MONDAY - TO THE WORK

Today is the first opportunity to begin. On Sunday night Cannon Semu (the assistant to the bishop) gave us the itinerary. We were told that we would be speaking in the primary and with the "boda Boda boys" along with some secondary school kids (high school). The team split into two groups.
For the primary school (elementary age) the group decided to do a skit on the calling of the disciples. This was accented by a testimony from Casey, puppet skits from Mary and a message from David Trautman about how God forms a new family. They sang with them (boy can they sing!) and played games. The kids loved it.
The group going to the secondary school focused on drug and alcohol abuse. This is a growing problem here. The boda boda boys are those that transport people on motorcycles and bicycles. Kermit formed the center of this team with his testimony about addiction. Mary K shared about how alcohol had impacted her family and her relationship with her son. Megan shared about how Jesus had helped her to avoid sexual immorality and filled the place in her heart that had made her vulnerable to these temptations. When the team finished Rev. James gave an invitation and over half of those listening responded. Many said they were praying to recieve Christ for the first time.
Later I asked about how they would follow these up. The pastors described how they assigned new Christians to a mentor who would meet with them every week, first to build a friendship and then to study pertainant scripture together that would help them become grounded in their faith and grow. It is a great plan. . . . one that puts the emphasis on relationships.... and one of the many things we can learn from the Ugandan Church.