Secondary Students - Day 2

Day 13

Amazing storm last night! With thunder booming through the night...

What joy to begin the day worshiping with the students. We are beginning to catch on to some of their songs, especially the English ones. We have also learned to dance, jump and clap like crazy! After breakfast we came back to the classroom for teaching on godly character. These secondary, college, or university students are very sharp, taking leadership readily.

Pastor Jam-ez of the CLIDE team taught from Galatians 5: there are two ways of living...producing ungodly character or godly character. He emphasized that we each have a choice. People here are drawn to the practice of witchcraft, so the pastor spoke from Genesis 41 saying that only God can interpret dreams. He then spoke to them about the "teenage crisis" that they all find themselves in: men wanting to prove they are men, and women wanting to be noticed for their beauty. This man is so wonderful in his ability to connect with the students because of his great sense of humor and his great love for the students.

Next Dr. Moses Otim spoke to them about relationships. He challenged them to keep their relationship with God strong, then finish their education, and only then to think of marriage.

Later that afternoon (before lunch), the students began washing out their tie-dye tee shirts. They have no idea how they will look, so their faces are fun to watch as they undo the rubber bands to reveal the multi-colored patterns. They were all so pleased with how they turned out. It was so much easier with the secondary students squeezing and washing their own shirts!

After lunch Barb taught on prayer. She first asked them what they thought prayer was and encouraged them to tell her what they talked to God about. She then focused on prayer as worship by going to Psalm 103 and finishing the phrase "God, You are..." making a list of what the scripture says about God. As a group we all knelt on the floor and worshiped. Voices of praise popcorned around the room as the students readily participated in speaking back to God who He is.

The group was then divided into groups of boys and girls to discuss any questions they had and talk about relationships. In the middle of this time with the girls, another huge thunderstorm broke loose, and we had to quickly grab the tee shirts from the line where they were drying. Then Judith of CLIDE shared her incredible testimony. She has been living HIV positive for 20 years! She shared the stigma given years ago to those who tested positive. She testifies of the living triumph she has known in remaining strong and healthy these many years. She has suffered much in the loss of her husband (after his repentant return to her after he met Jesus) to the loss of her grandchild at age 5. Both her daughters are positive but her 2 grandsons are negative! She spends he life helping educate about AIDS and provide opportunities for HIV positive women to improve their health and make a living. Many of us will be wearing jewelry made by these women.

Christine Otim spoke strongly to the girls of staying in their education. Some have dropped out, some have become pregnant. The girls have a more difficult time seeing the advantage of staying in school than the boys. Do pray for these teenage and adult young women that their focus can remain on God first and then on their work of education.

Each student is so grateful for the support they receive. They couldn't get an education apart from CLIDE's help and the help of those of you who support your Timothy child. Without help they would have no hope for a future since they either have no family or their family cannot afford the fees for school. This time has truly been a spiritual feast of God's love for them, empowering them to succeed. Their hearts and beautiful smiles show their gratitude.

Laurie and Barb