From VEC (Values Education Class) to Camp

As Susan opened the first training Friday morning with the Scripture Union Uganda staff members, she asked for testimonies from their test teaching experience of the first module, Truth. Several shared their stories, their facial expressions revealing their delight. Unfortunately we were just far enough away so that we didn’t catch everything (sometimes we still stumble with the accent) but what we heard was such an encouragement. Most of the testimonies came from the rural areas of Uganda—areas that we had not yet heard any reports from. Here are two:

One taught a class on the 2^nd floor of the school building. During the second class (and onward) he noticed some students coming in after the class began. Toward the middle of the series, the teacher from the classroom directly above them, came and sat in on the class. Come to find out, she was looking for some of her students who escaped her class and according to their classmates, had come down to join the Values Education Class…and she was also curious as to why her students loved his class so much. It ended up that he had to teach her class as well (and I think the class beneath)…the teacher felt it was too good for her students to miss out!

Another one shared that he noticed some of the Activity Sheets were particularly well filled out by the parent showing signs that some time/thought had been given to it. Toward the end of the series at least one parent came to him and expressed gratefulness for the content of the class and shared how much it had impacted the family. When the parent found out that Scripture Union was putting on a children’s camp following that term, the parent quickly registered her child saying that she had confidence that the child would be well taught. (At least two children were registered for camp as a result of the VEC.)

Praise God for His powerful Word that is active and effective!

Scripture Union Uganda Mission

 We've learned a lot about Scripture Union  Uganda (SUU) since arriving last year...and I'm sure there's still a lot more to learn. We've amazed with the multiple ministries they are involved in and this past June we observed a phenomena called "The Mission." SUU staff and volunteers from all over Uganda come together for two packed weeks to "blitz" a certain area, working primarily in the schools. Here's a quick write up on The Mission this year which took place toward the end of June.

SU MISSION 2014

The SU mission is our single largest school outreach every year!

Highlight; "The S.U mission 2014 reached 245 schools. Individuals who made commitments were referred  to S.U clubs in schools to be nurtured. Schools without S.U clubs established contact with Scripture Union to plan for teacher's trainings so that clubs are established in these schools. By doing this, children and youth have a place in Scripture Union clubs where they are to be nurtured and equipped holistically so that they can positively transform their societies"

Some statistics:
   85,844 people were "reached" during those two weeks, 55,243 of them were children!
   46,324 of those "reached" responded to Gospel invitations, 39,611 of them were children.
 

Besides the SUU staff, they often have foreigners join them. This year there was a team of 16 who came from a church in Ohio. They put together a 26 minutes video which shows Uganda and schools. If you have the time to spare, check it out. The "link" is below (very long!). Sorry, I don't know how to make it an active link but if you copy it and paste it into your browser it should come up with a SUU update. Scroll about 2/3 down and you'll find a video. Hope it works for you. 

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=6350c4e4-893e-4d9f-a389-259b5c34305f&c=db20af40-8be9-11e3-9e75-d4ae529a8250&ch=db26f0d0-8be9-11e3-9e75-d4ae529a8250

Honesty Lessons Convict a Test Teacher

Earlier today this email came from one who test taught the Upper Primary module on honesty. Rejoice with us that God’s Word is at work, even in the lives of the test teachers. The English/punctuation is a bit rough but I think you’ll get the gist.

“i love so much these lessons because as i teach them they do i lot in my life. the testimony i will give mine. after teaching i was supposed to give accountability for the transport i used when they sent me. for the whole journey i used 7500 but as i was writing  i wrote at first 8000/= making round figure. but before giving in the accountability i had the voice saying is this the right figure the answer was NO. i changed the figure and give 7500 which i used and i was glad for that.”

[The difference between 7500 Uganda shillings and 8000 is about 20 cents.]