Category: Students and Youth Ministry

Our goal is straight forward– Find, disciple, send and support a few young South Sudanese who’d
pursue a career in sports and thereby glorify God as they conquer the world
with their skills.

Over 350 students from 13 schools, we are on course with this Yei Students’ Marathon.

These few pictures tell the story… as it happened on Saturday 30th June 2012.

Registration and accreditation in progress… Despite the heavy rain that delayed the race by 2hours, most of the racers arrived at 8am, with their hopes really high.

Pastor Stanley addressed the guests and the students at the event. With his focus on the big picture and the overall vision of the Ministry.

When we decided to name the Trophy, the Commissioner’s Cup, little did we know that this new Commissioner had been very actively involved in sports and youth development in the County of Yei for many years. He was overjoyed when he saw this trophy and heard our vision for this Marathon. He told us his story and later offered $600 reward to the School that wins the Cup.

I declared the rules, the route and revealed the rewards.

20 scholarships and 20 certificates for 20 winners (10 boys and 10 girls); cash prizes and medals for 1st to 3rd positions; beautiful plaques for 1st position (boys and girls); and a gorgeous trophy for the school that wins overall.

All set and ready to go…

It was a mad rush in the beginning, with the girls setting out first… and the boys followed after a few minutes. I was moved when I noticed all of them were running bare footed… but the muddy roads were a blessing in disguise.

The difference between the gifted and the ambitious became clear after 2kms. 

She beat the rest to the first place… as she did last year. I have much to say about this girl!

As the rest came in, we received them with shouts of joy and admiration. There were surprises and some serious lessons too.

It was grueling… some fainted…and the heat didn’t help either. But God is faithful… none was hurt.

When this girl saw many runners ahead of her halfway into the race, she collapsed. She was distraught and wept bitterly, saying, “I wont go to school next year because I didn’t win…”

The day I saw Reida Keji training alone on a lonely path two weeks before this race, I knew this moment of glory would be hers. She took the first place last year and has repeated same this year. This girl has a future on the tracks. We are discipling her with joy.

Grace Betty is just 15yrs old, in her first year in secondary school and running a long distance race for the first time in her life. She came in third. I have my eyes on you girl!

Ten boys and ten girl won academic scholarships for 2013 school year. The winners worked hard for there rewards.

Angelo Vuga took the first prize among the boys. He was one of the winners last year too. Carried shoulder high by friends and admirers… this boy is a star.

The school with the highest number
of points among the first 30 racers (boys and girls) won the Commissioner’s Cup- All Hail Yei
Girls Secondary School. This all girls school featured only 36 runners… and beat the other 12 schools with over 60points. Four of their students were among the first ten. Their prayers and dedication paid off.

The Principal of of Yei Girls Secondary School receiving the overall Trophy.

The girls headed to town to celebrate and show off their trophy.

My moment came after the award ceremony. I gathered the winners and invited them to a celebration and appreciation party the next day Sunday. I needed to cast the vision for them. They agreed to come.

This Marathon gave us a wonderful platform for teaching lessons in discipline,
endurance, determination, faith and many more. We cast the vision of the Sports Club and got a 100% buy-in.

Uncle Yemi Ayodele of Missioncares Inc. USA donated the Trophy for the Best School for this Marathon. He attended the party on Sunday and admonished the winners and the assistants that served. We had a great time.

Lunch was served  with drinks… we spent time connecting and taking personal and group photographs. There’s a family in the works within this group and I’m loving every bit of it. May Abba smile on this and be glorified.

Thanks for your prayers and support. We’ve set sail and together, we’ll get there.

The stage is set for tomorrow’s showdown.

Once again, 242 students from 13 secondary schools here in
Yei, South Sudan have registered to participate in this year’s Students’ Marathon.

This sports event will always be tagged the Race of Life. It is essentially a platform for outreach, where we’d persuade everyone to
enroll and run to win the ultimate race for the Crown of Life.

Our aims with this Marathon shall
always have five inseparable parts.

1.     Offer
someone an opportunity to receive Jesus and lead them in
their discipleship journey. Our primary target are the students and their teachers.

2.     Teach the
virtues of discipline, focus, endurance and preparation as core necessities for
excellence in life.

3.     We
shall provide prizes which shall include, cash
rewards, certificates, medals and academic scholarships for one
year for 20 winners (10 boys and 10
girls).

4.  Discover hidden talents gifted with endurance
running who may represent South Sudan in like international sport competitions
in the future.

5.     We’ve lunched a Sports Club to help us connect
with and disciple youths who seek a career in sports. We plan to provide
them with leadership skills
and professional training in their individual sport, all wrapped around a
Kingdom mindset. This Club is in its infancy and last year’s winners were our first members. If you are passionate about such a
ministry, we should be talking.

