So we started with 2 sessions on biblical literacy, looking at the overall story of the Bible and how the history of God's dealings with the ancient Israelites relate to us today. We looked at the different types of writing in the Bible (narrative, poetry, prophecy, etc), and also discussed the difference between translation methods. Finally, we took all these things together and applied it to how we should read and interpret the Bible in its original context.
A local pastor who was sitting in was excited, and told the students, "You guys are lucky! You can only get this in theological school, and yet you're learning it for free!".
Linked to the part on moral decisions, we did some practice using role plays of how to say "no". It's hard for young people to say no to their friends all around the world, but there are some cultures in which saying no is even harder. We find Acholi culture is one of those cultures. So students were given a situation and told to come up with different ways to say no. The results were hilarious...including a couple groups which still ended up saying "yes" in the end! (We take that down to miscommunication!).
Then we had a Q&A session, first with the whole group, and then breaking into guys and girls. Many of the guys shared deeply about the pressures they feel from family and friends to "get a wife" (not necessarily the same thing as getting married) and just start living with a woman. In the girls group, there was a lot of discussion about how to know a friend is trustworthy enough to be a prayer partner. There was a prevailing sense among the girls that "all women are gossips". We had a special time of prayer asking God to provide prayer partners for those girls who indicated they needed help finding one.
We are so thankful that God introduced us to Carla and Louis from Lamplighter, and that we are able to join in on these youth camps. We hope to share testimonies of changed lives in months to come! Glory be to God for His transforming love.