When repeating the title of this entry out loud... "Not gunna Lie.... We Loved that Fish Fry!" Sarah (10yrs, Liberia), quietly studying nearby, answered quickly and excitedly "YES!" 

We'd like to begin with a BIG Thankyou to the community of Fairdale Baptist in Hemphill, Texas... And especially to the beautiful Miss Rosemary for making it all happen.

It's been 5 long, hard, months that we've been on the road now, so it can be a bit difficult to find things the kids have never done! Well... hard for anyone who doesn't live in Hemphill!

Fairdale Baptist, and Rosemary were so kind as to put on a huge fish fry for the whole team. The children were beyond ecstatic to ride boats for the first time, eat fish for only the second time while here in the states (it was the first for many...), And most families even took the kids to go fishing for the first time!

This quiet town in the middle of nowhere made our experience and time there so worth while. Thank you just doesnt show how greatful we really are.

After all of the excitement, and stuffing our tummys with delicious fresh fish, caught earlier in the day, the kids wanted to show our hosts what they could do. So william took his seat and beat his drum (or... Wooden lunch table) to the beat of a few songs as the rest danced and sang a capella, concluding our impromptu concert with the jam "thank you so much!"

The day was fantastic, and we will never forget the endless love and mouth watering meals served to us from the most kindhearted people in Texas!

REMEMBER TO...

-FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @MATSIKOICN

-FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: MatsikoICN

-"LIKE US" ON FACEBOOK: Matsiko World Orphan Choir

-FRIEND US AND KEEP UP WITH THE CHOIR ON FACEBOOK: Matsiko Childrens Choir

-To book the choir, contact ICN founders Don Windham: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Jennie Windham: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

It was a pleasant 80degrees out. Perfect day for sight seeing! And what's more relevant to learn about while seeing the sights in Houston, than NASA?

Knowing we were in Houston, we'll give you one guess as to what phrase was overused during our time.... If you guessed "Houston, we have a problem" you're correct! Zulmira spills her coke... "uh houston, we have a problem!" Alexis falls and scrapes her knee... "houston, we have a problem." We forget a few children as we try to leave.... You guessed it! "Houston... We have a problem!...." only kidding.

So the day started as any other day, and any other blog starts. We all piled into our vans for a fun filled day.... This time, for space exploration and adventure!

It was off to the NASA park for lunch... Where we would learn about each apollo mission and even see a Saturn ship, planned to be Apollo 18 up close and personal! We learned later that lack of funds stopped that one from happening.

As we pulled up to the giant warehouse, curiosity overwhelmed the kids, which exploded from their mouths in the form of a million questions. Meanwhile, zulmira (our resident astronaut) silently took it all in. It seemed the smile on her face would never fade away.

We began at one end of the wall with apollo one, walking slowly all the way down to the end discussing each mission and posing for pictures. And all along the way, discovering each new part of the apollo 18 rocket that we couldnt ignore.

At the end, we proceeded outside to look at the escape shuttle that was tested for real emergencies out in space. It was displayed magnificently on a podium in the grass as we warned the kids "dont climb on that!"

.......TWO WEEKS LATER IN HEMPHILL, TEXAS

But that isn't where our adventure ended... Thanks to our good friend Steven,  we were offered an opportunity to explore a museum of shuttles spent to space for missions with a goal to collect research and product experiments. The museum was dedicated to the Columbia that ended in the tragic accident it's famous for.

We started our tour in a tiny theatre with a few questions answered, and a short 40min film to introduce us to the world of space. We learned about what a shuttle is, and how the very first shuttle mission happened.

When the movie ended, we all scuffled out of the room, waking miss sarah (10yrs, Liberia) from her peaceful slumber along the way.

We walked single file line back to where we started in the giant room of glass displays dedicated to each shuttle mission.  Alonso (11yrs, Peru) thought it was funny to learn the scientists took fish to space! And Julio (10yrs, Peru) was shocked to learn about the survival of the columbia camera. After such a dramatic fall and devastating destruction.... Somehow the camera and fish were fine.

After some tears were shed, and knowledge gained, the kids said "thankyou" and began to walk back to the vans for lunchtime. "I wish i could show these things to my mom" Ruth (12, Liberia) said quietly. "Let me take a picture for you!" Don (choir founder/director, Seattle) said. So ruth struck a pose and the camera clicked. "there! Now in three months time, you can!"

And with that, we left the museum, thanking our friends for another exciting day.