It’s hard to find the right words to describe my joy as I see these
youngsters training as early as 5am every morning since the past 3weeks. Several
groups run by our base with songs of hope and exciting ululations. 

I got really concerned recently when I heard some students were going on fasts and organizing special prayers so they can win. 

Will the competition be healthy? 

Have they overpriced the rewards?

How can I harvest and channel this longing for an earthly prize towards pursuing the ultimate thing? 

The tension is high and we need your prayers not just for a smooth event but for wisdom to connect with the inherent passion for glory manifest in these students.

                -Please pray that no
one will be hurt.

                -Pray that our
objectives will be achieved.

-Pray for a clement weather. It’s rainy season now.

                -Pray that eternal
lessons will be taught and learned through this Marathon.

-Pray for us, that Abba will help us and teach us how to engage and manage the zeal of these students for His eternal glory.

Apostle Paul said and please join me to say too, “I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.” 1Cor 9:27 The Message

We didn’t plan it like this.

We even thought the message on 10/40 Window and missions across the borders of South Sudan would be too deep for these kids at this time.

We were wrong. Abba answered us beyond our prayers.

When Elspeth and her husband Phil finished their short presentation on missions to the Muslim world and prayed, Phil made an altar call for students that want to serve God’s cause as missionaries to Muslims and especially Arabs.

To my utter amazement and joy, almost 50 students responded immediately.

I was deeply moved as the pastors stepped forward and began praying for them and their decision.

We asked them to come the following evening for a follow-up talk and discussions. 43 of them showed up (some, even before we arrived) and told of how deeply convicted and committed they are to this call.

This conference saw another 185 give their lives to Jesus after Rev Johnny Anikpe’s exhortation.

The joy and celebration at the end included the surprise visit of the Hon. Commissioner of the County. He greatly encouraged the students and appreciated the ministry’s thrust among them. We prayed for him.

This was all Abba’s hand at work.

We can see South Sudan as a sending nation within the next few years.

We see an army of trained and unstoppable warriors for Christ’s cause, matching northward with love in their hearts and passion in their souls.

They are getting the message and soon, they’ll be giving it across the borders of this land.

 Accreditation was needed to weed out cheats and unserious fellows. Each racer was given two packets of glucose sugar and a bottle of water.

Isn’t it sad that many people spend their energy, time and talent for trifles; while He who has ALL, who gave ALL, who demands and deserves ALL, gets little or nothing from the prime beneficiaries of His wisdom? It seems worthless things look more grandiose now more than ever.

It is lamentable indeed, knowing that God has set mankind in such a race where heaven or hell is their certain end, but they sit down and loiter, run aimlessly or after the childish toys of the world, forgetting THE PRIZE they are created to inherit.

This weekend in Yei, we set out on a small but major outdoors adventure we’ve called: The Race of Life.

Students in all secondary schools here are being asked to register and partake in a 5km marathon race. Every student is free to sign up. The prizes include; one academic years’ scholarship for the first ten boys and the first ten girls; a certificate each and instant cash.

Aside discovering hidden talents gifted with endurance-running who could make it to the international stage in time to come, we intend by this program to communicate the virtues of preparation, discipline, focus and endurance as core necessities for excellence in life.

Participating students and their friends who’d come to witness this event will be taught to see life on earth as a race, lasting as long as one lives. This is a gospel outreach of a unique kind but they don’t know it yet.

Teachers from the various schools and a few dignitaries will witness this inaugural event. Oh that God will show up!

We expect this sport event to run yearly and plan to use it to connect with winners and future winners in discipleship meetings crafted for them and their kind. Someone’s destiny beckons.

The race of life is offered to all men. The prize is not just heaven, but the fullness of God Himself. What will heaven be like without God?

When we read Hebrews 11 and continue into Hebrews 12:1-3, we notice the heavenly arena consists of the Triumphant Ones, all who’ve run the race before us. I once wondered if they are just “witnesses” in the sense that they are watching and cheering for the contestants or witnesses in the sense that they have left examples for us to follow.

It may be both. The word “witness” does not mean spectator. It is a word from which we get the English word “martyr.” Not all were martyrs but all are witnesses to us of God’s passion for God, showcased by the faith of great souls who wanted Him and nothing more.

They knew that cheers or jeers of people could become distractions if the ultimate prize- GOD Himself, is not placed in proper perspective.

Apostle Paul put it clearly, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Phil 3:8 NIV)

Some gave all, should we be specified just giving some?

What or who are you running to win… gain?

It was taken me longer than usual to
report on the events of the Yei Students’ Holiday Conference 2011 which ended last
week Friday. I needed time to reflect and reset. But, I owe you this brief
narrative.

