Poof…a Training is Dissolved

Yesterday, I received a call and could hardly believe my ears…the Children’s Pastor apologetically explained that they would have to cancel the VOICE Training scheduled to take place at their church...which was suppose to start in less than 48 hours. He has just left a meeting with church leadership which concluded that due to the Annual Meeting this Sunday, all resources and efforts would be needed for that and therefore the VOICE Training would need to be rescheduled, sometime after Easter. Many hours, visits, preparation, letters written, and plans had already been invested into the training…one that we viewed as an answer to our prayer that a church in our area of the city would get involved in the school ministry. And just like that, poof…it dissolved!

Pastor Mark with the Kiswa children behind

The Children’s Pastor, Mark, concluded his painful phone call by promising, “I’ll be there at Kiswa Primary School tomorrow to observe the Values Education Class (VEC) program. And there he was this morning! Come to find out, he is a Child Evangelism Fellowship trained worker...so no wonder he's serving among the children! I suggested that he observe the VEC in the Primary 3 class. I went with the Primary 2 volunteer VEC teachers for their large classes of 80 plus pupils.  Before Mark left this morning, he gave this observation with a big smile: “Our church has tried to penetrate this school in years gone by but the Head Master/Principal would always tell us to come back; we never succeeded.”  With this Scripture Union program, the doors are wide open to teach Biblical values.  Pray that this church will soon reschedule the VOICE Training. Could it be that this suddenly dissolved training might just give time for more churches to see this strategic opportunity and desire to get involved? Please pray!

As a postscript to this story, within hours of learning that the training was called off, we discovered a $1,000 donation which had been given toward the VOICE ministry...such an affirmation from the Lord that we were doing His will and that He is sovereign,even over the disappointments!

Passing On The Message

Little did I realize several years ago while attending an EvanTell training in the Philippines on how to use their evangelistic tract, CrossTalk, that God would allow me to be a part of seeing thousands of these evangelistic tools being used on three continents.  Over the past three years, here in Africa alone, several hundred thousand of these tools have been translated and printed here in Kampala and Nairobi for use in Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.  Amid the all too common incomplete or unclear gospel presentations, we praise God for this attractive, easily understood, and balanced explanation of God’s plan of salvation.

This past Sunday, I was once again thrilled as I witnessed it being used yet another time by the Scripture Union Puppet Team for three back-to-back children’s services at St. Stephen’s Church.  (The team has used it many times as their favorite evangelistic tool.) After the puppets performed an "ice-breaker," workers distributed a CrossTalk tract to each child/youth.  The narrator then guided the youth with “hands on” folding the colorful cross shaped paper while underlining the meaning.  Yes, due to some very young children, we did find a few torn CrossTalk papers after the services, but for the most part the children cherished the colorful square that turns into a cross…with its meaning.  My biggest joy was seeing several children raise their hands to indicate they wanted to respond to God’s invitation by trusting Christ as their Savior.  What a joy to see these Ugandan young people, the Puppet Team, effectively passing on the most important message with clarity…and to know that we have had a small part in it.

Worry, Frustration, or Peace?

This past week had its ups and downs. We’ve been thrilled as we’ve sensed God answering prayer that the Biblical values program would be established in the part of Kampala where we live. A couple churches and schools have expressed interest and seemed ready to move forward. This week we eagerly anticipated promoting the VOICE program at a large nearby church AND seeing the first Values Education Classes taught this week in one nearby school, Kiswa Primary School. However, both of those "fell into a heap"! Both were rescheduled for a later date. Mixed in with those disappointments was a misunderstanding with a volunteer that threatened to “ruin” some of the school plans; we praise God that has been ironed out. AND “out of the blue,” we discovered that some of the volunteers who had “committed” themselves to teach the Values Education Classes were “committed” to help with another training at Scripture Union this week that we had not heard about. 

This morning was our weekly Bible Study Fellowship and it focused on John 14. Referring to the first verse, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid," it was pointed out that “Worry is a choice. Choose to stop being troubled. Choose to replace worry with trust in God. Choose to continue to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord.”  And then later in the chapter, Jesus offers us His peace (John 14:27) which, as was pointed out, is available to us but we must receive it through trusting Jesus with all that worries us. What an excellent reminder for us this week! We are reminded that we are in a battle for souls so we shouldn’t be surprised when the struggles come…but we are on the winning side.

Lest we end this blog on a “down,” God provided a Scripture Union staff to go with me last Wednesday to meet a new church leader in a large nearby church. This leader seems to genuinely want his staff and volunteers to be involved in teaching values both in their own Christian School as well as in other nearby schools. The church is organizing/planning for a VOICE Training for next month and plans are made to help teach Values at Kiswa Primary. We look to “the Lord of the Harvest,” refuse to allow our hearts be troubled, and receive Jesus’ peace as we wait for His to work in His time. Thanks for praying for us and the work here.