Training new facilitators

I am a little behind in sharing one of our great joys from this year so far. In March, we had a training for new facilitators of the healing and reconciliation workshop, organized in cooperation by SSPEC, the Episcopal Church, and Mission Aviation Fellowship . The training happened over 2 weeks, with 4 different stages (initial workshop, training of trainers, training of facilitators, and practicum workshops), with parts held in 5 different locations around Juba. You can imagine how overwhelming it felt to organize that. I was also coordinating travel for our 6 participants coming from remote locations in South Sudan, and travel in South Sudan is rather unpredictable and challenging. A few times I was really struck with amazement that all the participants made it and that the training actually happened. Truly, God worked and answered prayers to overcome many obstacles.
 

A drama about exchanging our pain for healing through the cross

Participants during the training of facilitators

At the end of the training, the new facilitators were put into teams that conducted workshops in three locations in Juba. It was amazing to see how God worked in the hearts of participants and facilitators alike through these workshops. One man shared that normally when he sleeps he experiences sharp pain in his heart, and in the morning he drinks cold water to cool his pain. But after the session about experiencing God as a Loving Father, he was able to sleep peacefully without pain. One woman was grieving her daughter who had committed suicide by burning herself exactly one year earlier. She went to church, but she said every time she tried to read the Bible she experienced such anger at God that she could not read it. During the session of bringing our pain to the cross, she was able to give God that pain and experienced healing. She expressed so much joy at experiencing God’s love in the midst of her grief.

Giving pain to God during one of the workshops

A drama about forgiveness in one of the practicum workshops

We are grateful for some opportunities to do a few workshops in the last month, so several of these new faciliators have already had opportunity to practice teaching in the workshop. Several of them are pastors, so they are experienced preachers and teachers - but making a teaching interactive for a workshop and incorporating dramas and practical exercises is something new that takes time and practice. Please continue to pray for these new facilitators, that God will continue to use them and mold them for the important work of helping people experience God's love, forgiveness, and healing. We are excited that our team of facilitators is growing, which makes it easier to meet the demand for workshops. We are praying that God opens doors and provides the resources to go to some of the remote parts of South Sudan where a few of the new facilitators are based.

New facilitators and the training team

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; thiat is, in Christ God was reconciliing the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21