Our plan was to invite
willing students, identify and connect with those whose hunger for something more than mere religion pressed them
towards a deeper and refreshing relationship with The Truth.

We could have done better
with more facilitators, but Abba’s grace was enough for those that gave their
time, strength and resources throughout the Conference. May God bless them!

It was a great joy to
have as international guest ministers; Rev Johnny Anikpe (my father-in-the-Lord);
Rev Dr. Mrs. Shade Toyin Kehinde and Pastor Mrs. Tolu Dawodu both from my church in
Lagos; Brother Mark Lucas of CDM and one of my mentors, Rev Yemi Ayodele both
from the USA; and of course my darling wife Sola. Their presence and
contributions towards the success of this conference cannot be measured.

From 8:00am each day, students from various schools and other
youths out of school filled the hall of meeting and started each day’s events with hot praises,
dance and worship to Abba even before the pastors and organizer arrived. Their
hunger for truth, authentic leadership, fellowship and worship underscores our
hope.

With all modesty and due
respect to all that ministered, I confess, we didn’t have it in us to satisfy
these kids. God came to our rescue daily. They longed for more, sat through the sessions from morning till
evening with great joy. Oh, may Abba be honored as He gives the increase.

The group discussions and
Bible studies which focused on discipleship were interactive and interesting;
as they generated some questions that highlighted the huge task before us, as well as the
great door of ministry open here.

Constrained for time, we
grappled with each session and it was all worth the sacrifice, dealing with
over 700 kids whose passion for the Lord and His word I wish could be exported. Everyone of them wet home with a gift, thanks to MTN Nigeria and Bibles from The Gideons International was available to all that needed a copy.

From our records, 312
students gave their life to Jesus at this conference.Though a few did so more than once; we understand why
and are working at it.

On the last day 17^th
June, which we’d declared as Holy Spirit Day, there was massive outpouring of
the Holy Spirit. Well over 200 students received the baptism of the Holy Spirit
with the evidence of speaking in new tongues. Among them were six of the nine girls that had been earlier delivered of demons.

The drama of how the Holy
Spirit overran this meeting on the last day and the subsequent events that now follow;
will be told in my next blog.

Please pray with me as I
gather again, a few of these kids tomorrow at “The Furnace”; our informal
discipleship refinery.

Thanks to all that
supported with prayers, funds, calls and goodwill messages. Your sacrifice is a
delight to the Lord for and to Whom are all things.

The journey is still far,
but Abba’s glory and fame propels us.

The
entire students of Jogomoyi Primary School here in Yei came out to receive
their peers, 5 students from Kinji Primary School, who brought the gospel of
Jesus and a plan to help them start their own Scripture Union fellowship.

I
witness to the change this thrust into those schools has brought to these kids.
Their prayer lives, study of the word, boldness and general conduct have all
been affected positively. This is what passion for God’s Kingdom rule does to
people that embrace it. Abba smiles(:

Genuine
vision is lived not just loved, talked about or dreamed of. Christians without
deep commitment to something of eternal significance will certainly have the
hard pillow of regret when their sun sets. Our sun is still up here and I’m hanging with these kids. God’s
happening here.

“God uses peculiar
people to accomplish unfathomable feats and it is all for His glory. He loves
the underdog, underachieving, unloved and unlikely. And He takes their simple
unassuming lives as the base ingredient for a masterpiece.” Butch Maltby

Reminds me of that day Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit and prayed, “I
thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from
the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it
pleased you to do it this way.” Luke
10:21

Just in case you missed the last blog post on this event,
read it here. Meanwhile, two more SU fellowships
will be planted this week. The first one is due up later today.

When God comes into small
places with small people, the
unexpected happen. The small,
surprise themselves and the world as their confidence in God who honors simple
faith, takes them to heights where ONLY He can keep them.

These primary school kids in Yei, South Sudan are daring greatly for God’s
cause. The beauty of this is that it’s school kids working among their peers;
teaching, preaching, discipling, praying, counseling…. The influence they wield
in their sphere is not only amazing but unstoppable, as God’s glory is on display here.

When in 2006 we began to organize fellowships in the secondary schools under the umbrella of the Scripture Union here in Yei, we deliberately sidestepped the primary schools.

Though primary schools then and even now, have many teenagers as students, we felt a greater need to engage the secondary schools first.

Today, most of the secondary schools have pretty well organized SU fellowships holding weekly meetings and some twice a week.

I had my eye on the primary schools on this trip but unknown to me, some students of Kinji Primary some of whom are members of our church here had started the SU fellowship in their school last term.

I went there last Friday to fellowship with them and it was a blast of fun. When their leader announced, “We’re not happy because we have a visitor among us but we are happy because Jesus is here…” I couldn’t hold back my tears of joy. At this young age, they’ve understood it’s all about Master Jesus.

