The Five Loaves and Two Small Fish

About 22 years ago, Ruth and I joined a handful of Filipino believers asking God to show us His will regarding teaching Bible in public schools in the Philippines. A Filipino pastor, Kuya Tony, directed our attention to John 6, Jesus feeding the 5,000, and especially to Andrew’s honest response in verse 9 ...”but what good is that with this huge crowd?” We resonated with Andrew...we were so few, we had such scant resources, and the need in the public schools was beyond imagination. But Kuya Tony challenged us to focus on Jesus, not on ourselves!

Now, two decades later, God has overwhelmed us anew with what He has done with the little we had to give. On November 20, 2025, VOICE Philippines celebrated their 20^th Anniversary and continues to see God use the program and curriculum throughout that nation. But...we were not there at that celebration. Instead we were in East Africa for the whole month of November witnessing how God is using the Biblical Values program in that part of the world—Uganda, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. Each nation has its testimonies, but let me just focus on a few stories from Tanzania. Five years ago, we were there to remove the brown paper wrapped around the newly printed first Swahili translation of Forgiveness and Truth...teaching Biblical values was a brand new program for Scripture Union Tanzania. What has happened since then?

• Scripture Union staff and volunteers have been able to access the Friday two-hour Religion Class allowed by the Tanzania Department of Education. Huge doors have opened in the Capital, Dodoma, to teach students of all religions. Due to the positive impact, a request was sent to Scripture Union Tanzania “we need teachers from Scripture Union to teach Values in more schools.” A request was also received from the University of Dodoma—“come and teach our students.”

• A village in Tanzania was turned around when church volunteers taught the Purity Module to a school where pregnancy was forcing a significant number of Upper Primary girls to drop out of school. Once God’s standard of Purity was taught, there were no further dropouts! Village officials want it to be taught to all of their schools.

• In the Mount Meru Region, more than 100 Primary and Secondary Schools have opened to VOICE, keeping their team of 20 volunteers VERY busy. Other schools are asking; more volunteers are needed.

• In another area, we were told the Values Class started with 60 pupils. When Purity was taught, the numbers rose to 400 including some Muslim students! Since no school classroom could accommodate that many, a nearby protestant church allowed the Values teachers to come and use their sanctuary! Extra volunteers held the visuals at various aisles so all the students could see the Visuals as the lesson was taught. Officials have noted transformed behaviour.

• Multiple testimonies have been noted in the Masay Tribe including the village of Lolkisale. A student who had previously vowed “I will never forgive my dad for beating my mom” changed his mind after being taught the Forgiveness module. At home, he pleaded, “Mom, let us forgive Dad.” God did a miracle and the dad asked the family for forgiveness. That family has been reunited.

• A similar story came from an 11-year old boy, Julius. Forgiveness was taught to him at a camp in June, 2024. As camp ended, he refused to go home alone, but insisted that the Values teacher come and “tell my mom what you told us.” The fatigued values teacher took courage and went with Julius to his home. God worked as the Values teacher explained to the quarreling parents about Forgiveness and the family was reunited.

• At Liwiti Primary School, a boy confessed hatred toward his father because he had “refused to pay my school fees.” By God’s grace, forgiveness was extended and the father/son relationship restored.

• At the Kitete & Myengo School, three girls were being sexually abused by two boys. As a result of the Purity module being taught, all five of them trusted Christ as Saviour and by God’s grace, turned from their sin.

• In Tabora, the family of a Christian widow’s late husband seized all she had, leaving her destitute. Bitterness ruled her life until she surrendered it all to God and forgave. God showed Himself strong on her behalf and miraculously provided a house and lot for her which is now used as a House Church. Out of gratitude, she started serving with Scripture Union and among other ministries, teaches Biblical values in multiple schools as well as to local street children.

• Transformation stories are not limited to schools and homes. In the Western Zone of Sanga, a Scripture Union staff taught the Forgiveness module in a prison in Shinyanga. A prisoner who had murdered his wife received God’s forgiveness and his 30-year sentence was reduced to 1-year. That prisoner is now free and powerfully teaching God’s Word.

• In the Tanga Region last July, 2024, two evangelical churches prayed and presented the Gospel and witnessed God’s power triumphing over witchcraft. An unbeliever who had previously believed the threat that if he trusted Christ as Savior, a lion would kill all of his livestock, gave his motorbike to transport Christian workers to his village. Soon, he trusted Christ and was used to open his village to the Gospel. Now an evangelical Bible church has been planted and their numbers have grown three or four times from the 18 adults and 25 children/youth who started the church!

