8/6/11 - Choir Night

Tonight after dinner and worship, Margaret came out to give us the low-down on the camp and the orphans. “Every second, a child is orphaned in this country,” she said. She also told a story of a young girl whose father had died and her mother was very sick, so the girl ended up taking on all the responsibilities of the house such as getting food, water, shelter, etc. She also would not eat if her mother hadn’t eaten. Her mother died and the girl was brought to My Father’s House, and she was six years old. There were other stories among this one that would bring audible gasps and sympathetic “Mm-Hmm”’s throughout the room. 

But what really brought people to tears was a choir of orphans that had grown or were still growing up in My Father’s House. They had lost so much and had gone through more tragedy than we privileged Americans can wrap our heads around—and they were singing of hope and happiness. They were so thankful for all that they had and here we all were, sitting in the audiences, our rich mindset thinking that they had next to nothing. But what we don’t understand is that they probably have more than any businessman living in a penthouse in New York City will ever have or dream of having. It hit me hard because they all had legitimate reasons to be depressed, sad, and upset. They had every reason to be angry at God, but here they were, some even on the floor, singing to and worshiping His name! It made me think, because I know so many teenagers and adult who have denied God and sunk into deep depressions for so much less. It really makes you appreciate what you have. Or at least I hope when I get home, I’ll look at my surroundings and I will be able to have that type of appreciation and enthusiasm for life. Oh and there was one song that really the group, probably the song that brought the group to tears and I don’t remember the name, but it went like, “Thank you Mother, for giving me the chance to live.” That was the chorus and it was so touching to hear from a dozen talented but lost little orphans that most were in tears by the end. Things do not bring me to tears very often, I pride myself at being pretty good at handling those types of tear-jerking situations, but this time… I was close.