Scripture Application & Leadership Training (S.A.L.T.)
"The goal of all we do is to see the Scriptures being used effectively and lives being changed; and our aim is to show the relevance of the Scriptures in all aspects of life."
Saturday, January 04, 2020
Monday, November 14, 2016
Dedua SALT Course Reports
Dzudzumau SALT Course
1/10/2016 - 16/10/2016
There
were 280 graduates from the
Dzudzumau course. These were the attendees who met the 8 day attendance
requirement. Each day many more people were in attendance. Some days during the course the total number
of attendees for the Bible lessons was closer to 400.
Roughly
300 people were ministered to during
the course outreaches. There were 4
outreaches run during this course. These were to villages a 2 to 3 hour hike
away. Most of the population from the closer villages were already attending
the course in Dzudzumau and so they chose to focus the outreaches on farther
away villages.
A few Course Testimonies:
Elderly Man:
"I
am so thankful to God for this Bible study. The study book is in my own
language and shoots straight to the point. I have never had a Bible study
workbook like this in my own language before. I grieve for my Fathers who went
to their graves without a Bible study workbook like this one to help them in
studying the Bible in their own language."
Lutheran Church Leader and School Headmaster:
"I have been challenged by this
entire study. But the main theme that has challenged me has been the teaching
on love. Do I show love to others? I know here during the course it is easy...
but when I go back to my home... will I show love to others? Especially those
of other churches? I have been challenged by the unity of the SALT team. They
are from different churches and yet work together in love. I need to show this
same kind of love to others, especially my brothers and sisters from other
churches."
Lutheran Evangelist:
"I am a leader in
the church... Yes... but in my own home, with my family, love is absent. I have been greatly challenged by the love of
God and realize I must show His love to others in everything I do."
Young Man:
"I
thank God for sending His servants here to preach the Word. I was running
around like a fool. But God has be teaching me many things during this course. He
is showing me the road I must take." (With
this he asked forgiveness of the audience for the way that he had been
acting/treating everyone in the community.)
Elderly Man:
"I
now realize that I have not been living in love as God has called me to be doing.
Lesson 4 challenged me in how I have been living. I now pray that God will help
me to show His love to others."
Young Man:
"Normally
when a Bible program has been run in this village, I am standing on the fringes
of the crowd looking in. I haven't been
too interested before as to what was being said from the Word. Praise God that this course has been
different. Some how God brought me
inside the tarp structure on day one and I received a SALT workbook. Since then I have been sitting inside
listening to every word being shared from the Word. The Word has been gripping me and now I have
given my life to Christ!" (With this
the young man broke into tears.)
Additional Highlights:
The
Village of Dzudzumau was very organized.
They had gathered garden produce and firewood for all in
attendance. At the end of each day's
lessons... the attendees would line up to receive firewood and food. Thus nobody had to rush out of class to go
find food for their family. Because of
this, everyone was able to focus on the Bible teaching for the whole two weeks.
There
was quite a hunger for vernacular Bibles during the course. Because Dedua is quite mountainous, many at
the Dzudzumau course had not yet made it to Hoboc where the newly printed
Bibles were stored for sale. During the
course many wanted to get a Bible, but didn't want to leave the teaching to go
to Hoboc to purchase one. By God's grace
several woman from Hoboc carried 70 Bibles over the mountains to
Dzudzumau. When the Bibles arrived there
was a stampede to purchase them. The
supply ran out within minutes... at the end the local police officers were
trying to budge in line to get the remaining few copies.
Hoboc SALT Course
17/10/16 - 31/10/16
There
were 288 graduates from the Hoboc
course. These were the attendees who met the 8 day attendance requirement. Each
day many more people were in attendance.
Some days during the course the total number of attendees for the Bible
lessons was closer to 350.
Roughly
1014 people were ministered to
during the 8 outreaches run in the surrounding villages. These villages were a
2 to 3 hour hike away.
A few Course
Testimonies:
A middle aged woman:
"I am a sinner. I praise
God for the teaching from His word. I have been convicted about worshipping
stones and leaves along with my family. We are on the border of this language
group and so we have not received teaching from God's Word like this before. I
thank God that I have come and He has been teaching me His truth."
A retired church
leader:
"I
have been deeply convicted by God. Through the lessons He has shown me that I
have been living like a Pharisee. I am always judging others. And the words I
use are designed to cut others down. I pray I can start living out of
love."
Two Men:
During the first week of the
course, a man was cut up by several boys on drugs. However over the weekend
they reconciled and started attending the course. During lesson eleven, the two
parties stood up to testify about God's grace in their lives in brining them to
the point of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Additional
Highlights:
There
were people who walked from two to three hours one way every day to come to the
SALT lessons.
Over 50 vernacular Bibles were bought during
the course. Almost everyone else had one
already.
The
outreach was a big hit. The church
leaders were excited about the possibility of going on more outreaches. Pray
that God would guide the leaders as they seek to take the teaching from the
Word to the surrounding villages.