• Just this past June (2025) in Morogoro, after teaching the Swahili Truth and Purity modules to children and youth, 500 of those students are attending church!

And there are more. Half way through this past month, the awareness of God’s multiplying power really hit us. He has indeed taken our “five loaves and two fish” and used it to touch far more than we could have imagined. By His grace and power, the VOICE Curriculum/program continues to expand. Lord-willing, within the next couple of months, the Amharic translation of the Purity module will be printed for use in Ethiopia and the Swahili translation of Self-Control will be printed for use in Tanzania. An Ethiopian gal, Robbie, is in Uganda currently for a two-week deeper exposure to the VOICE ministry with the hope that she will be able to help expand the teaching of Biblical values in her nation. Plans are being made to bring up to six Scripture Union staff from Tanzania to Uganda, maybe in February, for a similar purpose. Uganda is working on producing its 8^th module of curriculum, Respect. They also have digitized the teaching of Truth, Purity, and Forgiveness to be used online.

Thank you for praying for us as we revisited East Africa last month. We hope you’ve been encouraged as much as we have by how God has multiplied your efforts and He isn’t finished yet! He alone is worthy to be praised!! We invite you to praise God with us for His amazing work in East Africa, and to continue to pray since there are still millions of children and youth who have not yet heard the truth.

Back to Africa...for a Visit!

 

Seemingly God is answering a rather long-term prayer request and is opening the way for Laura and Ruth to return to East Africa next month (November)! Plans are to visit three African nations--Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda--meeting Beth Baleke, our Ugandan co-worker and friend, in Ethiopia and traveling with her the entire month. Your prayer support during this time is much appreciated.  (See Prayer Zone for some specific requests.) Ministry plans are still coming together, but here's the schedule as we know it at the present time:

Nov. 2 - Depart from Moncton at 5:10 AM, to Toronto, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, arriving Nov. 3; staying at the SIM Guesthouse.

Nov. 5 - Puppet Workshop for Sunday School teachers in Addis Ababa, working with Scripture Union Ethiopia National Director, Solomon

Nov. 6-7 - Values Training for staff members of Scripture Union Ethiopia, maybe introducing the Purity module

Nov. 9 - Fly from Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Nov. 10 - Values Training for staff member of Scripture Union Tanzania, maybe focused on Self-Control, working with Scripture Union National Director, Stellah

Nov. 13 - Fly to Arusha, Tanzania; conduct a Puppet Workshop for volunteers

Nov. 14 - Values Training at USSF University, Arusha, TZ

Nov. 15 - Values Training at Makumira University, Arusha, TZ

Nov.. 16 - Fly back to Dar es Salaam

Nov, 18 - Fly from Dar Es Salaam (via Addis Ababa) to Entebbe, Uganda; overnight at the AIM Guest House, Matoke Inn

Nov. 19-21 - Visits in the Kampala and Jinja areas of Uganda, including Scripture Union Uganda and the VOICE Africa team

Nov. 21-22 - Values Training for Volunteers at the Calvary Church Compound, Jinja, Uganda

Nov. 23-30 - Perhaps worship at our former church, Kampala Baptist Church; visiting old and new friends and ministries in Kampala and Jinja areas

Nov. 30-Dec. 1 - Fly from Entebbe, Uganda, to Rome, to Toronto (12 hour layover), to Moncton, NB, arriving Dec. 1, 11:48 PM

Dec. 2-10ish - Recover from jet lag, catch up with Mom Bonney and others, hopefully update this blog with a report and some pictures. Somewhere around Dec. 10, Ruth will return to New Hampshire, spending at least one night with one or more sisters in Maine.  

The End of an Era

 Before focusing on "the end of an era," celebrate with us over a huge answer to prayer. Both of the East African projects we shared previously have been abundantly funded through donations. Praise Him!  

• Tanzania: Swahili Self-Control module, to be printed on all 3 levels – the goal was $20,000 USD...and God has pushed that over the top! 

• Ethiopia: Amharic translation and printing of the Purity module on the Secondary level – the goal was $5,000 USD...and yes, more than that has been given! 

AND we know that at least one gift has not yet arrived. This week, a VBS in Maine is collecting money to go toward the Ethiopia project. Ruth plans to join their VBS this Friday, during which they will reveal how much they have raised which will then be submitted to SEND.

We’re excited, and even more so are Scripture Union Tanzania and Scripture Union Ethiopia. SEND readily agreed that any excess can be put toward conducting trainings to equip churches and Christian groups to use these modules once they are available.

