Vacation Bible School

Holiday Bible School:

A few weeks ago the Church of Uganda hosted their first Holiday Bible School. It was exciting for me to watch this process take shape; seeing different congregation members become involved, working toward funding, and ultimately watching the children participating in the Bible lessons, songs, and activities.

I believe one of the most effective teaching tools is story telling. At the Holiday Bible School one of our goals was to make the stories of the Bible practical for the youth; our other goals were to have enough snacks for everyone, and not to have pure chaos during the group activities. It was hard to know if we really accomplished any of these goals, but one day I saw a more than a glimpse of understanding.

Each day of the Bible School we focused on a different Bible story. My favorite story of the week was the parable of the Good Samaritan. Our skit that day adapted the Samaritan and the Jewish man to a Jie and a Dodoth man. The Jie and Dodoth tribes have been enemies for a long time, and recently many shootings have occurred between these tribes causing animosity between both groups.  It was interesting to watch the kids responses to the re-told parable of Jesus; although they laughed when the “Bishop walked by” and the “Vicar passed on the other side of the road”, they become suddenly quiet when the Dodoth man came. The skit ended with the Narrator asking, “Who was the neighbor to the Jie man? What do you think?” A young boy sitting close the front shouted, “The Dodoth man.”

Helping one of the kids with a beading project

Tug-of-Peace

Group worship session