When I look back at the last six years of singing with Let the Children Praise, I am thankful for two things. First, for the ability to learn and grow in communicating Christ's love through music and secondly, for Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins, who have dedicated so much time into us singers – helping us if we have questions and leading us through every song during practice. Thank you!
After having the opportunity to sing for many years, I get to watch the new singers look at the 11-page German song in horror, and then I am able to encourage them that one measure at a time will get the job done! Most of us end up loving that song after we learn the whole thing. Mr. Hawkins' number game is probably one of the funnest non-singing activities that we do. Basically there is an action assigned with the numbers 1-6; 1-stand, 2-sit, 3-make a ½ turn to the right, 4-make a 1/4 turn to the left, etc. When he starts calling out those numbers randomly, almost everyone gets at least a little befuddled and confused. What fun!
One of my favorite memories of singing with LTCP is our performance of Tyndale, a Reformation Oratorio at Northwestern College in 2019. It was so cool to be a part of Mr. Bauder’s incredible work and see the story of William Tyndale put to music. This past August, Deo Cantamus recorded Tyndale for a CD and I, along with about 20 other LTCP participants, were able to add our voices for the glory of our King.
One challenge that presents itself every year is the fact that we sing several songs in different languages. I previously mentioned the German song, and we also have sung in Swahili, French, Italian, Hebrew, and the list goes on! Learning how to pronounce the words correctly was the biggest challenge I had to overcome in the first few years of singing, but it definitely has gotten easier every year!
Our family has really appreciated the simplicity of LTCP. Mr. H mails us our music, we attend one organizational practice and then set out to learn it at home, coming together again four weeks later for three practices and the performance. The quote “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” has challenged all of us to “practice until we can’t sing it wrong.” I am looking forward to this coming performance and the many that follow, and the chance to continue shining forth the love of Christ through singing.