On Friday afternoon we had an event in the Lightforce School where some of our group have been teaching PE. We had the event with the top three classes in the school so the children ranged from 12 to 16. In Uganda the school system doesn’t go by grades but by classes and you must pass all of the tests on one class to move on to the next, so the classes can have a range of ages in them.
We based the event on a Beauty for Ashes program but changed it to be more geared for children. Listening to even just a short story from any person in this village will bring to light more than any of us were really ready for. The lives of the people here have not been easy and with that these children have experienced pain in so many ways. It was because of this that Lauren felt the desire to have this event.
We focused on the skit and program of too many bags. We used books as the burdens and had the skit narrated and acted out.
It was expressed to the kids that everyone can hold onto burdens and they can weigh you down. They can be the burden of a parent leaving, siblings being sick, being bullied in school, having an illness, or not having school fees.
We went into this event with a plan for what to do if we learned a pressing matter that needed to be reported for the safety of the children. The head teacher of the school stressed to us how possible it would be for us to learn some very hard things during this time.
The skit showed at the end how we can be free of our burdens when we give them to Jesus, yes some physical burdens may still linger but God will carry us through them!
We got together in groups and I lead a group of 6 older girls. We began the time by identifying a burden we carry. It was tough to get their minds going at first and I could tell there was also the struggle of overcoming vulnerability. One girl even asked me what I would do with the paper once she wrote it down, I could tell she didn’t want it to be shared with her name. I assured her that no one would see it once we were done. I gave some more examples and the ideas started flowing. Every girl wrote down something and then we shared them together. I could see the hurt in their eyes as they each shared the burden they felt they carried.
After our time of sharing I asked them how Lauren got rid of her burdens in the skit. They said she put them on the chair. So I asked what the chair represented and they all replied Jesus. From there we discussed how to lay something at Jesus’ feet and what that means to them. We then took another paper and wrote out a truth about God that would give us hope and give Him our burdens!
The title of this blog comes form one of the girl in my group’s second paper. That is what she wrote. She expressed that no person can love her as much as God and that God’s love was enough. I was blown away! I never had to give any help as they thought of their truths from God, they all knew exactly what to write already! The knowledge and faith in these kids here is crazy and so so soooo encouraging!
The six burdens and six truths of my group were this (not word for word):
I lacked love from my grandparents who are raising me.
~ God’s love is better than any human’s love.
I have stomach sickness (ulcers) and knee problems.
~ God loves me and will heal me.
I am afraid of not doing well in school and my little brother is sick.
~ God will help me learn and heal my brother.
I don’t live with my mom but with my step-mother.
~ God will bring my mom back to me so I can live with her.
My father died and my brother and sister don’t live together.
~ God is my father and will bring my brother and sister into one house and we can live together.
My father is dead.
~ God is my heavenly father.
After we had written down new truths to declare over our lives. They read them aloud, proudly! I had to push a little bit to get the girls to say the truths aloud since the culture here is very quiet when speaking. But after that they all slammed down their burdens on the table like they were slamming them at Jesus’ feet! We then ripped up the papers into tiny little pieces and crinkled them up because those burdens were now God’s to take care of.
We prayed together as a group when we were done and then it was time to go outside for some free time before they went back to class.
Seeing that little insight into the faith of these girls was so encouraging! My heart hurt for the experiences they had to endure but my faith grew in hearing their trust and faith that they had in the Father.
