Bob and Kristi Rice - May 2022 Update

Nile Theological College

The South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC) recently collaborated with the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) to host a national Training of Facilitators and Training of Trainers in South Sudan. As a result of the collaboration, fifteen new facilitators were trained, and seven new facilitators were certified for the Healing Hearts Transforming Nations (HHTN) workshop. It was the first time that the training of new facilitators for this workshop was held in South Sudan.

SSPEC sent six people to be trained as facilitators, five pastors and one youth. All of them live in different states in South Sudan and serve churches in rural areas. In addition, three experienced facilitators from SSPEC received training and certification as trainers. 

There were four components to the training. First, all participants experienced the HHTN workshop. During this workshop, participants had the opportunity to identify prejudice that they have against other groups, express inner wounds they might have, find healing through the cross of Christ, and stand in the gap to confess wrongs done by their people against other groups.

The second component was the training of trainers, held for two days at the Good Shepherd Peace Center near Juba. Dr. Joseph Nyamutera (Rwanda) and Dr. Jecinta Wambui (Kenya) came to facilitate this portion of the training. Seven experienced facilitators from SSPEC, MAF, and ECSS were trained during this time. The teaching included the overall vision for the ministry as well as the practicalities of how to choose and train people as facilitators.

The training of facilitators was the third component and took place at the Good Shepherd Peace Center. Topics included characteristics of a facilitator, teaching styles, preparing lessons, rehearsing dramas, and practicing presentations. The focus was on preparing the participants to facilitate practicum workshops at the end of the week. It was a very intense five days, with many working late into the night to prepare their lessons and materials. Participants were divided into three groups and spent time together preparing to teach. Each of the three practicum groups included people from different tribes and different church denominations and two experienced facilitators as coaches. One participant shared at the end that the amount they learned in those five days was equivalent to a semester course at a university!

The fourth component was the practicum workshops, held in three different locations in Juba over two days. The workshops were hosted by churches, and each church was encouraged to invite other churches in their neighborhood to send participants. The new facilitators oversaw all the teaching, dramas, and practical activities of the workshops. The coaches provided support and feedback on the facilitation and guidance to ensure that the workshop went smoothly. One of the big challenges was making the teaching interactive, given that most of the facilitators were used to preaching or lecture style. In all the practicum workshops, some participants experienced healing and forgiveness, and it was a meaningful time for everyone. A woman in one workshop had lost her daughter exactly one year before to suicide. Since her daughter’s death, she had continued to attend church but felt very angry at God, particularly whenever she tried to read the Bible. However, after taking her pain to the cross in the workshop, she felt freed from that anger and hurt against God and realized that God had compassion for her and grieved with her.

After the practicum workshops, a graduation celebration was held. Leaders of churches and organizations were invited to celebrate the graduation and commissioning of new facilitators and trainers and to learn more about the HHTN approach. Rev. Joseph Nyamutera shared about the vision for the ministry and the challenges that churches in Rwanda had faced in being part of the healing process. He gave several testimonies of people who had received healing and transformation and the challenges for church leaders of not getting taken in by political divides. Dr. Joseph Nyamutera and other organizers of the training officially commissioned the new facilitators and trainers for this ministry of healing and reconciliation and prayed that God would enable them and open doors for this significant ministry.

We saw God working in the hearts of participants and trainers alike through this training, continuing to reveal His love and forgiveness in deeper ways. This was a reminder of the ways that God’s truth, when used in sensitive ways, can bring healing and freedom from our inner wounds. One new facilitator shared that God opened the door for him to reconcile with his estranged son a few weeks after the workshop. Another participant shared the way that his marriage has been healed and that he and his wife are now able to pray and go to church together.

This training was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with other churches and organizations. It was helpful to have three organizations working together for the planning and fundraising. We hope that this training can be held again next year and that the exposure and participation will continue to reach more churches and organizations within South Sudan.

Grateful for the financial support Outreach donors provided for this training!

Bob and Kristi

This article used with permission of Presbyterian World Mission.

 Read more about Bob and Kristi’s ministry HERE.

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