Fellowship ended and I called the leaders together to encourage them. When I said, “I think you should plan to assist other brethren in primary schools around start their fellowships too…” They all roared with joyous laughter and chorused, “We just agreed in our meeting TODAY to start that.” I encouraged them we should all take time to pray together about how and where to start as it was obvious to us all that God was leading the way.

But they didn’t tell me they’d prayed and finalized their strategies to commence fellowship planting this week. So when I visited their school yesterday, which incidentally is next to our base, I was told by some of their teachers, “Oh, those of Jacqueline and Naphtali have gone to Emmanuel Primary…” I imagined they’d gone to pray there, as Emmanuel Primary was nearby and is one of the targeted schools for an SU fellowship. I went after them.

I arrived as the first SU fellowship in Emmanuel model Primary school was in the middle of a white-hot praise session with over 70 kids. I bowed to Abba and thanked Him, “Your footsteps are in the waters, who can track You?” “Thank You!” These kids did their thing. Kids to kids at their level. The video clip above captured a few moments.

One of the boys from Kinji Primary, Naphtali, in P.7 went on a 2days dry fast that ended three days ago. Why? He’s praying that their Headmaster would allow for 15mins of preaching during the school’s daily morning assembly. He plans to see the man soon. Abba smiles; please smile too and pray along. This is the Kingdom in primary tsunami power. The gates of hell CANNOT…

The Students’ Holiday Camp 2010 which was held at the Yei Teach Training College (YTTC) from the 23^rd to 29^th of May in Yei South Sudan will be remembered here for a long time to come.

As this camp drew closer, I began to look out for God’s

promised surprise with heightened enthusiasm.

Funds were scarce, so naturally, I thought the surprise would come in that direction. I hoped and dreamt of some unexpected donation that would put pay to my anxiety which seemed to gain momentum as the students registered for the camp from day to day.

I can’t recall how many times I smooth my nerves with the line, “Uche, you are having birth pains.” I gritted my teeth and trudged on towards the first day. I had too many unanswered questions and too many concerns that tried to cripple my faith, but God was planning His surprise and 129 students who were put in 7 groups with 13 facilitators were about to have a memorable week.

Nothing could have prepared me for the awesome reception and positive attribute to Kingdom truths expressed by these students. It was impossible to anticipate the events of each day.  It got better, richer, and more exciting as we progressed, despite the challenges.

These kids got the message. They tasted the goods we offered and knew it was the real thing; the missing thing and they wanted more.

We declared a general fast from morning till evening on Friday. About 70% of the students would be fasting for the very first time. What would happen? How will they take this? Will someone faint or get really sick as a result of this radical thrust? These and many other questions were gnawing at me.

“Uche, don’t you think they should take water?” One of the ministers asked. “No, they’ll be fine.” I was right.

As sure as God would watch over His word to perform it; just before noon, after the Discipleship class lesson on- The Place of the Holy Spirit, the power of God came down heavily on the students in the group led by Pastor Kenneth.

It was holy chaos. All the students in that group burst into tongues and tears almost simultaneously. They continued praying for hours.

The camp went into over-drive and everyone knew something unusual was in the air. Those in other classes knew that this was something they should experience. But why was it only in that class? What did their facilitator do or say to them? Their prayers maintained a steady high rhythm and drew the attention of some surprised staff of the college.

That evening, during the general evening prayer and worship session before the break of the fast, the commotion spread, and more students were filled with the Holy Spirit. We could never have planned it. This was the promised surprise!

But there was more to come. During the night session, Rev. Yemi Ayodele, our guest speaker ministered and the power of God came down again with a special package for the ladies this time. The Lord addressed the deep things from their past, the shame, pain, guilt, and hurts. Broken lives were mended as tears flowed from end to end. God’s signature of love, peace, and comfort filled the hall of the meeting.

We had three types of students in the camp on the last day. Many had encountered the Holy Spirit with undeniable testimonies, those that wanted Him and were willing to stay behind and do anything for their own personal experience, and a few that didn’t understand what was going on.

Testimonies about seeing and experiencing the fire of the Holy Spirit were told by many. One student put it like this, “When I saw the fire come on me, I didn’t understand it as fire that could burn and hurt me, I was too shocked to know what to think. It took me a while before I realized that this was fire all over my body, real burning flames…”

Another said, “God came inside our class, I was too afraid to open our eyes and look, my whole body was shaking… I was speaking a language I didn’t understand…”

Many students testified with so much confidence and assurance about hearing God’s voice that I was overwhelmed with joy. Surely, many had Come Up.

This was a perfect surprise.

They cried out to God for hours, wanting more of Him!

 

 Another class discussing and soaking it all in.