July 20, 2022
By: Bill Conger
Children from Sozo, Uganda in Africa will make a stop on the “Miracle Tour” in Smithville. This 4th tour of the Sozo Children’s Choir will perform at Smithville First Baptist Church during morning worship services on August 7. They’ll sing a second show Sunday night for the community. Donations for the group are welcome.
Sozo Choir from Sozo Children on Vimeo.
“From what I have seen, this is the most talented bunch yet,” says Terry Schrimscher, Global Engagement Coordinator for Sozo Children.
“The kids come here to share their faith and it is our hope that they return home knowing they are loved and their lives truly matter to the world,” adds Sozo Children CEO Suzanne Owens.
The pandemic put a halt to tours for a couple of years. They were scheduled to be in the states earlier this year, but working the logistics out with two governments to travel with the children can be a challenge. Starting in 2016, the Sozo Children’s Choir began to provide spiritual, personal, and cultural development opportunities for those served by Sozo Children in Uganda.
“The choir tour is a way for us to share a faith walk with the children we serve, and it lets them go on a mission trip instead of us just sending people to Africa all the time,” Schrimscher explained. “When we go to Uganda on mission trips, we are a lot different than a lot of missions’ organizations. Of course, we go there to serve but not always to do massive projects, and we don’t go over there for photo ops or to post updates ourselves. It’s not about us! We go there to share faith with the children, our staff, the community and the families we serve. I like to say we walk alongside our Ugandan neighbors and help equip them to serve others in their community well into the future. We are not there to create little American Christians. We find that we learn so much from them. The kids in the choir have an incredible witness opportunity, some heart-wrenching testimonies, and some pretty awesome talent as well.”
This year 12 children from Uganda will be performing in Mississippi, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
“In the past, the children have come directly from the 130 or more children directly in our care in Uganda,” Schrimscher. “This year, for the first time ever, 5 kids from the neighboring community outside of Sozo auditioned and made the choir. That’s pretty amazing if you think about it. When they moved into the choir house to rehearse with our team, that was likely the first time they had lived in a home with electricity, running water, or the things we take for granted here.”
“Once they join, we have a choir director and a musical director in Uganda who works with them to rehearse songs and dances. They go into a recording studio and make a professional recording of each song as well. They have costumes made and they tour churches and events in Uganda before they come to the United States.”
“They will perform contemporary songs your congregation may recognize like “Waymaker” and “New Hallelujah” and some songs they love from home that you will enjoy like “Jabulani” all with some amazing harmonies and a bit of an African beat. They also have a cultural segment of the show, which we do when venues are gracious enough to give us a few extra minutes, which features African dance and instruments. These kids can dance! You will see the sweetest smiles you have ever seen which are enhanced by the knowledge that the kids come from circumstances we cannot really fathom at any age—things like abuse, neglect, abandonment, trafficking and generational poverty. Yet, they smile and they absolutely LOVE you and love that you came to sing along with them.”
“Fair warning. They have been known to run grab a friendly face out of the crowd to dance in the aisle with them. Wear some comfortable shoes. If they connect with your smile from the stage, you just might be part of the show. Nothing warms our hearts more than seeing people in the crowd get up and let go for a few minutes and just worship God with the kids dancing in the aisle, in your seats, or cheering them on.”
Again the Sozo Children’s Choir will perform for the community on Sunday August 7 at 6 o’clock at Smithville First Baptist Church.