THANK YOU to each one who gave toward these projects and prayed with us. As we praise our faithful God, please ask God that both of these projects will be used to reach more children and youth with God’s standard of Self-Control and Purity and introduce them to our Savior and Lord.

We've so enjoyed sharing such victories and answers to prayer via this blog which initially was updated weekly. Then following retirement, it went to monthly and more recently to bi-monthly. We did some research and found that the first "Lion Sighting" blog was published in August, 2013, and this is the 278th blog! However, as Proverbs reminds us, there is a time for everything. And we feel this is the time to conclude our regular bi-monthly blog...the end of an era. 

THANK YOU, dear friends, for joining us on the journey of cross-cultural ministry first in the Philippines and then East Africa. God has answered your prayers and blessed us tremendously through your interest, kindness, and support. Praise God with us for His faithfulness! It's been 43 years since God called us to work together as co-workers. We can never thank God enough for the many prayer and financial supporters, friends, that He has given to us. You have been such an encouragement and blessing. To God be the glory!

Besides this blog, we have also concluded the Bi-monthly Concerts of Prayer. But, we are more convinced than ever of our need of prayer. A local church will be piloting a face-to-face Missions Prayer Focus, probably starting in September. We anticipate keeping in touch with workers on the field including East Africa. If you are interested in joining this prayer initiative, please be in touch with Laura (lbonney2@gmail.com).

(Having said that this is our final bi-monthly blog, we may still use this avenue occasionally for special happenings...like if God opens the door for us to return for a visit to East Africa later this year. We hope you don’t mind.)

Three Thrilling Clips from recent communications regarding VOICE Philippines

 (The first two clips are from VOICE Philippines.)

1. “Amazingly, when a former Cebu VIC [Values Instruction Class] student of more than 10 years ago died, our Cebu champions - who were the student’s former teachers - were allowed by the parents (even from another religion) to hold a necrological service for him. The Gospel was shared and many received the Lord. Truly, trust relationships built open doors for Gospel proclamation.”

2. “We are pleasantly surprised that Life Gospel Church-Payatas is blessed with dozens of young people attending and participating in worship services even in less than two years of teaching VIC, visiting and following students up, and inviting them to youth fellowships.”
   
   (This third clip is from Jake Leyenaar, former SEND Philippine missionary who also served as the previous VOICE Philippines Director, now semi-retired in Canada. He has kept in touch with a large church in southern Metro Manila where godly values have been taught for many years.)

3. “More or less routinely they [the Metro Manila church] have a jam-packed 2-page Sunday bulletin, plus a 3^rd page giving an update on their outreach which is anchored by the VOICE values curriculum. I was nearly blown away the other day when I read that they currently have ministry in 22 public schools, sharing God’s word with over 16 thousand students weekly...Plus they’re active in follow-up with the students’ families. Let’s praise God!”

Two Numbers to Think About

 

The First Number

4148 
in 2024!

According to VOICE Philippines records, coming from the churches’ reports sent to them, during this past calendar year, 4,148 students put their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior as a direct result of being taught Biblical Values in their school classroom. Praise God for such abundant fruit and pray for wisdom and perseverance in following up each profession.

In case, that number makes you uneasy...

• Stating a number of professions does not necessarily mean that each one was genuine and life-changing—only God knows that. But it does indicate a good direction and for some, true faith.
  
  

• In keeping with VOICE’s commitment to avoid “proselytism,” most of these professions of faith have been made outside the school during followup activities for the values students planned by the sponsoring church, usually held in the church. In such case, on-going followup and discipleship is very doable. Pray with us that more churches will go the 2^nd mile to hold followup activities.

And the Second Number

2

Financial Projects

Between now and the end of June, 2025, we would like to see God bring in the final amounts needed for both of these projects:

 

1. Printing of the Self-Control module in Swahili for Tanzania on all three age levels. Many have given sacrificially toward this but when the totals are calculated, we are still $4,000 USD short of the print cost of getting Self-Control printed in Tanzania. 

2. Translation and printing of the Purity Module in the Amharic language (Ethiopia) on the Secondary level only. At this time, we are also $4,000 USD short of what Scripture Union Ethiopia tells us is needed. A New Hampshire Ladies’ Group gave an initial $1,000 toward this project.

PRAY:

Would you please bring these two projects before the Lord as we trust Him together for His promise of Matthew 18:19:

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”

Please share with any prayer groups that you are a part of.

