“Do not weep…” Rev. 5:5

While many throughout the world celebrated this past weekend the US Supreme Court Ruling, we grieved the downward spiral of these evil days. That heartache continued when we heard of the tragedy in Taipei and how fire rained down upon the gay celebrators. Certainly our Lord’s coming is not far away!

However, today at Scripture Union (SU) as we worshiped God with the four African drums, I was reminded that God is still on the throne and He will have the last word. Following that hour in God’s Word and prayer, I chatted about several matters with various SU staff, and then joined Martha and the VOICE volunteers to catch up with their worlds. Most of those present were finishing up the test teaching of the module on Moral Purity—how ironic. I was ‘proud of God’ as I heard volunteer after volunteer share of God’s working as they have test taught.

I especially sat spellbound as Steve shared that the teachers of the Secondary Boarding School where he is test teaching sit in on his S-5 (Secondary 5, equivalent to grade 12) VEC (Values Education Class). After teaching one of the Purity lessons, an older classroom teacher stood up and spoke to the students, “if only I had this teaching when I was your age, it would have saved my life from so much grief. Listen and heed what these Values teachers are saying.” Tears overflowed as I recalled that those were the exact same words spoken to us by Bosco back when God first stirred our hearts for Uganda while we were still very much engaged in VOICE Philippines. The decision to leave the Philippines and answer Bosco’s plea (really, the Lord’s leading) to come and help establish the teaching of Biblical values in the schools of Uganda was not an easy one. But if I ever had any doubt that we made the right decision, today would have erased them. Steve was not finished yet. “The Purity module is impacting many students. One of the ‘bad girls’ of the class has shifted from the back to the front row and is now one of our biggest fans; she keeps telling the class ‘this is the truth.’” He went on to say that he and his assistant teacher debrief after every class with a Christian teacher, referred to as a Matron, who sits in on the class. The Matron thanked them for being like Aaron and Hur for her--holding up her hands before God as she works with these students and tries to point them to Christ. Due to such intense interest and so many questions, Steve persuaded several others from SU to return to the school last Sunday afternoon to counsel interested students. He reported that the students queued up in a long line to talk one-on-one with the SU people. And if all that is not exciting enough yet, at the close of the sixth and final lesson, a Gospel Presentation, two students gave their lives to Christ!

Praise God for allowing us to see that the Lion of Judah is indeed at work. The work we are engaged in and that you pray for is indeed being used of God. Let us pray in these days when the enemy has come in like a flood that the Spirit of God will indeed triumph and we will see many more transformations of precious lives for God’s glory.

A Holy Pause

Most evenings following the meal, we spend time reading the Scripture Union Uganda Daily Guide and praying together. Sometimes, we’re a bit rushed, but tonight we both lingered together, with tears of gratefulness, as we listened to the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” which “happened” to be playing on one of our CDs. We find it almost unbelievable to think we are fast approaching our 2-year Anniversary here…and can’t begin to fathom the innumerable ways God has blessed and encouraged us, as unworthy as we are. The devotional reading from Luke of our gracious and compassionate Lord ministering to an “unworthy” Gentile, once again filled our hearts to overflowing for that is what He has done for us. Even just yesterday our Operations Assistant, Martha, was bursting with joy as she had just taught lesson #4 of the Self-Control to her class of 140 eager and attentive Primary Six students. She was especially thrilled by a note from a Muslim parent, written on the Activity Sheet expressing gratitude for teaching her child Self Control! And again, this morning we were humbled with news of a thousand dollar gift for publishing Values from former Philippine colleagues serving elsewhere. And then…tonight, after our “holy pause” prayer time, clearing the dishes, and heating up a plate of food for the night guard, I checked email and did a “double take” as I saw an email from our SEND International Director. With gracious words of affirmation, he told us that he has approved our request for the continuation and expansion of our fund-raising project (to the tune of $81,000) to publish Values Curriculum in partnership with Scripture Union and involving churches to reach children, youth, and their families through the school classroom weekly VEC (Values Education Class) program. We were especially humbled by his assurance of prayer, specifically that the churches would rise up and take advantage of this strategic opportunity. What else could we do but stop again, in a holy pause, as we stood in awe of our great God, our Lion of the Tribe of Judah working in ways so far above ours to remind us this is His ministry.

They Kept Coming….

Just before dawn on June 6 we both heard light rain on our roof.  “Could it be that God will give us a smaller number due to weather?!”  But as the day dawned, slowly some blue sky could be seen behind clouds.  Praise God the cloud cover made for a cooler/comfortable day and without another drop of rain.  This greatly assisted the majority who came by public transportation. When we arrived at 7:35 a.m. Saturday, we found some Scripture Union (SU) staff members there and even a delegate from a distance away. As we set up under the SU tent and arranged two other rooms for break-out sessions, participants began arriving and our good team of volunteers were soon registering them, making name tags, and getting a set of curriculum for each according to their choice—Lower Primary, Upper Primary, or Secondary…and serving them tea, bread, and bananas. What a delight to see some we had been in touch with actually come including some church leaders, key children’s workers, and even a Kampala political “counselor” who loves the Lord and wants to use her influence to facilitate the teaching of godly values in the schools in her area of jurisdiction. The Scripture Union Uganda Director, Dickens, brought a strong word from 2 Timothy 2:1-7 for volunteers enduring hardness for the Lord Jesus and the pressing need in the Nation for godly values to be taught. We divided into the three age groups with each of us and other volunteers facilitating.  Participants kept coming until our total of participants and volunteers reached nearly 100!  Yes, the last in the lunch line got “modest” portions.  Highlights include two participants “eating out of Ruth’s hand” as she explained the VOICE Africa program—obviously excited with the potential of making a difference in Primary and Secondary schools. And then a question as we urged them to consider implementing the program during the 3^rd term this year which begins in September…one asked “Can we start earlier than that?” Another sharp children’s worker commented, “We now have curriculum to teach Values in our schools, thank you!”  By the time the tent was down, chairs were returned, and the monies balanced and bills paid, we were tired…but overflowing with such joy to see God at work and to be a small part of what He is doing here in Uganda…which would not be possible without those who pray and send us here.