Amish Sing-A-Long

Who doesn’t love a sing along????

While attending the Rocky Mountain Ukulele Festival in Durango this month, we (a few members of the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob) had a late-night jam in our hotel lobby.

Much to our surprise, while we sang a gospel song led by Pete McCarty, one by one a few Amish guests were slowly drawn into the room. Pete, who is known for his jolly personality and rich deep voice, discovered a common bond, and touched by their presence, we sang one gospel song after another for over an hour. They listened to us sing, and with big smiles on their faces, they sang along too.

These Amish singing with us were from Shipshewana, Indiana, which is the third largest Amish and Mennonite community in the United States. They were visiting Durango on vacation. They took the train to Colorado.

The Amish are conservative Christians and they believe in a simple lifestyle, dress modestly, and live close to the land and without technology. They are known for building fine furniture sold all over the country.

After we sang together, they asked if they could sing us a song. They began chanting The Praise Song, VERY slowly in high German. They sang one verse, which took over five minutes. You can hear it here in this video. It's about 1:48 minutes in.

As little as we had in common, for a few minutes that night, we were all just the people of God.

L'Cool A Great Story of Redemption

Clean and sober for nearly 27 years, L Cool reclaimed her life and reconnected with her daughters. Now, she recovers broken and blemished furniture. Her daughter, who was born in jail, recently became a Memphis Police officer.

Our Memphis Magazine story link below.

https://memphismagazine.com/features/salvation-in-orange-mound/

You can also see a short video here:

Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob at the St. Jude Marathon 2022

There is just something about a bunch of ukuleles playing together that makes people smile. Each year, our Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob entertains the runners in the St. Jude Marathon. Often they are exhausted, they laugh, cry, smile, dance and some even stop to take selfies with us. It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Runners raise millions of dollars to fight against rare forms of childhood cancer. https://www.stjude.org/get-involved/fitness-fundraisers/memphis-marathon.html

I love the story behind St. Jude and the founding of the hospital by Danny Thomas. Praying to St. Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes, Danny asked the saint to “help me find my way in life, and I will build you a shrine.” It is so inspiring to live in Memphis and see the fulfillment of the promise that Thomas made to St. Jude. It is always a powerful reminder to me, of how each of us has the power to change the world and be a blessing to others. https://www.stjude.org/directory/t/danny-thomas-founder.html

It was his wish that children are treated here for catastrophic childhood cancer, while families never receive a bill so that they can focus on their sick child instead of medical bills.

This video below from 2021 shows what our experience is like. A runner sees us and starts weeping. The event is always bittersweet.

An Evening with Elizabeth King: The Sacred Soul Queen of Memphis

ON THE SEASONED SIDE OF LIFE: Performance Highlights of Gospel Singer Elizabeth King at Crosstown, Memphis

Surrounded by amazing Memphis musicians, 78-year-old gospel singer Elizabeth King pours out her heart and soul while performing at Crosstown Arts in Memphis, Tennessee Aug. 27, 2022. She was accompanied by her daughters. King is experiencing a career resurgence after taking time out to raise 15 children. She has recently recorded on Bible & Tire Recording Company.

King tells the story of how she was “Touched by God” and how he changed her life forever.

Memphis Shown In A Positive Light to Millions of People

Guidepost Magazine Features Memphian James Lindsey

At this Memphis cemetery, veterans who die alone are not forgotten, thanks to James Lindsey. He was shocked to learn that a dozen veterans a year were buried at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery with no family and no ceremony, so he took it upon himself to make sure they were honored prior to being laid to rest. (Photos by Karen Pulfer Focht ©) OCT/NOV GUIDEPOST MAGAZINE

Guidepost specializes in inspirational content and was founded in 1945 by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

LINK: Story and photos below:

https://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/he-was-inspired-to-conduct-final-salutes-for-recently-departed-veterans

This is not the first time that James’s story has made national news. I’ve told his story once before for the Associated Press and also for The Daily Memphian.

You can read and see those stories and photos here. https://www.karenpulferfocht.com/blog/remeberingtheforgotten

THE REST OF THE STORY……..

Those of you who know me know I play the ukulele. In Jan. 2019 my ukulele group, the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob, showed up at what we thought would be a sparse funeral for three unclaimed veterans. We planned to play Amazing Grace for them graveside. However, when we showed up, cars were lined up for a mile. Our big-hearted Memphis community came out to give these veterans a proper send-off thanks to James Lindsey. I recognized this as a fantastic news story, put down my ukulele and picked up my pencil and camera. I’m so glad I was able to record this act of kindness and share this wonderful story with the world.