Sunday School!

A letter from Kay Day serving in Rwanda

March 2016

Dear Family and Friends,
We have watched this verse of scripture come alive in the English Chapel in Butare in the last month and a half as we have begun a Sunday school for our children and are seeing it grow. Little has thrilled my heart more in these months as the pastor of the chapel. This has been an international effort involving partners in the U.S. and the Netherlands. I began praying about a Sunday school several months ago as I watched our four children, the sons and daughters of students, struggling to stay attentive or even stay awake in the worship service. I kept thinking of this verse of scripture and feeling accountable. One of the struggles we have is lack of resources. The other is lack of training. When I mentioned this to a friend in a Skype conversation, she went into action and, with the joyful cooperation of the head of her church’s children’s ministry, sent me wonderful electronic materials and a great children’s Bible. My elders were excited about this, since it would impact their children.

“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these’ ” (Luke 18:16).

Children prepare to sing.

The next step was to recruit and train teachers. I began to plan. When I mentioned that we were planning a Sunday school teacher’s training at our chapel, a colleague of mine told me that there were two trained Christian educators coming from the Netherlands who had been doing that very kind of training for several of the Presbyterian churches here for about three years and would be coming to Butare the beginning of January. That was when we had scheduled our training. With some conversation, we agreed they would do the training. The elders decided that all the PIASS students should attend and be equipped to teach. This would help them when they got to their parishes as well as helping the English chapel. All but three students attended and all who attended enthusiastically signed up to take turns teaching. The trainers were so engaging and communicated so well with those they were training in a very interactive way. What a delight to see the PIASS students inventing games and songs to go with the Bible stories.

So on January 17 we inaugurated Sunday school with 4 students. We have watched each Sunday as the numbers have grown, as our children have invited their friends. We now have 12 who are attending from the neighborhood. One of our PIASS students has begun a choir with them, and they sang with joy for the congregation for the first time last week. My heart overflows with thanksgiving as I see this ministry reach out into the community and children delight in learning God’s word. This is a training ground for all who are involved—the result of international cooperation. Praise God! Please pray that this outreach continues while I am back in the States.

Thank you for the prayers as I continue to prepare to return to the States. I will be arriving on April 5 and look forward to seeing many of you, as time has already been scheduled with many of your congregations. It is not too late to arrange a time. There are a few dates still open. I am so eager to share with you in person what God has been doing in Rwanda through your partnering with me. I cannot thank you enough. Please continue to pray with me for ongoing financial support. This remains a need, even as I am in the States with you. I thank you in advance for your continued faithfulness. Please pray for the final preparations, as well. There is much to be done. I look forward to seeing you soon.

Yours in Christ,
Kay (Cathie to the family)

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 152