 6 and were welcome by another wonderful and eager set of families.

May 25th-

We woke up ready for another day and another concert. The children were excited to sing in a large sanctuary and Paul was very excited to get his hand on a big sound board. When we arrive at St. James UMC we were served a wonderful breakfast- which by the way has a first place vote from the children. We had chicken and biscuits! A definite favorite of the children! After breakfast and a sound check we prepare for the service to be held at 11. The children greatly enjoyed the contemporary music and performance by both the youth and children's choirs. Our portion of the service was about 45 minutes and was a wonderful moving time. The Pastor did a wonderful job concluding the service and giving the children a chance to see what God is doing through them. The offering was very generous and we were tremendously blessed. After church many of the children went to Golden Coral and enjoyed trying many new foods from the buffet. Fried Chicken still won on the favorite list, but many new foods were tried. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming and getting to know our host families. How blessed we are to stay with such wonderful and generous people.

May 26th-

The morning was hot and humid and just in time for a trailer repacking and sorting session. We continue to receive tremendous blessings of clothing which means we all get together to try things on. The girls know the order things get passed if something is too small or too big. And the boys somehow figure it out. Anything cute goes to Emma, and thing yellow goes to Geoffrey, Scoobydoo to Mudooo Anything tall to Robert and everything someone doesn't want ends up in Abraham's bag. He is our collector! As for the boys in the middle they always find something and often share. Once the trailer was repacked we set off for our "journey to new host homes". The children were delighted that it was only about a ten minute trip to the other side of Alpharetta. We meet our new families and then gathered for a BBQ all together at one of the homes. It was a nice afternoon. Carrie buzzed the boys hair and Jamie played cards with a large group and Emma player fetch with a small terrier for hours on end. After the BBQ we went swimming at the pool in the neighborhood and them crashed into bed from our busy day.

May 27-

The children really enjoyed being together today for school. Aunt Sherry open her entire home so that we could do school all together in her home. What a blessing. The porch was covered in 25 pairs of shoes and the rooms were filled with children learning. After classes we all ate lunch together and then had the rest of the afternoon together with our hosts. It was good not to have a concert and the children enjoyed a variety of activities. . . .soccer, swimming, the park, bike riding, cooking, and card games.

May 28th-

10 am and off to the Atlanta Aquarium. The children performed twice at the aquarium and were granted free admission for doing so. The fish, sharks, whales, and sting rays were enjoyed by all. Aunt Robin from Connecticut came for a surprise visit and showed up at the aquarium. The children were so excited to see her and after 4+ weeks we had our traditional family hug. Seeing familiar faces is always a treat for the kids. The high light of the Aquarium was the play ground. Three stories of climbing, obstacles and slides were a delightful hands on activity for everyone. Emma, David, and Flora managed to climb the whole thing and slide down 28 times. Thank you Georgia Aquarium! The evening was spent with our host families.

May 29th-

Another school day at Aunt Sherry's School (as the children affectionate call it) started with a special time of devotions with some of the neighbors. Because of the rain there were 25 pairs of shoes just inside the door today. It was a great morning of learning and the children enjoyed Aunt Robin, who as our guest teacher, played School House Rock "Conjunction Junction" (available on You Tube for your viewing pleasure) to enhance their English lesson. Lunch time was fun to see what the children had packed. A new favorite with some of the boys is popcorn with sliced strawberries on top. You never know what they will like! The afternoon was filled with bike riding, swimming, more clothes sorting and oil changes for the vans. We have traveled almost 4000 miles already! Carrie and her girls went out for Mexican food (Carrie's request) and enjoyed the evening. Another host family served Nigerian Stew and everyone really enjoyed that. Good night for now. It is very late and Carrie is tired. Thanks for reading.

May 30th-

Today was a Dentist day for Daisy, Daniel, and Olivia. Dr. Cunningham from Alpharetta GA was a tremendous blessing to SIFA. Olivia and Daniel both were blessed with 4 fillings a piece and Daisy was blessed to have her front tooth repaired that she lost when she tried to go through the closed door. Thank you Dr. Cunningham! The children are so grateful for the privilege to go to the dentist. It truly is a privilege that is overlooked by so many Americans.

After the dentist we were able to go to Stone Mountain Park (http://www.stonemountainpark.com/). Thank you Stone Mountain for giving us tickets for all the children! It was a very hot and humid but the children really enjoyed the tram to the top of the mountain and the train ride around the park. After Stone Mountain we went to Corpus Christi Catholic Church for our evening concert. It was a blessing to have most of our host families travel the hour drive to attend the concert. The children love to see familiar faces in the audience and hug their fans after the concert. The church provided African Chicken and Rice after the concert for a late dinner and then we packed up and headed home. Everyone was tucked in by midnight. I am sure the morning will be another "Late Night Concert Hangover." I am sure that the Zoo tomorrow will perk them up. Goodnight or should I say Good Morning?

May 31st-

We were on the road to Zoo Atlanta by 10:30 and managed to end up in middle of the 5 mile paving project in Downtown Atlanta. Several hours later we arrived at the Zoo and were greeted by a wonderful team from Zoo Atlanta that put on a wonderful birthday 'celebration for all the children. The children sang a few songs before enjoying a great chicken strip lunch and a beautiful birthday cake. The Zoo presented the children with Panda T-Shirts and local Alpharetta Schools made beautiful birthday cards for each of the children. After singing happy birthday we divided into groups and headed out to conquer the zoo. The children had a great time seeing an elephant training session, orangutan feeding time, racing mole rats, and giraffe interaction. The highlight of the zoo was the 40 foot climbing wall. Given the upper body strength of our children they were able to pull and climb their way to the top in no time. SIFA through enjoyed their unlimited time on the climbing wall. Emma and Flora really enjoyed the Carrousel and the Train. It was a great day at the Zoo. Thank you ZOO ATLANTA for giving us a tremendous birthday party!

The evening was spent at Alpharetta Presbyterian with new host families and a great chicken dinner from Zachby's. Yum! The children all had a few hours before bed to enjoy new host families and playing games and swimming.

A Ministry of Glory Children's City International (GCCI)