In the US, it’s back to school time for children, youth and college students alike. The same is also true here in Uganda. Whereas the college students are beginning a new school year, the elementary and high school students are wrapping up the last term of their school year.

We are going back into the schools to teach Walk Pure for the last term of the school year. In the last term, it’s a bit tricky fitting in all ten lessons because it is the shortest term of the year, with only 5-6 weeks of teaching before the students begin their year end exams. Our leaders are committed to working diligently to see to it that they complete the Walk Pure teachings. Most of them have started teaching this week. Please pray for the students receptiveness to the purity message and for the cooperation of the school administration. We want to finish this year strong!

As you may know, Matt and I have written a few life lessons curriculum for youth, addressing the issues they are dealing with as a teen, and teaching them how to handle these issues in a godly way. The first Life Lesson is called Walk Pure, which teaches how to live a life of purity and encourages abstinence from sex until marriage. We began teaching this curriculum last year in Kampala (Uganda) high schools. The second curriculum we wrote is called Faithful Friends, teaching youth how to choose the right friends and how to be lead others in a postive way. We introduced this curriculum for the first time to our staff today. They are quite excited about it and have expressed how it builds on what we’ve been teaching in Walk Pure. Our desire is to launch this curriculum in the schools in January 2010. We have been working hand in hand with the graphic designer and other individuals to revise and tweak it to get it ready for publishing, and it is nearly ready. We are sure the youth will readily receive Faithful Friends as they have received Walk Pure.

Today was exciting as we had our first Leadership Academy graduation. The Leadership Academy is  6 months of biblical, leadership, and Walk Pure training plus a teaching practical in a high school. We had 40 graduates, although not all were able to attend the ceremony. Currently, we have another group half way through the academy and Thursday, we will start with yet another group.

Two of the graduates, who have moved several hours away for a job, traveled the distance for the graduation. They said that there was no way they could miss it. Matt shared with the graduates and guests how it was not easy to leave our home in the US to  live in a foreign land, away from family, friends and familiarity, but seeing the graduates, the fruit of our labor, makes it all worth it.

These young people are equipped and passionate about changing youth’s lives, impacting their community, being a blessing in their churches, and revolutionizing Uganda!