On Day 5 of the blitz, as we travelled around Njeru looking for Jamal Education Centre, my team came across Kiryowa Primary School. There were approximately 600 students participating in a school assembly as we arrived unannounced. The students were singing in full voice “This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”
This was certainly a great way to finish a very busy week.
On the International Scripture Blitz (ISB) there were nine International Gideons that included the team leader from Italy, six from USA, one from South Africa & me (from Australia). My team consisted of two local Gideons and myself. We were one of the ten teams who took part in the ISB in Jinja and surrounding villages. During the week we visited 290 schools, 21 police/military facilities, 22 hospitals and 1 hotel. The total number of Scriptures distributed was 107,278. During the week there were also 2,498 salvation prayers by students and staff.
“We were warmly welcomed at each place we visited to offer Testaments. School principals, (or head teachers), would stop lessons and allow us to go classroom to classroom or they would call their students out for an assembly.”
In Uganda, 85% of the 50 million people are either Protestant or Roman Catholic. However, Uganda is a poor nation where their average monthly income is less than what most people in Australia earn in a day. Hence the schools often do not have textbooks to assist in their students’ education.
We were warmly welcomed at each place we visited to offer New Testaments. School principals (or head teachers) would stop lessons and allow us to visit classroom to classroom or they would call their students out for an assembly. The students would often applause spontaneously when they were told that we were there to offer them their own little Bible.
We received feedback from Rev Brenda Kito who, as the school chaplain at Neyenga Secondary School, had a Gideon Testament that she received the last time Gideons were in Jinja 15 years ago. As it was the only Bible at the school, it was showing the effects of being well used. She was very pleased to know that all the students at the school would now have their own New Testament. Brenda also really appreciated receiving a new one for herself.
