Congo’s young Salvationists encouraged
to learn biblical values

CONGO, Republic — A gathering of more than 200 young people in Brazzaville in February presented the Bible Society in Congo with an ideal opportunity to work directly with a group for which it has a particular concern. Through a variety of techniques, including film, meditation and debate, Bible Society staff were able to encourage the participants to turn to the Bible for answers to their questions and for strength in tackling the daily challenges they face.

Initiative

The young people – aged between 14 and 30 – had come together from 17 different local Salvation Army groups for a weekend event organised by the Congo branch of the Salvation Army as a response to the international organisation’s 2005 – A Year for Children and Youth initiative. Working together, Salvation Army officers and Bible Society staff devised a series of sessions to encourage the young people to discover and appreciate the value of God’s Word and to make them aware of the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

Taking the theme In David’s Footsteps, the weekend began with a Bible study session led by Marie-Thérèse Moutinou, the Society’s Fundraising and Communications Secretary, which focused on Psalm 119:72 – “The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold” (NIV).

“The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold” – Psalm 119:72

Protecting

After a workshop on the first chapter of John’s Gospel, attention turned to the theme of protecting young people from HIV/AIDS. For this session, Nicaise Bahouamio, the Society’s Publishing Secretary, chose to show the film Where is the Good Samaritan Today?, part of a package of HIV/AIDS teaching materials developed by the United Bible Societies (UBS) and already in use in several other African countries (see World Report 390/32).

Infection

Following the film, a lively question-and-answer session revealed that many young people still lack proper understanding of how HIV/AIDS is transmitted, even though Congo has one of the world’s highest rates of HIV/AIDS infection (it is estimated that around 10 per cent of the country’s 3.1 million people may be infected). Organisations like the UBS and the Salvation Army clearly still have much work to do in the area of HIV/AIDS education.

Before rounding off the weekend with a service, Captain Kombo of the Salvation Army led a session of prayer and meditation. For one participant who later wrote about his impressions from the weekend, it was this session that had proved particularly memorable:

Responsibility

“I was asked to act as one of the leaders for the weekend. I’d never done anything like this before, but I took the responsibility seriously and spent as much time as I could preparing by re-reading John’s Gospel and praying.

“As my fingers and palm allowed me to hold my Bible, so they also allowed me to hold it in my heart.

“To start with I didn’t understand very much, but I questioned other people and felt more relaxed by the time the weekend came. What I really remember from the weekend is the session in which we meditated on God’s Word by using our hands. I was amazed to see how my hand ‘talked’ to me about God’s Word. As my fingers and palm allowed me to hold my Bible, so they also allowed me to hold it in my heart... I’m very glad to have participated in this weekend and I quickly told my friends about it.”