BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Adalynn Southwell came home with a medal and a trophy after placing second in her age division in Bible Memorization at the Vertical Three Conference, an annual event organized by the National Association of Free Will Baptists.
Adalynn, who attends Lake Butler’s Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, was one of 17 children competing in the second-grade division at the July 20-23 event in Kansas City, Missouri. She had a score of 99.96 to place behind a competitor from Kansas and ahead of a competitor from North Carolina.
Children in Adalynn’s event also represented Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
Adalynn’s parents, Brett and Mallory Southwell, were happy to see their daughter do so well, but more importantly, they’re happy that their daughter is reading and memorizing scripture.
“As a Christian parent, there’s nothing you want more than for your kids to have a relationship with Jesus,” Mallory said, while Brett said, “I just smile when I hear her say (scripture). That’s all I can do — just smile.”
Mallory said Harmony Free Will Baptist has always had youth participate in the competitions, so she and Brett wanted Adalynn and their son, Alden, to take part as well.
Adalynn took part in an art competition last year before going in Bible Memorization this year.
“We thought it was something she’d be good at,” Brett said.
Though you might not have believed that if you had been around Adalynn before she had to compete. Mallory recalled that prior to taking the stage at the Florida Free Will Baptists’ Florida State Youth Conference, which was held May 2-3 in Jacksonville, Adalynn said, “Please don’t make me do it.”
Yet all she did was place first out of eight at that event, which qualified her for the Vertical Three Conference.
“It’s really impressive to watch her go up there and do it even though she gets so nervous beforehand,” Brett said. “She gets up there, and it just flows out.”
The words continued to flow as she earned that second-place national medal.
“Every one of them (at the national event) was first or second in their state,” Brett said. “You’re going against the best in their state, so all the kids are going to do good. It’s a tough competition.”
Competitors are provided with Bible passages to memorize before the competition. They don’t know what they’ll have to recite specifically until they get on stage.
As Adalynn’s designated “coach,” Mallory said she probably read the words as much as her daughter did, but she couldn’t recite them from memory like Adalynn could.
Neither could her father, who tried his hand at it as well.
“He got every word wrong,” Adalynn said, laughing. She then added, “He got like five words right.”
The Vertical Three Conference was attended by nearly 4,000 people, Brett said. Besides the youth competitions, the event consists of such things as carnival-like activities for children, seminars for adults and worship services for all ages.
Vertical Three’s mission statement is to “help students discover their talents, develop their leadership and dedicate their hearts for faithful service to God.”
Alden Southwell took part in a group competition this year, with his group earning the right to compete at the national event. However, not everyone in the group was able to make the trip.
Next year, Brett and Mallory said they’re going to have Alden compete in Bible Memorization in his age group.
That’ll mean both children in the Southwell home will be reading and memorizing, right? Well, when asked if she was ready to do it again next year, Adalynn said, “I don’t know.”
“That’s the response,” Brett said, “but she’ll be there (at the national event) again, hopefully.”
