For years, Charles Wesley United Methodist Church in McLean has supported efforts to help residents of war-torn areas of Sudan. On Saturday, children from the East Africa Conference of the United Methodist Church, which includes Sudan and four other countries ravaged by war, did a favor for the church, providing an evening of song and dance for members and anyone else who was interested.

The performance by the Hope for Africa children’s choir was free, but any donations went to support the choir, as well as "all-inclusive centers," such as the Humble United Methodist School in Uganda, which cares for and educates orphans and vulnerable children.

TONE MBOWA, a director of the choir, told the 50 or so people who attended the Nov. 14 concert that the children in the group all came from areas "where the schools are not enough, the food is not enough, the water is so bad they often have to walk very far to get it." Some, he said, had seen their parents killed. Mbowa said the Orphans and Vulnerable Children’s Ministry, sponsored by the United Methodist Church, took such children in and fed and educated them. Moreover, he said, the ministry taught them religion and gave them hope.

This is the second year the choir has toured the United States, and it has been traveling since May.

When the children are flown across the Atlantic, Mbowa said, "They can’t believe they’re really in the sky." Most decide immediately that they want to become pilots, "which is a very good sign that they’re dreaming. They’re planning for their future," he said.

Mbowa said he shared the children’s background, as his father, a pastor, was killed under the reign of Ugandan military dictator Idi Amin when he was 7, and his mother died shortly thereafter. But he soon received the opportunity to join a charitable organization and travel the world, and he had always wanted to return the favor, he said.

When the church’s pastor, Rev. Candace Martin, asked the children what were their favorite foods they had tried on the tour, they mentioned rice and beans, pizza, hot dogs, mashed potatoes, chicken and hamburgers. Asked what were the most interesting sights they had seen in the United States, the children listed roller coasters, a zoo, a children’s museum and "your nice schools." When prompted, they also named their favorite academic subjects, with math proving popular, and recited their favorite lines from the Bible, including chapter and verse.

AFTER THE SHOW, Martin said she had first seen the choir last year at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Ashburn, where she was then a member, and she said the event had convinced her that she wanted the group to visit Charles Wesley. "I was so overwhelmed with experiencing them and getting to spend some time with them," she said.

At Charles Wesley, too, the children stayed after their performance and chatted with attendees.