December 4, 2019
By: Bill Conger
A typical reaction of someone traveling to a third world country is a stunned disbelief at the stark poverty gripping the nation. But Jordan Atnip, Youth and Worship Pastor at Smithville First Baptist Church, saw life in Uganda on a recent missionary trip there from a different angle.
“Most people go there and they instantly say I’m so blessed; I’m so grateful for what I have,” says Atnip. “We were all thinking that on the Monday night that we were there. We had been in the village, and we had just seen poverty up close and personal, a different poverty than we even have here. [The guide] Ron was pretty quick to correct us. You’re saying you’re blessed as far as money and stuff. That’s not what blessed is in the Bible. They are blessed because they rely on God for everything. They truly have just this spiritual awakening that we can’t fathom because they rely on God in every way. We rely on God when something bad happens instead of daily.”
Atnip along with FBC members Rita Bell, Thomas (Tom) Groom, Katie Stutts and Rhonda Harpole from Smithville First Methodist Church, traveled to the East African nation on a mission trip in late October. The idea for the trip developed out of two visits from the Sozo Children’s Choir to Smithville F.B.C. for performances.
“I met the Sozo kids when they came,” says Katie Stutts. “They are such a beautiful culture, and they’ll tell you about their village. They want you to come. I wanted to go see them and see what their lives are like and their beautiful little souls and personalities.
“I fell in love with them in 2016 when they came on tour,” says Atnip. “At the time I thought there’s no way we’ll ever go there. I was being a Doubting Thomas.”
Fortunately, church members Jim and Rita Bell shared Atnip’s hope and put the wheels in motion. It took the group more than 30 hours travel time to reach the Uganda capital of Kampala to see the discipleship work firsthand.
“When you have a Christian organization rescuing at risk kids and they’re teaching kids the values of Christ and trying to be their community and their country, it just seemed like a worthwhile cause, says Tom Groom. “We went to see if the money is being spent properly, if the kids are being treated properly. We came away with a real blessing. They really are taking care of at risk kids.”
For Rita Bell, one emotional memory that left an impression was her visit with an ill 57-year-old woman.
“From the way she described her illness it sounded like she had a stroke,” says Bell. They have very little resources available to them. They had no means of transportation, no money, no medical care. Their living conditions were deplorable. She shared a one room hut with her husband and daughter. We could hear something on the roof go back and forth. There was a huge rat going across the rafters of her roof. We were all very humbled by this experience. After seeing firsthand what obstacles they must deal with on a daily basis, we all left in tears.”
“Life is very simple there,” says Stutts. “They’re desperate. They don’t have much, but they all gather together and garden for their food. You walk around the village and take bananas. They all greet each other. The simplicity and the love of that they have for one another and just the pure joy of not being caught up in the stresses that we have don’t really matter. They live such a simple, humble life, and they’re grateful for everything, and they’re happy.”
“They want us to love the children,” Groom says. “The culture is one where the family unit isn’t a very loving unit even though the kids are basically happy. There’s not a lot of time to just show Christian love. They wanted us to be there just to show support and to show love. You could see it in the kids’ eyes. They just wanted to be hugged. They just wanted to be around you.”
The Sozo Children’s Choir will be in DeKalb County again for a performance at Smithville First Baptist Church on Sunday morning, February 10 at 10:00 a.m. They’ll also be at the DeKalb County Complex the following night, Monday, February 11, at 6 o’clock.