Monday, August 30, 2010

SPEAK Success

I am beyond dumbfounded.  We just finished a six-day camp at a secondary school way out in the village.  I have eaten more rice and beans, and more cassava, than I ever thought possible.  I drank so much tea my eyeballs are still floating.  I shocked some African girls by carrying water on my head.  And I am now, officially, a Squatty Potty Pro.

But none of that comes close to being the highlight of the week that was the SPEAK Student Leader Camp.  Twenty-six youth from schools and neighborhoods.  Even as they were arriving at camp on Saturday, our team really had no idea what was going to happen.  For all we knew, this week could be a colossal flop.  But the Holy Spirit moved… and never really stopped.  Two students we’ve loved and prayed over for over a year chose to follow Christ.  Students learned Bible stories and got excited about leading discussions.  They spent time studying the Word on their own, many for the first time.  Some are asking questions about believer’s baptism and what it means to be a man or woman of God.  They, and we, have been challenged to change the way we think and act.  The leaders of the existing story groups at Crane, Mandela, Vurra, and Ushindi schools have made plans for how they will move forward with their groups in the next few weeks, and other students are planning to start four new groups in their schools and neighborhoods.  And, better yet, these students want to keep meeting together, to encourage and pray for each other, and study the Word together—sounds sort of like a church!

When we first came up with this hare-brained idea of a camp ten months ago, I honestly thought we were all crazy.  We had virtually no leaders on our campuses; Kelli and I were doing it all.  We really weren’t sure if we would even have any students to invite.  But God got them here.  He created the interest.  He helped them learn the stories.  He made them bold.  And He did more in a week than we’ve done in almost two years.  These kids are fired up.  They’re asking God to speak, and they’re listening when He does.  They’re writing songs.  Making changes.  Stepping up.  Falling in love with Him and His Word.

I know none of this is about me.  God has done more in six days than I ever imagined was possible.  I’ve seen changes in Carol, Joann, Macklyn, Joe, Kenneth, and Arnold  (yes, even ARNOLD!) that I never expected.  I’m just thrilled that He invited me to be a part of what He planned to do all along.

He doesn’t need us, but He lets us put our hands in.
                        -Caedmon’s Call, “Two Weeks in Africa”

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and marvelous things which you do not know.
                        Jeremiah 33:3

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Expect the Unexpected

I love how God can do, and usually does, the totally unexpected. I
went to Ushindi Secondary to help Macklyn, a precious girl with one of
the sweetest spirits ever, to prepare to lead the Sunday story group.
She had never led before, but didn't hesitate to volunteer to lead the
story of the Ten Commandments. She had been studying the story all
week. She was pumped.


So Macklyn and I sat on a mat under a tree on her campus.  She told the story beautifully the very first time, with only a couple of points that needed clarification.  Then we used the SPEAK method to dissect the story, looking for sins, promises, examples, applications, and knowledge about God.  We discussed the commandments and what they mean for us today.  As we were finishing up, I asked Macklyn if she had any other questions about the story—something we hadn’t talked about yet.  Immediately, she asked me, “Why did God tell the Israelites not to touch Mount Sinai or they would die?”  (Exodus 19:12-13)  Wow!  What a great question!

We talked about God’s holiness, and what that means, and about how the people were sinful and unholy, and therefore separated from God.  How God was protecting them by warning them, because His holy nature was just too much for them.  I gave her the example of the Holy of Holies in the temple, and how the people’s sinful nature kept them from God’s presence.  And we talked about how, when Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn, giving us total access to the God of the universe. (Luke 23:45)

I left Ushindi on Saturday thinking that Macklyn had gotten a little more theology than she had bargained for, but really excited to see her lead the next day… then again, I love anything that gets me out to USS.  It’s just a special place.

Sunday morning, I got up bright and early and made it out to Ushindi in plenty of time for the morning church service on campus.  After the worship service was finished, about 10 students gathered together under “our tree”.  Rose retold the Passover story from the week before (no small feat—it’s REALLY long!), and Macklyn moved on to the Ten Commandments.  Not surprisingly, she did an awesome job!  The story was flawless, and she did an excellent job facilitating SPEAK with the other students.  After what turned out to be a meaty discussion, Macklyn threw out one more question to the group: “Why did God tell the Israelites not to touch the mountain or they would die?”

Okay, so I guess our discussion the day before had made an impression on her.   After a few blank stares, she proceeded to explain God’s holiness compared to our sinfulness, which led to a discussion about how the death of Jesus opened access to God for us.  I did a lot of explaining about how the only thing that can reconcile us to the Father is the blood of Jesus—no deeds, no offerings, no sacrifices, just faith, which is so difficult for them to grab hold of.  Several students asked questions and made statements, and eventually one boy, David, asked, “If we’ve never asked Jesus to forgive our sins once and for all, can we do it today?”  Uh, yeah!  We talked it through a little more, and by the end of the story group, both David and Macklyn had accepted Christ!  Glory!

Lately, I’m thinking that when it comes to my wonderful Maker, it’s best to just expect the unexpected.  I mean, really… who gets saved from talking about the Ten Commandments?  And for the “leader” to be humble enough to accept Christ is a pretty big deal—especially here.  But I have to say, I love that He’s so unpredictable, and that I have no idea how His mind works.  And a part of me wants to say, “Okay, so what are You going to do next?”

And the other part of me just wants to be surprised.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

We Need Your Prayers!

Our team desperately needs your prayers for our upcoming student leadership camp.  We've invited 32 students to come to Ushindi Secondary School on Saturday, August 14.  The 6-day camp will run until Thursday, August 19, and is intended to prepare students to lead small groups at their schools by themselves, since Kelli and I leave in October.  We have a team of 7 volunteers coming from Iowa to lead small groups and to lead evening worship sessions through the book of Philippians.  Students will be challenged to learn and lead discussions of Bible stories.  They will be having daily quiet times, some for the first time ever!  Many of these students are seekers, but not believers, so first and foremost pray for their salvation!  Pray that God will change them and give them the desire to be agents of change on their campus.  Please pray also for health and safety, for both students, volunteers, and those of us who live in Arua.  We'll all be staying in the school dorms and eating local food all week, which might be a little out of some people's comfort zone!  We'll also be playing lots of games and what I expect to be pretty intense volleyball and soccer matches- pray that no one gets hurt!!!  Our team is already experiencing spiritual warfare in several different areas, which we think is all directly related to the upcoming camp... which is encouraging, that the Enemy is so threatened by what God's going to do!  Pray for us to continually keep our focus on Him and His glory, and that Satan and his forces would be bound from the Ushindi campus and from the hearts of these students during this time.  Thanks for your prayers-- I'll keep you updated!

students from Vurra Secondary
Arnold (a strong leader, but needs Jesus)
Herbert
Thom
Kenneth (has been seeking for a while-- pray that it's time!)
Nester
Evelyn
Peter
Samuel
Oprah

students from Mandela Secondary
Mercy
Diana
Edith
Sylvia
Christine
Dinah
Linda

students from Ushindi Secondary (the school hosting us)
Comfort (a STRONG believer)
Joann
Kenneth
Rose (leading music)
Macklyn (just accepted Christ this week)
Rachel (leading music)

students from Crane Secondary
Carol (accepted Christ in June)
Prisca
Derek
Peter
Godfrey (Catholic background, has lots of questions)

students from other schools
Thomas Titus (a STRONG believer)
Joe
Charlotte
Grace
Lawrence