When Julene and Chris, with two babes in tow, moved to Indonesia and Kristal and Shaun set up their home in Phoenix with their little girl . . . any visions of grandchildren repeating life as it is here in the Fraser Valley could only be in my wildest dreams. One of these dreams is embedded in the rich musical heritage that this area is known for.
In recent years we have continued attending musical events and often, in my heart, I've wished we could still share them with our family . . . music having been such an integral part in their lives. One of the experiences I think back to is the years that our girls were involved is the Pacific Mennonite Children's Choir.
The choir was founded by Nancy Dyck in 1978.
This photo was taken in 1992 at the cabin (which we call the Lakehouse now).
It was the summer a choir from Winnipeg joined up with our choir
and one day we hosted them for a BBQ at the lake.
For a number of years the choir would take part in the May Fest activities in Leavenworth, WA
where there was never a dull moment of what to do.
Besides the many concerts in our surrounding area,
the choir also had the honor to perform at the Crystal Cathedral
and the biggest trip our girls were privileged to go on
was to a Music Festival in Seul, Korea.
Browsing through my photo album now, I saw a photo of them serenading
someone in the hospital and here they are performing at a business venue.
Our violinist girls had great opportunities to practice their skills.
So . . . all that to say . . . that sitting down at the PMCC dessert concert night
this past Friday was an emotional moment.
We sat at a table near the front with our Indonesia family, minus Tehya . . .
who was giddily waiting behind the scenes to come out with the choir.
And how they sang! Just like they always have!
The choir conductors are Sonja Hindmarsh and Carmen Hollett now.
Beautiful sisters, inspiring the next generation!
At one point the choristers got to stand in line off stage
and perform O Holy Night for us.
The one we were watching out for stood right close to our table
and continued sending smiles our way.
And the guest violinist . . . where did she learn to play like that?
Oh, what a precious evening!
My heart is full of thanks to God!
9 comments:
Oh, that's wonderful! Tehya looks so pretty in her choir dress. :-)
What a special evening for you! I understand how great it is to have music in the family...we've had many a precious moment like that, too.
Beautiful old memories and new memories to treasure.
Beautiful!!! I was wondering if that was your Julene when you posted the video the other day!!! She plays so beautifully. Tehya looks adorable. This was extra special for you to have them "home" again too.
I got goosebumps reading this. It is so beautiful to see this come full circle...and the story isn't even finished yet.
May God bless you all this Christmas!
Moments like these - what treasures! Thank you for the lovely moment in Advent - I imagined I could hear the children's voices.
How special! I can almost hear them singing. That brings back so many memories for me as well...wonderful ones. I share in your joy:)
I can imagine there some tears in your eyes as your heart swelled with joy! Been there...done that!!
What a special evening!! So neat to celebrate together like that.
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