Purposeful Puppets

After helping Scripture Union (SU) with a two-day puppet workshop a year ago, I was energized by those we had trained but also frustrated by knowing SU’s once flourishing puppet ministry died several years ago. They still had puppets and a respectful stage but all were in storage. All of that is even sadder when you consider that the average age here in Uganda is 14—there are SO many children, yet almost no one is using puppets to share Christ with them. What might we do to encourage the restart of such a ministry.

To back up a bit, before coming to Africa, a generous puppet maker in the U.S. donated several beautiful moving mouth puppets and dozens of finger puppets. How could they be used while keeping VOICE as our primary ministry? While home this past Fall, I received a gift that was designated toward the potential puppet ministry. Little by little, I began to envision puppets being used by Africans to do ministry including promotinge Biblical values in both churches and schools.

Just before Christmas, I determined to take a first step and approached the SU High School Coordinator, who had co-organized the puppet workshop a year ago, to ask if he would be interested in trying to revive the puppet ministry. He immediately jumped for the chance and committed himself to select volunteers whom he felt had the talent and commitment to be part of a puppet team. Six showed up for our first meeting; we shared the Word and prayed together. They left with an assignment to write a puppet script, or compose a song for puppets, related to the CrossTalk tract or the values modules of Truth or Honesty. We have met together almost every Saturday morning since to pray, share, practice and do scripting. 

A couple of weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised to hear that those scripts and puppets would be put to use during a two week mission in Eastern Uganda which included several camps and conferences for children, youth, and adults. Late last week they returned to Kampala with glowing reports of using the puppets to introduce their camp topics and conference themes including CrossTalk and Honesty. What joy to hear some of their testimonies and feel their delight of using their new skill for God and seeing some children trust Christ as their Saviour and others recommit to follow and obey the Saviour. That’s what it’s all about! 

This past Saturday we made sock puppets so that they can now transfer some of their skill to help others also use this method to reach children. Pray with us that this new ministry will continue to grow and bring much glory to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Three Puzzle Pieces Come Together

Ever since Truth has published in the latter part of 2014, we’ve longed to see it move off the storage shelves and into the hands of Christians who would use it in schools. However, we sadly witnessed it sitting still except for occasional trainings. The only "movement" was when our friend and co-worker, Beth, was traveling to South Sudan and arranged to take a box or two with her. But the cost of purchasing the curriculum and then transporting it to South Sudan limited her. You may remember that a Vacation Bible School in New Hampshire raised enough money for her to take 52 sets of Truth during the summer of 2015. Recently, we’ve witnessed God putting together what’s needed for South Sudan students to hear God’s Word through the teaching of Biblical Values—as only God can do it.

First, as you may remember, the Ministry of Education in Juba, the capital city, has given Scripture Union permission to teach values in all Primary and Secondary schools! An amazing opportunity…but how to take advantage of it. The money to purchase the curriculum is very limited…and even if Beth was able to get curriculum, the cost of transporting it to South Sudan was formidable.

The next piece God put together was the provision of a foundation gift during the latter part of last year. Part of the gift allows for 750 sets each (divided between the three age levels—Lower Primary, Upper Primary, and Secondary) of Truth, Honesty, Forgiveness, and Purity to be given to South Sudan. Praise God…but…how to get it there?

Within the last month or so, God brought the third puzzle piece together. A mission who specializes in aviation and provides travel from Uganda to several places in South Sudan made a very generous offer—as there is room on the planes, they will transport the curriculum free of charge from an aviation center in Northern Uganda into the various places in South Sudan to which they fly! Beth will use the bus lines to transport it to northern Uganda. Praise God!

So…this week the three pieces of the puzzle connect! Beth returns to South Sudan the last full week of February and wants all of the Truth modules available through the foundation gift to be there when she arrives! She’d also like some of the Honesty modules that were recently printed. These past days, Laura and Chris, our VOICE worker, have been wildly trying to find enough boxes, among other things! And the Scripture Union office is frantically trying to assemble the sets and pack them into boxes. Only God could bring together these three needs for a nation that is suffering with a growing conflict. He is at work! Praise His Name!

As a P.S. – Scripture Union staff members are beginning to actively promote and sell the curriculum…it is no longer just sitting there on the storage shelves!

Teachers Impacted First

“A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Luke 6:40

As we went through the Pre-Training questionnaires and Post Training evaluations from those who attended the VOICE Orientation and Training or Trainers last week, a number of things encouraged us. Let me share one. Several Scripture Union workers and volunteers themselves gave testimony to how the curriculum had changed their lives even as they prepared to teach it to their students. One especially testified that as she test taught “Forgiveness,” she finally came to the point of forgiving an Aunt who had treated her harshly during her childhood. As we pray for transformation among the students, we also rejoice to hear of God’s work in the lives of the teachers. Obedient teachers will certainly be used by God's Spirit as they urge their students to also submit to God’s instructions.