Birthday Blues

My stomach problem continued and after missing one meeting, I wondered if our trip southwest to Mbarara would proceed.  “But, if not now, when?”  I packed my pillow and decided I could recline in the back seat with Ruth sitting in the front with our substitute driver.  The plan worked well and I managed some rest before arriving in Mbarara and preparing for our Puppet Workshop that began the next morning.  Ruth was a big help and also a fellow missionary family in Mbarara that volunteered to do a Values script for the Workshop.  The father-son performance was amazing. 

When it was time for our lunch-out with our participants, we especially enjoyed getting to know one deputy Head Teacher (Vice-Principal) that had come from quite a distance (close to the Tanzania border) to learn puppets. She shared that she started teaching the Honesty Module in February of this year, but instead of doing it in the classroom setting, she was teaching it to all of her 1,000+ pupils twice a week during their assembly time. “Pupils are enjoying; it’s making a difference; they are humble, avoid telling lies, have stopped taking things from their classmates, and are showing fruits of honesty, even obedience.” 

While Ruth continued on with the program of visiting a VEC class facilitated by two young volunteers, I opted to return to our Guest House and sleep.  Ruth recounted afterward that her newly-met companion, who also attended the puppet workshop, was a real advocate for children and their spiritual nurture! She’s nearing retirement age but continues full throttle as a church worker assigned to oversee the spiritual welfare of more than 70 church-founded schools in the area. She dreams of training the school chaplains in each of those schools and equipping them with the Values curriculum so that they can teach it in their schools! It’s a huge dream…but we serve an almighty God who also loves children so we look forward to see what God will do.

Just as an update on my health, that evening of the puppet workshop I started back on “normal food.” The next day we returned home and the following day I was able to fully enjoy birthday pizza.  Praise God for fresh strength and God’s mercy and enablement.