Update from Uganda, May 2024
This us an update on the training held from May 28th - 31st, 2024 in Adjumani...
After the completion of book one, the Coordinator of the Discipleship Program in Adjumani, Justine Wani Amaddi together with the Pastors and Faciltators agreed to schedule the next training session for book two in May 2024. He was left with the responsibility of mobilizing the participants for book two. Therefore, in the subsequent meetings, it was agreed that the training for Book Two be scheduled from 28th – 31st May 2024 a slight change from the initial agreed upon schedule which had been 20th – 24th May 2024. This was due to an engagement by one of the facilitators, Mr. Ozelle Stephen who had an exam at this particular time. So we were able to set off from Masaka and reached Adjumani at 6am on the 27th May 2024. We travelled to Ayilo 1 Refugee settlement which is about 18Km away which still acted as the training ground.
The facilitators made a timetable for the training which guided the implementation. So, the training kicked off on the 27th May 2024 with a devotion and then a recap of Book 1. The recap involved the following:
Reviewing of the goals of book 1.
Memorizing the 5 Assurances.
Lessons from the Tyranny of the Urgent.
General overview.
The general lay out of the timetable was in such a way that devotions would start off the day, then sessions and then memorization exercises and then Bible study every day before breaking off. Much of Day one was dedicated to the recap of book one and in the evening, they were introduced to book two. The last item on the timetable was that the participants would sit for a group exam in groups of 5 each to show how they learnt the concepts of the training. Lastly, the marking exercise was done successfully and awarding of the marks.
The participants were very excited because this was their second book of the training they were getting in a church setting and were optimistic, they would complete the entire Discipleship training. They had grasped the concept and principles of memorizing scripture. However, they were also given opportunity to participate in the discussions which they did actively. They also asked questions for clarity which showed that they were following closely.
Challenges:
There were participants who had attended book 1 but were not able to attend book 2 due to the fact that they were students in schools and school had started in that very week. So, we missed these. They were 3 in number.
We received some new participants, and this required us to support them catch up with book 1 content during the recap sessions.
Some participants lost a close relative on the last day in the community and they left before we could have a group photo with them.
The materials were in English and so there was need to interpret for some participants who do not follow English and this would consume some time allocated for sessions.
Because some participants would commute from far, they would arrive late for class and drag the class to begin late than the anticipated time schedule.
Way Forward
There was a brief meeting for the facilitators and participants together with Justin who suggested a tentative schedule of the next trainings for book three. The tentative program for Book Three Training will be 9th – 13th Sept 2024. However, this is on assumption that the Lord provides the funds.
Justin and the team of Pastors made a commitment to continue supporting the team to work through the memory verses and be available for any questions from the participants.
We take this opportunity to thank the Director, Discipleship International, Mr Travis and James for the Big support for the funds which enabled this training for Book Two. May God richly bless you.
Mwesigwa Gerald
Coordinator, Discipleship Program, UG
