My charm at the workshop

I want to show you my charm at the workshop. I had two charms.

One of them was a birthday card filled with lovely messages from the Friday singing group members. I first joined this group three years ago. I stayed in NY for three months three years ago to learn English language. When I had an evaluation interview by my ESL teacher, I told her that I was looking for church I could attend in Brooklyn where I was staying at that time. The teacher introduced me her own church in Park Slope, Brooklyn. On my first day at church, I sat next to a woman who talked to me after the service asking if I was interested in joining both the church choir and the singing group where her friend was leading. Since then I started to join both the church choir and the singing group. When I left NY in June, 2005, I felt so sad because I thought I could never see them again. I am so happy that I could come back here and have been joining the choir and singing group again! Actually, my friends in the singing group asked me to join the Western Wind workshop. One meeting leads another meeting, and it makes your world expanding! I love everyone in the singing group. They all are lovely! I was delighted to receive this birthday card. I'll never forget my birthday this year in the US.

Another card is from Ieva, the former pastor and now a volunteer pastor at the nursing home. She always encourages me with her warm and knowledgeable advice. Before joining the second workshop, she gave me this message card.

I put these two cards on the shelf in my room at the dorm and looked at them whenever I thought I needed encouragement.