Penampang Yuk Yu Concert take 2

Last night we had the concert and in retrospect I believe it went very well. It is hard to believe that these kids are only 4, 5, and 6 years old. They are expected to do a lot and perform like a professional and to an extent they do. However, those moments that the kid in them came out were priceless! It was fun to see the final performance it it looked like the parents enjoyed it also. There was a full house and the only visible empty seats were reserved for the students! It was a long evening full of laughter, smiles, breaking up the occasional roughhousing kids, and overall fun. So, as promised here are two video clips from the dress rehearsal at the school auditorium. Hope they play for you and enjoy. The video with the kids in yellow are six year olds and the other clip is of all the students (about 200) during the final song. Sorry if the sound is hard to hear just please bear with it!

Penampang Yuk Yu Concert take 1

The concerts are underway and the big one is tomorrow night! The bummer is that we aren't allowed to take pictures during the performance but, never you fear, here are some pics from our dress rehearsal. Enjoy and I'll write after the actual concert to let you know how it went!

About these pics: Top Left- A four year old dressed as a chicken (?) for the

old McDonald song.

Bottom Left- five year old musical instrumen

ts with their 'director'

Top Right- Hey look! It's Old McDonald!!! (I love this costume) Bottom Right- Final song that all the kids and staff to sign language and sing.

Concerts and more Concerts

School is basically over for the kindergarten I am at and the children are now practicing every day for their end of the year program. Let's just say this is nothing like in the states. The kindergarten goes all out and every child will perform at least once or twice during the show. They will be dancing, singing, playing instruments, and much more. Every child will be dressed-up in matching costumes with make-up to complete it. I find this very interesting and entertaining to see the kids up on stage. The rehearsals are long and sometimes give me a headache when 200 kids are in one auditorium for three hours running wild until it is there time to be on stage. Oh, the crazyness of it all. The concert isn't until the 29th so until then we will be rehearsing and playing then perform and graduation! Also, this saturday the teachers and I will be performing at the Penampang BCCM church. It is a song the kids are doing for their concert. So, we will be singing and doing the sign language. Or I suppose the teachers will be singing and I'll only be signing because it is in Chinese and I don't know what the words are or mean! Maybe by the end of the year I will know and be able to sing it.

Ace rocks my socks!!!

This weekend has been long as one of our volunteers has decided to travel back to the states. Our number of six is now down to five for Malaysia YAGMS. It is crazy to think about and that volunteer will be missed. So, the weekend has now consisted of thinking about changes that may be coming and trying to relax. Today was the perfect day for both.

A little background first: For the past month and a half five of us have been attending a church service within the BCCM (Basel Christian Church of Malaysia). The BCCM church has been interesting and very different from any church service I have ever been to. Their service mostly consist of singing four or five songs to start and there are prayers intermixed. Then the Reverend or a guest will get up and give a sermon. After the sermon we sing at least one or two more songs and then are dismissed. Overall, I haven't felt like this church was complete and I have been missing hearing the doctrine each Sunday and having, more or less, of a traditional service. Dang, am I Lutheran?! So, with those feelings I have wanted to go out and explore the other churches in KK and this morning provided that opportunity.

This morning Katherine (my roommate) and I left our house at 6:15 to walk over to meet the other volunteers and then continue on our way with a professor from Sabah Theological Seminary to church. We arrived at our destination at 7:30 just in time for the service at All Saints' Cathedral. It was a nice worship service and just what I really needed to experience. There was scripture, hymns, communion, and a nicely delivered sermon. Afterwards I felt rejuvenated in a sense and it felt like I actually went to church! The congregation was welcoming towards us and I hope to go back at least once every month or so.

After church we had been invited to join the Boy Brigade to go the one of the five Islands. (Of course we said we would love to!) The island was great and the day couldn't have been more beautiful. We, the volunteers and boys brigade members, played icebreakers and then had fun in the water. There wasn't a lot of snorkeling happening in our group but we did enjoy throwing a frisbee around and then gathering for a lunch one of the boys brought. It was a peaceful day full of new experiences and building friendships.

Side note: The title of this post is in honor of one of my dear friends back in the states who really does rock my socks off when I actually wear socks.