The Children of the World are finally back home!

The pandemic has canceled a lot of events this year: weddings, concerts, vacations, family get-togethers, and even the final months of the Children of the World choir’s 2019-2020 tour.

Although their tour was cut short, though, the choir still got to see a lot of America and perform for over 19,000 people during their eight months of traveling. The kids traveled over 25,000 miles to visit 25 different states and perform in 70 different venues. This resulted in hundreds of children around the world being sponsored.

And even when they had to shelter in place for the last four months of their time in the U.S., they still found plenty of ways to have fun!

Before the pandemic struck the globe, the children were visiting several churches and schools each week, singing and telling people about the power of child sponsorship. Many of the kids, including Madhu and Passang, got to meet their sponsors along the way.

Of course, the choir also made plenty of time for sightseeing and getting to experience some of America’s national treasures. They walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, visited Niagara Falls, and even went to Disney World in December. Along the way, the children enjoyed spending time with the families who hosted them in their homes. They liked getting to know them and playing with their children or pets.

But the kids’ favorite part of tour was sharing the need for other children like them to receive sponsors. After every event, they looked forward to the choir leaders telling them how many kids had been sponsored that night.

So, when the tour stopped because of the coronavirus, one of the first questions the kids asked was how their friends from their countries would now receive sponsorship. This just goes to show how focused the kids were. They knew why the Children of the World tour was so important and were sad it had to come to an early end.

Even though they were no longer traveling, though, the kids stayed very busy.

Since they were already on the West Coast when the pandemic struck, the choir decided to shelter in place in Washington state. Long-time friends of the choir and supporters of World Help own an event and retreat center there and allowed them to stay until it was safe to travel again.

The kids spent their free time playing soccer, riding their scooters, and visiting the local lakes. They also continued their schoolwork, memorized Bible verses, and even recorded a brand-new Children of the World album in a make-shift studio.

Passang’s favorite part was recording the solos and hearing herself sing in the recording. They also loved working with the sound engineer who came in with the equipment to capture the kids’ voices. “Uncle Aaron was great and fun to work with. He was so funny,” Karen said.

All in all, the children enjoyed their time in the U.S., even if it was not how they originally imagined when the tour first started.

Now, as countries begin to open back up, many of the kids have been able to return home.

Both the Ugandan and Filipino children were able to return to their countries in July. After their two weeks of quarantine, they were finally reunited with their families who threw each of them a welcome home party.

The boys and girls from Nepal will hopefully be heading back home in the next few weeks.

Although their time was cut short, the children still feel God was able to use them in miraculous ways during the tour. “We were able to share Jesus to some people who didn’t know Him,” Henry said.

“God used us to help other children get sponsors,” Wang added.

The children’s one remaining concern is how other kids will find sponsors now that the choir is heading home. After all, since the choir stopped traveling back in March, the number of new sponsorships has been down 94 percent!

That’s why the Children of the World choir is asking for your help. With a one-time gift of just $105, you can provide three months of basic needs for a child who is waiting for a sponsor.

Boys and girls living in poverty have always needed help. But now, that need is even greater. The pandemic is causing food shortages worldwide, and countless parents are now out of work and unable to provide for their children.

Your gift today will provide one of these children with essentials like food, clean water, medical care, and educational assistance. As a special thank you, we’ll even text you a photo of the child you are helping.

You can help complete the mission the Children of the World set out to accomplish: rescuing as many children as possible … one boy or girl at a time.

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