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On a windy Friday night in a Mount Airy subdivision, the Krueger family dog, "Sweet Pea," cowers in front of the front door, hiding from muffled children's laughter and singing intermixed with "High School Musical" booming in the home's family room as adults gather, chatting amiably in the kitchen.

She eagerly greets newcomers, family after family of different races walking up the steps, but refuses to step into the brightly-lit house.

"She's hiding," laughs Karen Krueger, opening her front door for people while the little white dog hovered.

The Krueger's have done more than open their door, though. They've opened their home along with five other Mount Airy families who hosted 14 singers and nine adult chaperones of the Mwamba Children's Choir from Uganda for a week.

Several churches have helped host the choir while they've been in the country, travelling and raising money for the "I Am Children's Family" organization. Most choir members live in single-parent homes or orphanages. The singers, who auditioned to be in the choir, are some of the 200 kids who benefit from the nonprofit's medical care and schooling.

The Kampala, Uganda natives have been performing around the mid-Atlantic region since September. It's the third tour for the group, which chooses a different country to tour each year.

"The main purpose of this project is to raise money and sponsorship," said Jemimiah Nasanga, a chaperone with the choir. The choir is raising money to extend the orphanage, adding two schools, a hospital and land for farming.

The most recent host homes are the Mount Airy residents who attend Life Point Church in Reisterstown, where the choir recently performed.

"What was neat was everyone was close we could do it together," said host dad Steve Frenz.

During their stay, the choir not only needs homes to stay in, but facilities to practice and go to school. Host families sometimes act as transportation, but the group also has two vans to use for transportation to things such as dental appointments donated by a dentist with the church.

Host families offer more than just a place to sleep. Jolene Frenz said her family had been trying to do some outside activities like hiking while learning about each other's cultures. This year, the Frenz family hosted a 10-year-old and two 12-year-olds that got along well with her 11-year-old daughter, Emily.

"They just fit right into each other," she said. "... Emily came up and said ‘Mom, they found the Barbie closet,' I said ‘No, not at 10:30 at night!' ...it's so fun."

They like potato chips, said Frenz, who said it was funny she had gone through so many things she thought the girls would like and they always came back to potato chips. "Potato chips happen to be a real hit," she said. "We're Americanizing them already!"

Frenz also has a college-age daughter who came home during the visitors' stay. Frenz said she had discussed hosting with her family, concerned her older daughter might not like the changes when coming home and was warned she may not have a bedroom.

"She said, ‘You have to do this, this will be the best Thanksgiving ever,'" Frenz said. She said she enjoyed having the girls around, and found them to be incredibly polite, a sentiment echoed by other host families.

Tendo Gloria is an 11-year-old singer in her second year of touring with the choir. "I like singing and dancing and worshipping God," she said. When asked what she likes most about the U.S., Tendo said she likes visiting different host families.

Why?

"Because they show love to us," she said, ducking her head shyly.

Thirteen-year-old singer George Lukidi said he's enjoyed the Wii. His favorite game? Boxing. George is one of the three boys staying with the Smith family in Mount Airy. The family has gone swimming, bowling, and of course, played a lot of Wii.

George said he's been amazed at the roads in the United States — smooth and wide.

Brady Smith, 11, said the boys staying with them had been in awe of the balloons during the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. "They're so taken with the TV and stuff," he said.

The choir came to stay with the Mount Airy families on Nov. 23 and left after performances this past weekend. Last week, the choir, host families, and extended family gathered at the Krueger house — more than 50 people together for Thanksgiving.

Jolene Frenz said that accommodating so many people was a little tight, but doable. "We've got some good organizers," she said.

Host dad Doug Pinto has videos on his Blackberry of the choir giving a "thank you" performance that day, the spirited dancing, clapping and singing rocking on the tiny screen. "It's been fun," he said, smiling down at the images.

Frenz said the group's English language skills are excellent; they speak it most of the time, but also use their tribal language occasionally.

"Mwamba" is a Swahili word translated to "rock," symbolizing the hard life a typical African child.

Enock Rwakatale, a chaperone and piano player with the choir, said that through the music the leaders can invoke the kid's talents while also bringing them somewhere. "We believe we're giving them a future," he said. "That's our vision."

On Friday night the host families and choir gathered again at Krueger's home, a more casual get-together than the holiday the day before.

"High School Musical" was silenced and everyone gathered in the kitchen as a chaperone prayed a blessing over the food. His prayer was repetitive, full of "thank-yous" and blessings. The house was silent. Then voices joined together, "Amen."

E-mail Angie Cochrun at acochrun@gazette.net.

For information about the Mwamba Children's Choir, visit www.rock

childrensfamily.org, www.myspace.com/

mwambachildrenschoir or the choir's blog at mwambachildrens

choir.blogspot.com.