MillieMusicTZ: El Sistema Kenya

Shared: MillieMusicTZ: El Sistema Kenya: The wonderful Karis Crawford has just launched El Sistema Kenya ! Can't wait to visit. This will be the first music program modelled on...

El Sistema Kenya

Today is my first day back in Nairobi.  I am only going to be here for three weeks, but I had forgotten how much I had missed this place and am really looking forward to seeing lots of friends tonight during the Nairobi Orchestra rehearsal.

My reason for visiting is that I am getting the foundation set up for El Sistema Kenya (ESK).  It has been a lot of slow, hard work over the past few months, researching, calling people, emailing and drafting concept notes for the program to send to potential donors and partners.  After eight months away, I have also managed to start a crowd funding campaign to raise money to buy instruments for ESK.  Our goal is to raise $30,000 to buy 17 violins, 12 violas, 10 cellos and 2 double basses, as well as music stands, strings, rosin and other accessories.  Another cost that has been factored in has been shipping costs since it is impossible to buy these instruments and supplies at good quality in Kenya.

The campaign has had the help of Sistema Global and many of my friends have contributed and donated instruments, but so far, we still need help in reaching our goal by May 12, 2014.  Many of you have managed to talk to friends, relatives and colleagues about this and have emailed and shared the link on Facebook and Google+.  All of your help is so very much appreciated!  This project is very near and dear to my heart.  It has been a dream of mine to teach strings to kids who would never have otherwise had a chance to, and this is the beginning of that dream being realized.  Changing people's lives through music!

Please help support ESK by taking a look at the Indiegogo page and seeing what you can do to contribute.  If everyone who looked at this page contributed even the smallest amount, we would reach our goals in no time!

Thank you again to everyone who has helped with this campaign and setting up El Sistema Kenya.

Asanteni sana!

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

- Jeremiah 17:7-8

Home

After six years in Kenya, I'm finally back home ... for a little while!  This quote by Nelson Mandela is very relevant at this time for me: "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."  I have done a lot of growing up since I left my home country for Kenya, and I'm glad for my new perspective on life.

The plan was to come back to the States after I finished my contract with my old school and research starting an El Sistema program in Nairobi next year.  I'm debating the merits of getting a Master's degree now as it may not actually be the best thing for me at this point in time, especially since my dream job doesn't involve an orchestra anymore.  After a lot of research and thinking, I am probably going to try to get regular private lessons here in the States, but will most likely not apply for a Master's - for now.  There is a fellowship in the Boston Conservatory for El Sistema and I would like to apply for that next year, but in the meantime, I'll keep up with my practicing and researching and see if I can get a studio going here at home, as well as keeping up on my traveling hobby!  I visited so many places this past year: Egypt, Germany (again!), Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Lamu, etc.  I'm starting to think I should start a travel blog ...

In the meantime, I have a lot of praying to do about my future and where that future may be.  Please pray with me if you have a moment.  I would appreciate the support!

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  (Romans 12:12)

Imitating Christ’s Humility

Humility is hard.  Being selfish is easy.  How difficult it is for us to put others before ourselves!  This is something I will probably be striving towards my entire life.  Adam Young, of the music group Owl City, once said, "I can’t brag about my love for God because I fail Him daily, but I can brag about His love for me because it never fails."  How true!  How wonderful that despite our flaws, we believe in a God who loves us despite them.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11 

Austrian Sunset

 

Broken Heart

Have you ever been on the floor, rocking on your knees, sobbing out your grief, agony and despair to Jesus?   Have you ever been incredibly lonely and desperate and just wanted someone to talk to?  God is always there, but it's hard.  Sometimes, you just want a shoulder to cry on or someone to nod and sympathize with you.  I read the following prayer this evening and thought it was worth re-posting.

I offer unto you my wounded heart, my broken heart. I know it is you my Lord who will uphold me in the end. Let me not lose hope. Let me not cast away everything that’s good and beautiful in this life. I know that there is so much more in store for me. I know how much love I can still give away because it is you who fills me with everything that I’ll ever need. You are the one who loves me truly, eternally, unconditionally. You are the one who has always been there for me and always will be there for me. You are my one true love. You are my forever. You are my strength and my peace and my joy. Surely in your presence Lord, I do not need anything more.

http://itakeoffthemask.com/prayers/a-broken-hearts-prayer/

A Busy, Musical Summer!

This summer was incredibly busy but definitely one of the best summers I have had in a while!  I started out in Germany, visiting some friends in Bremen and Hannover and also checking out music schools there.  It looks like if I want to attend a school in Germany, financially it won't be much of a problem, but I will have to audition in person and also pass a German test to prove my language skills are up to par ...

