The Messiah, by Karen Lusby Wiggins from Africa

 John and Larry,
>>
>> Thanks for bringing this back to my memory.  The year
>> the A.H.S choir sang THE MESSIAH  was so much fun.
>> THE MESSIAH that we performed that December was also
>> very special for me, too.  My father, who knew nothing
>> about music attended.  It meant so much for him to be
>> there.  I felt as if our performance  was
>> extraordinary in my mind.  As time went by and I
>> attended other not so wonderful productions of the
>> THE MESSIAH, I convinced myself that it could not have
>> been as good as I remembered.  We were just in high
>> school.  At the time, I was so very proud of all the
>> extra work we put into that performance.  I was always
>> proud of the quality of our teachers.
>>
>> We did have fun in choirs.  I remember Mr. Glover when
>> I was at South Junior High School. It was then that I
>> started to believe in myself through those choirs.  I
>> remember going on a tour in Galveston where It snowed.
>> Many of us from the choir went to a pizza place where
>> there were red checked tablecloths on small round
>> tables with candles dripped on wine bottles.  I had my
>> first pizza there.  As we were waiting for the pizza ,
>> someone just started singing  something–sort of an
>> Italian drinking song. Tell me if you remember the
>> song.  Was it an opera? All of us were singing and
>> raising our coke glasses in the air.  I felt as if I
>> were in some sort of musical.  Those who were not in
>> the choir just looked at all of us with wonder and
>> amazement.  Wow!   What wonderful people kept us in
>> their homes!
>>
>> Later, in McMurry I was also lucky to be in the
>> touring choir with Dr.Von Ende.  All these experiences
>> plus being in community choirs in Boston, Mass. and
>> singing Durefle’s Requiem under the direction of Roger
>> Wagner in a performance in Fayetteville, Arkansas,
>> gave my life a rich background to round out my life.
>> Does anyone know if either Michael Johnstone or Carl
>> Best are alive?  I would love to tell them thank you.
>>
>> Here in Africa, I can get energy from those times by
>> listening to our DVD of George Friderick Handel’s The
>> THE MESSIAH  as sung by the choir of King’s College,
>> Cambridge.  We also listen to  our DVD of Mozart ’s
>> The Requiem From Sarajevo.  We also really enjoy Beth
>> Nielsesn Chapman Hymns which has Adoramus Te Christi
>> that we did one year as I recall.  Her choir sings
>> Latin Hymns.  The few things that we miss is worship
>> time in English. We miss organ music, choirs , praise
>> music and a good old pew polishing sermon.
>>
>> I would like to use this time to thank Joyce
>> (Berry)Johnson, one of our choir friends who has been
>> good enough to pay for my school for one whole year at
>> $250 a month.  She was one of the triplets. Thanks,
>> Joyce.  Now I can continue for two more classes.  My
>> last school was a very good success and the children
>> did very well on the end of the year English Tests at
>> their public school. .  Now I can send 26 more
>> children to my school.  Another 1961 friend, Deana
>> Carmack, sent my class 30 Starfall books that will
>> allow 30 new teachers to teach E.S.L.   When the
>> teachers come to watch my model classroom they are
>> given a packet of Instructions and material to  help
>> with their pronunciation and  methods of teaching.
>> With the Starfall books in that packet, they can teach
>> the rules for English vowel sounds and will have 15
>> small books to allow the students to practice reading
>> in English.  With my last class, after passing the 15
>> books they were able to pick up other books in English
>> and just read it correctly.  New vocabulary had to be
>> learned at this time, but the excitement was wonderful
>> and led them to learn many new things.  After a
>> wonderful graduation on one day, the next day my
>> driver and friend and I drove our two cars winding
>> through the Serengeti watching animals. We had lunch
>> at the Visitor’s Center in the middle with all the
>> moneyed people from the world over.  Many from all
>> over the world get to see the animals that belong to
>> my class and on that day, they did too.
>> This was my first time to drive on a safari. Some
>> field trip, huh? For pictures of last years  school go
>> to:
>>
>> http://web.mac.com/ninjapenguin/iWeb/Mama%20Africa%27s%20Shule%20%28school%29/
>>
>> Thank you so much friends for praying us through.
>>
>> *Our One Book Foundation is talking about building me
>> a classroom so  we will be out of the way when
>> missionaries come to give Sanitation and Hygiene
>> classes.
>>
>> *Our good friends in Fayetteville, Arkansas have
>> raised the 2,500 dollars to buy and send the container
>> and collected a container of books so in February we
>> will open the first ever Public Library in Bunda. Now
>> we will be entering them into the computer and
>> labeling them.
>>
>> *We have made and either sold or had donated over 50
>> Bio-Sand filters to clean their water. Head teachers
>> at schools say the illness goes way down when they
>> have a filter. They were presented with an award by
>> the Government of Tanzania because of all the charcoal
>> they did not use boiling water.  It cost 60 Dollars
>> and in three months of not buying charcoal it will pay
>> for itself.  Many are learning the significance of
>> these filters.
>>
>>
>>
>> God Bless,
>>
>> Karen (Lusby) WIggins
>> Mama Africa
>>
>>
>>