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The children of southern Sudan have nudged their way into the hearts of some Townsend residents one hug, one smile and one song at a time.

The ties that bind these two places, that are literally worlds apart, formed back in March when two Townsend residents -- Pat Hipp and Johnny Webb -- went on a mission trip to Yei, Sudan. They are members of Tuckaleechee United Methodist Church and spent almost two weeks in southern Sudan working in a medical clinic that saw desperate people travel on foot from 100 miles away.

Webb, a pharmacist, and Hipp, a retired commercial artist, said they served 200 to 250 patients each day, with the medical staff writing close to 1,500 prescriptions daily. Worms and malaria were common among the patients who have suffered greatly in this war-torn country, which is the largest in Africa.

Upon their arrival, the two missionaries were entertained by a children's choir in Uganda, called the Hope for Africa Children's Choir. It was an experience these two can't stop talking about.

"They performed for us for an hour and a half," Hipp said. "They sang and sang and sang. They never took their eyes off the director and were smiling the whole time."

These are children orphaned by war and disease, Hipp explained. Some of them shared their personal stories.

The road to Blount County

The 23 children who make up the choir range in age from 5 to 12. The group was formed back in October 2007 by the United Methodist East Africa Annual Conference. They made their debut at the denomination's General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.

Blount Countians will have the opportunity to hear this energetic and talented choir at a concert to be held at 7 p.m. June 27 in Townsend. There is no admission charge.

The director of the choir, Tonny Mbowa, was only 7 when Uganda President Idi Amin's army came and killed his pastor father, in the 1970s. Amin earned the nickname "Butcher of Uganda" during his military dictatorship. Mbowa's mother died of cancer. He was selected shortly after that to be part of a choir that traveled throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Webb said after seeing Hope for Africa Children's Choir perform in Africa, he was determined to bring them here.

"It was a blessing to me," Webb said. "I pushed and pushed and pushed for this group to come to Townsend. People told me 'You will never get them in little Townsend.' ... Now they're coming here."

Tuckaleechee's pastor, Ken Abbott, said the concert will be held under a tent at River of Life International, on Webb Road. It's the only location that's big enough, he said. There will be seats for about 300 but attendees might want to bring additional chairs or blankets. While there is no cost to attend, a love offering will be taken up for the choir.

The group will head to Greeneville Saturday, Abbott said. While here, they will be staying at Moon Shadow Lodge.

Reasons revealed

When Hipp signed on for the mission trip, she said she had no idea why God chose her to go. She had never placed Africa on her to-do travel list, but she said God did.

After arriving in the African nation, Hipp came in contact with a group of women who had three sewing machines that weren't assembled and no one who knew how.

No one but Hipp.

She put the old treadle sewing machines together and then tried teaching the Sudanese women to sew on the outdated machines.

"I hadn't sewed with one of those types of machines since I was 12," she said.

Through some networking, Hipp brought together the lady who owned the sewing machines with a local man who once worked as a seamstress. He was working digging ditches for $100 a month.

Hipp had some extra spending money with her. She gave the man $150 and told him to spend the month teaching the women to sew.

God's plan had come together, this missionary said.

Faith in motion

"I believe God has a sense of humor," Hipp explained. "He took a 68-year-old woman all the way across the globe to bring two people together who were already there but they didn't know each other well enough to know one had the sewing machines and one had been a seamstress."

Webb also discovered he was placed in Sudan for more than medical missions. This pharmacist for Wal-Mart met a 7-year-old boy named Martin who instantly tugged at his heartstrings.

The boy's father had been fighting in the war, and his mother was nowhere to be found. He scavenged for food on the streets of Yei and was not attending school.

Webb is now providing financial support along with another of the mission team members, to send Martin to a Methodist school in Uganda. There, Martin will have housing, food, safety and an education.

"The need in Sudan -- you can't even describe it," Webb said. "They need medical help so bad, but their faith is so strong. Hopefully, Christians will continue to send help and missionaries and medical teams and work teams to show southern Sudan we love them."

Hipp recently sent a box of sewing supplies to Yei with help from other church members. The Sudanese women, who are mostly widows, will be able to make uniforms for students and sew items to sell. Webb is sending checks on a regular basis to make sure Martin gets an education.

The two are encouraging the community to come out in support of the Hope for Africa Children's Choir and learn more about what can be done to change lives there.

It happens one friend at a time.