Train station in Northern Germany

Me with my German friends

After Germany, I traveled to Bristol, England to play in the Minehead & Exmoor Music Festival.  As usual, the festival was great and I was really pushed in my sight reading skills!  It helps that all the violinists I was sitting with were Royal Academy of Music graduates.  I had a wonderful time with my incredibly generous host family as well, and managed to visit several places outside of Minehead as well as enjoying not-so-typical English weather!

Valley of the Rocks

In front of Arthur C. Clarke's house in Minehead ... Yes, I am a geek.  :)

After a wonderful time in England, I traveled to Budapest, Hungary, where I took a four and a half hour train ride up to Sarospatak near the Slovakian border.  I was attending the Crescendo Summer Institute and it was worth every euro!  I studied with David Danel, a Czech violinist, and Stephan Clapp, the Dean of Julliard.  It was a lot of hard work, and the weather was boiling hot, but I took away a lot of valuable information from that camp, as well as meeting new friends around the world. 

Practicing in Sarospatak

Me with my teacher, David Danel and other students

Making friends from around the world (l-r): Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Kenya/USA, Switzerland

I spent a few days in Budapest with another friend after the course.  Hungary is a beautiful country and Budapest is small enough you can explore it by foot if you like.  Hungarian, on the other hand, is an extremely difficult language and it is hard to get around if you only speak English!

Heroes Square in Budapest

Overlooking the Blue Danube

With my friend in Budapest

 I then took a bus to Vienna, Austria and then took an overnight train to Dornbirn to visit my friend there.  Austria is a gorgeous country and it was nice to stay with my friend in her mountain cabin.  You could see Switzerland and Germany from their house!  We had no technology but a radio for five days and enjoyed nature, great weather, food and companionship.  Austrian food and beer are amazing, and I was able to drink real "mountain dew" ... Fresh mountain spring water, unfiltered and straight from the mountaintop streams.

View from the mountain cabin

"Real" mountain dew!

Bluebells

Buttercup

Me with my friend in Austria

When I arrived back in Kenya, I was definitely feeling refreshed - musically, spiritually and physically.  I taught strings at the KNYO August course as soon as I arrived and it was our best course yet.  The kids were great and the performances were energized and inspirational.  I think I'm ready to start my second year in Nairobi on a strong foot!

After the Kenya National Youth Orchestra concert at Strathmore University

Now ... to practice!

God's Justice and Sacrifice

This morning I was reading in my devotional about God's justice. A lot of people ask why God seems to let bad things happen. How could a God that is so great and unfathomable let horrible things happen to people, countries, nations, etc.? We really can't comprehend God, no matter how we try to fit him into our small human words. His plan is greater than us, and it all boils down to his justice in the end. We, as Christians, need to be convinced that everything that He does is right, even if we don't understand it. A lot of times we say we trust Him, but actually, deep down inside, we don't really believe that it is right.

In Jeremiah chapter 12, the prophet asked God why the way of the wicked prospers and why the faithless live at ease while he and his people suffer. God's response was profound. Basically, God was telling Jeremiah, "All you have to do is trust me." In verse 7, He says, "I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies." And He did give the one he loved. Jesus. The ultimate sacrifice. God's one and only beloved Son. Jesus came to save us all, regardless of who we are and what we have done. He gave the one to save the many.

There is a story called "The Drawbridge Keeper" that puts into stark perspective God's sacrifice.

There was once a bridge that spanned a large river. During most of the day, the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing the train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock into place as the train crossed.

One evening, as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the train lights. He stepped onto the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance. Then he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position, it would cause the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard.

He left the bridge turned across the river and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river, where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually.

He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backwards to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

"Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time.

The man almost left his lever to snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever in time if he saved his son.

Either many people on the train or his own son -- must die.

He took but a moment to make his decision. The train sped safely and swiftly on its way; and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly that he had ever walked; to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now, if you comprehend the emotions that went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of Our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life.

Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?

In modern times, the movie Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan shows this sacrifice as well when Spock gives his life to save the Enterprise, and he tells Kirk, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."

People of today do not think of others as often as they should. We are a selfish people, worrying about our own needs, wants and desires. My challenge today: Can you put someone before yourself for one week? Why not try a whole month? Make it a lifestyle. Think about the needs of others before fulfilling your needs. You never know what sort of a day they might be having. They may not know what sort of a day you may be having, but God will look down on your efforts and smile, because this is how Jesus lived and this is how God wants us all to live. Unselfishly, trusting in God to sort out our problems and knowing that He is coming soon!