LEWISTOWN - Several Lewistown homes will welcome special guests from Kenya this week.
Orphans from the eastern African nation will make a stop in Lewistown this week to get a taste of American living and to perform as a choir for the community.
The 24 orphans make up the Daraja Children's Choir, which travels around the U.S. to bring a message of hope and joy through African song and dance. Daraja means "bridge" in Swahili.
The choir will perform at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Calvary Bible Church in Lewistown. An offering will be taken to benefit the children.
Last year, several volunteers from Calvary Bible offered their homes to host the children in between concerts, said Connie Matthews, who is helping to organize the local event. However, the choir did not actually perform in the area, she said.
This fall, the church did secure a concert date with the choir, she said. The children will arrive and stay three days in the area.
During their tour, the children still have daily school lessons with a teacher who travels with the group, Matthews said.
"Traveling with the Daraja Children's Choir gives them the chance to broaden their horizons, widen their world-perspective, deepen their leadership skills and open the scope of their imagination," according to the website www.410bridge.org. "We invest in their futures and the future of the nation of Kenya."
Through the choir, the organization also hopes to build awareness of the people's needs in Kenya and ignite a spiritual awakening in the American church.
The Daraja Children's Choir is part of The 410 Bridge, a non-profit organization focusing on mission work in Kenya. The organization exists to connect people within the body of Christ to contribute to the self-developing capabilities of the people of Kenya.
For more information, visit www.410bridge.org.
