I met Elder and Sister James at the orphanage. They had come to teach the kids 'Christmas Bells'. Botevy told me to go and help them, so I went over to the orphanage on Wednesday night. It was always Wednesday.
They were supposed to come at 6. But they didn't. So the kids and I started singing. I brought my pennywhistle and so we were playing around a little. Theary wanted me to sing 'My Heart Will Go On'. I decided to put the words on the board and then they could sing and I'd be able to play.
The markers were running dry and the power went out soon after that. But the Missionaries where there then.
It set the stage for the rest of their visits. The power seemed to always go out right before they came.
I always had my uke with me, and I know just enough to play some sort of accompaniment.
The first time we just learned the words. We all stood together and sang under the battery powered light.
The next week they came late again because traffic was bad. But they brought their pipe chimes.
The Khmer don't keep time very well. American hymn-styles are very different than Khmer music. Their own music they do very well, but ours they have a really hard time with. It's strange.
We worked the second week for about half an hour before the James' got there. It was right before Thanksgiving, so they brought their son and daughter in law who were visiting with them. They brought us icecream and a suitcase full of paper and pens. They sang with us and then left.
The third time was the first where we actually had power, so Sister James brought out her keyboard. Her FUNCTIONAL keyboard. We got to sing with the piano and the chimes and everybody knew the words. It was great.
After the 2nd week, Elder and Sister James started taking some of the older kids to the Church for the combined choir practice. The boys would ride their bikes, but the girls rode in the car. I went with them about 2 weeks before I left and then just kept going.
Elder and Sister James are Public Affairs missionaries. There is 1 couple assigned to countries where the Church isn't very big. They meet important people and just make friends with people of influence to give the Church a good rep.
Sister James seems to be a classically trained singer. It's so funny to watch her conduct the Khmer group. She beats each beat with so much force, trying to hold them to the beat. It's quite a feat, what they're doing. The Church in Cambodia has never done a Christmas Concert before. Everyone was excited. They brought in costumes so they could do a little live nativity presentation. All the members around Phnom Penh were involved. There was the Vietnamese Branch, the branch in the suburbs, the international branch, all the missionaries. Most of the music was sung in English at least in part. I found that to be true in singing with the kids. They know songs in Khmer, but they love singing the ones they know in English.
They sang Jingle Bells. I helped pass out little ribbons with bells on them for rehearsal. Everyone gets all excited and tries so hard to keep their bells from ringing when it's not time.
Botevy had Panith, one of the boys, draw a Nativity scene. All of the kids were to sign it and they were supposed to put it on the wall for people to see as they came into the chapel for the concert. After Panith made his drawing, we worked on a little Nativity of our own to put somewhere in CICFO.
The Church was all decorated with lights. Mission President Moon wasn't super happy about that, but everyone was really proud of it, so it stayed. They wound red ribbon up the stair rails. There were trees outside strung with lights. There was a Santa cut-out on the door.
The concert was on the 15th, so I wasn't able to go, but it was really fun to watch as a bunch of the members came together, and all of the senior missionary couples worked to make it a success.
What kind of meter is their traditional music in? Would that be why they can't keep the beat in western music?
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