Jesus, Name Above All Names

Can you see the box "God's Offer" in the pile?

Sunday June 26, Scripture Union (SU) trucks, loaded with laborers, Bibles and literature headed to Hoima, 3 hours drive west of Kampala for the annual 10-day Mission. Previous to this day, much preparation, prayer, and fasting were invested. The Mid-West Regional Coordinator and volunteers had contacted more than 100 schools and without exception, they were given permission for Scripture Union to share God’s Word in their schools.

As they reached Hoima, the SU staff joined local volunteers, now some 30 strong, and were divided into six teams. Each team was assigned 3-4 schools a day to visit and a church, home or local facility to sleep in at night. Our own VOICE staff member, Chris, was given the responsibility to drive one of the vehicles and lead one of the teams. 

Earlier today he related how the first day went. Because their schools were quite a distance away, they had to leave before breakfast was served. The lunch hour was spent packing up from one school and heading to the next school…so no lunch either. Once the last presentation was finished, they were rejoicing over what God had done…and eagerly looking forward to dinner as they set out for the 3-hour return drive. Then…in the middle of nowhere, their vehicle broke down at 7:00 p.m.  They prayed and waited for help. Fortunately a boda (motorcycle used for public transportation) came by and one guy jumped on to buy some water and bananas at the nearest village to bring back and share. The SU administrator finally arrived at 10:00 p.m. and towed them to a make-shift garage where the vehicle could be left in a safe place and be repaired at day break. Finally around mid-night they gratefully gathered around for dinner which had been graciously saved for them!

The day started at 5:00 a.m. with team prayer; a few even rose for prayer at 3:00 a.m.  They knew they were in enemy territory; at least two team members succumbed to attacks of malaria, but praise God they recovered. But worse than that was the spiritual battle against a local cult that has confused and deceived hundreds. Resistance was experienced in numbers of schools from teachers and students blinded by false teaching.  But SU Staff armed with the Word of God and prayer, specifically sought out students and teachers trapped in the cult and lovingly shared the truth; some responded and took off the rosary-type necklace with the picture of the man who calls himself god. Meanwhile, other staff members shared the Gospel with the bulk of the students, often using the tract, CrossTalk and sometimes "God's Offer." (We learned that about 50,000 CrossTalks were distributed into the hands of students and teachers during those ten days!) Several thousand “Welcome To God’s Family” follow up tools were also given to those who seemed to be sincere in their desire to follow Christ as Lord and Savior.   

Chris & Joy sharing the CrossTalk

By the end of the ten days, the Gospel had been shared in 120 schools! During the afternoon of the Sunday of the Mission week, the staff held Trainings in several churches for leaders and children/youth workers. Some implemented their training immediately and several new SU Clubs in Primary and Secondary Schools were started the very next day!  Heaven will reveal the souls God brought to His Kingdom.  What a privilege to have a small part (providing the evangelistic tracts) in this huge endeavor of lifting up the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names, and bringing the Good News and hope to so many needy souls. Praise Him!

Excuse Me….

Today Esther, one of our VOICE workers, and I had three meetings, one after the other, with people interested in Values.  Each one was encouraging, but I’ll focus on our middle meeting.

A person we’ve talked to lately about VOICE Africa had suggested we contact this certain Pen. Today that happened at a downtown restaurant. After initial introductions and an overview of VOICE, Esther took the lead to summarize the content of the Truth module by going through the Visual Aid Book. She had hardly started when, out of nowhere, a white gentleman approached our table and said “Excuse me.” He had seen the visual aid from his table and was drawn to listen in. Very soon, he asked if he could bring someone else to join us and a tall African woman joined our table. As it turns out, he had just been looking in a bookstore for something to help him teach godly values…and came away disappointed. His ministry includes students in a rural district just east of Kampala; the need for instilling Biblical values is so needed. As the sharing continued, he commented, “Now I know why I came to this restaurant today rather than the one I had planned to go to. Here I found you with exactly what I was looking for!” Before our sharing ended, he purchased the Module we had brought as a sample. Our new friends went on their way rejoicing with a promise to be in touch as he added the teaching of values to their ministry in the village. Needless to say, Esther and I were also thrilled!

As we continued sharing with Pen, it became obvious that she is a “mover and shaker” for

Esther and Pen

Biblical Values. Her passion has been stirred by the current downward spiral in the educational system, some of which she explained to us--heartbreaking stories of godless curriculum creeping into schools, cults, devil worship, and child sacrifice.  Within the last while, she has presented in 18 schools an excellent and persuasive power-point of the rationale for godly values including powerful teaching on moral purity and abstinence. She told us that the government has given her 100 schools where she can present her material! She also has used that same presentation in a number of churches.

But that’s not all. Just last week, Pen and her team approached Government to expose the godless curriculum present in some schools and to advocate Biblical values.  They also stormed Parliament with a backup of hundreds of students dressed in their uniforms who politely waited outside showing their agreement that godly values must be taught. 

We thank God for Pen and pray God will show us His plan as our ministries seem to complement one another—hers is a one-time presentation while ours is a weekly 6-class series. We don’t know how God will allow us to work together but we are assured that He is the One who opens doors that no man can shut. As we wait for God’s “excuse me….” we take fresh courage that He is working and will lead us to others He has called into His harvest field.

Thanking God for His Goodness

Some things are easy to thank God for. For example, it has been wonderful to sleep in the same bed--my own bed--for the past 2 weeks plus!  And walks around the Compound have been a joy. (Today I discovered a plastic bag of white ants being dried in the sun!) For me, it has been great to bake cookies and create a pizza version on pita bread, have visitors in for dinner and serve our famed banana bread to Ugandan friends. Being back in our church and gathering with fellow missionaries have been special treats missed during our absence…to name a few.

However, there are other happenings that take more conscious effort to truly thank the Lord for. Case in point was this past Saturday. While on our way home from the Puppet Practice, our driver, Fred, noticed a “different” noise under the hood. We were not in heavy traffic and he was able to pull the car over to inspect; a rapidly fraying charging belt was the culprit.  Since the belt was still intact, Fred decided to try to drive to a mechanic we’ve dealt with before—we made it! Although busy with many jobs, a mechanic was assigned to us. After removing it he went off to find a replacement; I’ve been here long enough to know that finding a replacement part is often not simple! However, he soon returned and installed the belt. Fortunately I had enough cash to pay for the job.

As I mulled all this in my mind while traveling back home, my heart filled with praise for God’s goodness and faithfulness. The timing was so good—if it had happened on the way to the Puppet Practice, the time for preparing for upcoming puppet presentations would have been severely affected. Then, Fred was driving—he doesn’t often drive on Saturdays but due to other circumstances, he did. And if the belt had frayed the following day, Sunday (when I was the driver), it would have meant Ruth and I being stranded on the way to or from Church; we wouldn’t have been as “calmly decisive” as Fred (understatement!).

As we traveled back home, I recalled a verse we had read together earlier during the Puppet Practice—Psalm 50:23, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.”