The children's choir tour, called the "Suubi" Tour, which means hope in Uganda, is making appearances through August 30 in churches around the state. They practiced three hours a day for two months to prepare 14 songs for their summer concert tour.

Mt. Gilead Baptist Church in Griffin, Georgia, who has taken the Royal Junior School and Orphanage under its wing, had the idea to bring the children to the Southeastern US to raise awareness of the plight of the one million orphaned children in Uganda and to raise money to build the children a new campus and orphanage in Kampala. Last year, Mt. Gilead Baptist Church purchased 30 acres of land for the orphanage and school. The present facility crowds 565 orphaned school children on one-fourth acre of land.

"When I first went to Uganda five years ago, I left my heart there. The Ugandans are an easy people to love," said Christina Whitworth, Missions Minister of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, who coordinated the Ugandan Children's Tour this summer and educates church audiences with the staggering health statistics of Uganda's AIDS and malaria epidemics. She has been traveling with the group, along with the choir's director and the headmistress of the school, Jalia Kayondo.

"We've been receiving blessings from the churches. They have blessed us with love offerings and prayers," said Jalia Kayondo.

The children's bright smiles and outfits, and the energetic upbeat tempo of the African music contrasted with the slideshow on the church's screen of the children's living conditions in their orphanage/school in Kampala. Images depicted overcrowded dormitories and classrooms, beans being cooked over an open fire in the kitchen, and children carrying in water by the jug.

Still, these children remain joyful and full of hope. Their smiles reached to their eyes when they sang, "Things already better. When the Lord is on the throne. Sister, don't you worry."

"Did you notice that every one of the children smiled when they sang? Their faces showed their tremendous inward hope of the Lord Jesus Christ. These children have blessed us with their smiles," said Dr. Owen Bozeman, pastor of Central Baptist Church.

Only God knows what these precious children, the hope of the future, will accomplish if they are given the chance. One student in the choir, Angella Nabbanja, 14, a beautiful, articulate young lady who aspires to be a neurosurgeon one day, said that biology is her favorite subject in school and that "You Raise Me Up" is her favorite song. "Students at our school rise at 6 a.m. , have morning preps at 6:30 a.m. and classes begin at 7:15 a.m. We are in school until 4:40 p.m. For lunch and supper we eat posho (maize bread) and brown beans. Our teachers preach and tell us Bible stories at the church our school houses. We ask for your prayers to build a new building so we can have our own beds, and we can have space to play," Angella said.

You still have a chance to see The Ugandan Children's Choir perform locally. They will be at Second Memorial Baptist Church in Perry on Sunday, August 27 at 6:30 p.m.

If you would like to support the building of the new Royal Junior School and Orphanage in Kampala, Uganda, send your donations to Royal Junior School in care of Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, 14550 US Highway 19, Griffin, GA 30224. For more information, visit www.suubi.net.