12/19/2009
LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH
LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH
by Nastya Andreyevna
FOR YEARS, OUR FAMILIES have had a tradition of caroling to the elderly in convalescent homes. Every Christmas, the moms make a trip to the grocery store to buy candy canes in mass amounts, we children gather together and sing through all the beautiful carols we know, and everyone piles into the vans to make a day of spreading the message of Christ’s birth.
“Oh, Come….all ye Faithful…”
THIS YEAR WAS extra special – our group of homeschooled carolers almost doubled and we had several extra guests that decided they wanted to join in on our effort.
NOW – WE HADN’T PRACTICED with any of these new people. My family and Miss Felecia’s family are quite familiar with the program and the way things work (namely, sing as loud as you possibly can so the old people can hear, smile huge, and make sure everyone gets a candy cane) but the others had to jump right in without any rehearsal whatsoever. Fortunately, most of our new members could carry a tune quite well and there were no issues.
my mommy tuning up before we start…yes, we were accompanied by a harp…and yes, it was a hit!:)
our enthusiastic audience 
Carol, one of our “guest” carolers, and Miss Felecia
Priscilla in the process of handing out candy canes
My sister Grace playing “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen”
The Girls – Carol, Grace, Miss Felecia, Alexis, and Eva
Miss Felecia and Carol in the process of making music
The gentlemen being…er…gentlemen
Lunch break! the girls chatting
Priscilla
…strange things begin to happen.
Lunchbreak doesn’t last long if you’re businessman…
“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed…”
Carol trying out the harp
WE VISITED A TOTAL of 4 resthomes and sang for probably over 150 people. Going to these resthomes is a very unique experience – sometimes more than interesting . Most of the time the old people are well taken care of and in their right minds – however, that is not always the case. Some of the resthomes aren’t so fancy, and the inmates not so sane. It can be a little disconcerting to try to sing above the growling, mumbling, and babbling of the elderly whose bodies are bent into queer shapes or are shaking uncontrolably.
BUT SINGING FOR THESE people is such a rewarding experience. We walk into a room full of old, wrinkled, frowning faces who have no hope but to live out the rest of their days in that very building. We begin to sing and the poor faces light up in delight, joy, and happiness. It’s worth every effort we put forth to make those people happy and show them where to find hope. When we leave, we are given such enthusiastic thanks and we’re begged to come back again. And to make them so happy…well, it makes us so happy! All in all, I don’t know who gets the bigger blessing – us, or them!
MAY YOU HAVE a wonderful Christmas, and may you find a way to help someone less fortunate see the real meaning of Christ’s birth this season!