GIVE

If you sense God’s nudge to give toward either of these two projects, please be sure to designate your desired project:

VOICE Africa, Tanzania/Swahili or
VOICE Africa, Ethiopia/Amharic

Both Canadians and USA can give on line – SEND.Org/give
You will not find either of these projects available in the drop-down boxes (they are too small), but you can give “where most needed” and then in the box at the bottom of that window, please type in one of the two designations listed above. If you have trouble, email Ruth (ruthlhaynes@gmail.com) or
Laura (lbonney2@gmail.com)

Or you can mail a cheque, again be sure to add one of the two designation statements above

SEND Canada
1-22423 Jefferies Rd., RR
Komoka, CA N0L 1R0

Or

SEND International
Box 513
Farmington, MI 48332

Both of these projects are only open until the end of June, as per plan.

Thanking you in advance

Honesty and Purity Teaching Makes A Difference

Only Beth would dream up a scheme of teaching one entire module of Biblical values to all the students (2,000+) in 3 Primary and 2 High Schools within a 3-day period...and actually pull together, with some help from Scripture Union offices, all that was needed to see that happen! Indeed it did for the five schools connected with a Christian ministry called Musana, about one hour east of Jinja where Beth lives. Four teachers besides herself and a few assistants were recruited, and the chosen modules, Honesty for Elementary Schools and [Moral] Purity for High Schools, were distributed.

Each teacher taught a combined group of students of that school in an assembly style*, covering one lesson during the morning and a second lesson during the afternoon, making it possible to finish all 6 lessons in 3 days, November 25-27. The Elementary Schools focused only on grades 3-6 (Upper Primary). However, one of the teachers, Joan, was asked by the principal in her school to please also teach the Lower Primary...so she taught them at a separate time!

Elementary students thoroughly enjoyed having different teachers, singing the songs, learning the actions, and hearing the stories. High School, as can be expected, presented a greater challenge. Beth taught the largest of the two high schools and it was rather difficult; she had 700+ students who were required to be in the class. The one lesson when she felt maybe the majority of the students were with her was the story of Amnon and Tamar--seemingly a new story to them. But through it all, there was a core of students who tracked well with her. A married male teacher taught the other High School with less students and so a few less challenges.

At the end of each lesson, each student filled out an Activity Sheet and passed it in to the teacher. So for each teacher, going through, commenting, and sorting all of those Activity Sheets filled the evening hours. The first five Activity Sheets were returned to each student during the 6^th and final lesson. The Activity sheet at the end of the 6^th lesson is an evaluation which the teachers kept. 

Although Beth’s car took a beating traveling over the rough roads and everyone was exhausted, there was evident fruit gathered from students’ thank you letters, an invitation from a Musana Administrator for more VOICE teaching in 2025, and the news that several students (including Muslim students) professed faith in Christ as Saviour. One Grade 5 student confessed that in response to her friend’s prompting, she took tomatoes from her mother’s garden. After the teaching of the Honesty Module she promised to be honest and never to steal again.

Thank God for the freedom in these nations to teach Godly values using the Bible and for His servants that are ready to take advantage of that opportunity...and pray that what was taught will result in life-long changes to the glory of God.

*Just for clarification, the VOICE program and curriculum are designed to be taught in a school classroom (not assembly style) and one lesson per week. However, obviously it was God’s leading and will that the above pattern be used and He truly spoke to students' hearts—praise Him!

 

Radical Behavioral Change

 The following is taken from a recent Scripture Union Global Communication. Referred to in this article as “a life skills program,” this is the VOICE Africa program and curriculum. Enjoy and praise God!

Global News Update – September, 2024

Stories and updates from Scripture Union around the world

Global News aims to keep you in touch with how our network of Scripture Union teams is having an impact on young lives each month. 

School program changes lives

In South Sudan a life skills program run in schools is having a profound effect on the students.

National Director of Scripture Union South Sudan, Manase Woja Alfred, said that Scripture Union volunteers go into schools to share about life values from a biblical perspective. 

Manase said there was one boy who was quite aggressive, detached and always sitting at the back of the class, totally uninterested and disengaged. He also always referred to his own mother as, “that woman”.

Over the course of the six-week program, this boy started to listen. Week by week he moved further up the classroom, until finally he was sitting in the front row. When the course was completed, his behaviour had totally changed. He had become agreeable, polite, respectful and was volunteering to do jobs around the house without being asked.

Manase said: “The mother was so shocked by the radical improvement in her son’s behaviour that she made an appointment with the school principal and asked what he had done to make the huge turn around in her son’s behaviour. The principal explained it was not the school but the SU program.”

“The mother said she wanted to meet this SU volunteer and when she did, she fell at the volunteer’s feet and said, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’. The SU volunteer said, ‘Please stand up, it was not me, it was the Lord’s doing, all the Glory belongs to him’.”