BDS Training - Day 3 "Leader Training"

Our final day of training! We changed venues expecting a larger group...for some reason only about half the number showed...there were positives and negatives about this new location - you can probably see here in this early morning photo that this room is more open - no windows or doors...so did not get stuffy! It was also easier to get in and out of, as there are multiple entries and no hallway to negotiate...and the room is bigger! I will share some of the negatives as we go along...the first big negative you will see is that there is really no camera shot with no back light!
Virginia handled registration, even though my name was on the schedule. Actually I did help quite a bit! We all chipped in...
My friend Virginia, with her beautiful smile!
I just had to snap this photo...it is now 9am (start time) and only a handful have arrived...I know I know, I am in Africa!
John leads this faithful group in Praise songs...yay John!
My friend Robert blessed us with devotions. Robert was on my team during the CHE training; he, Anne and I did a presentation together. On this morning he shared a message based on 1Cor 12:12-19. Of course, it was in Swahili...but he did say a few words in English - I believe the thrust of his message is that we must learn to appreciate each other.

Then Paul spent a few minutes establishing the "rules" for the day...
...and Virginia taught the first lesson on "Leadership: What it is, Qualities"...the group first spent some time answering the question "Who is a Leader?" and then discussed the characteristics and attributes of a good leader. I was impressed with the many qualities this group discovered!

We spent a few minutes talking about what NOT to do as a leader and then Virginia shared several scriptures showing the leadership qualities that Jesus possessed. He truly is our model for all areas of life and all the roles we play. If you want to look them up here are the verses she encouraged us to read: John 5:19, 1Timothy 1:15, Acts 1:8, Phil 2:6-8, Matt 10:29-30.

Then she asked the question "Are leaders born or made?"...too bad we ran out of time! That would have made for a lively and very interesting discussion.
Okay - here is the 'hanger' for the day...he was so faithful to rip the sheets off as soon as they were full, grab the masking tape and stick the poster up on the BRICK?! wall...
...and he had a helper - I love team work!
Oops! You are now seeing one of the big negatives of this room - the wind!
He finally just gave up and stacked the posters!
Here you see Mrs. Gacau talking to the group about "Building an Accountability Group"...as far as I am concerned, this is the real secret of our program! Every member must belong to a group - ideally there are at least 15 members (3 Watanos - a Watano is sub-group of 5) with the officers being chosen from each of the Watanos. The sub-groups keep each other accountable, encourage and support each other in the program...and join together in the larger group to collect the weekly savings and loan payments, co-guarantee loans and discuss group issues.

One of the key and vital elements in a healthy group is a sense of trust. Most of the groups are comprised of members of the same community so they live and work together, watching and watching out for each other...
During our tea break a "hallway meeting"! These are three of the officers from one of our newest groups, Halala.
Even though we had about 20 less people in this training than in the past two days, we still ran out of cups! Here is Mrs. Gacau cleaning some cups for the staff, so we could take tea...
To prepare for his session on "Team Building" Paul had our clients break into three groups. Group #1 was to come up with a song to perform, group #2 was to create a story to tell, and group #3 was to answer the question "Which came first the egg or the chicken?" (I thought it was the other way around?)...
Group #1 performing their song...
Hudson, from Group #2 telling the story they came up with...
George explaining the answer to the infamous question...
Paul facilitating the group discussion! I was pretty impressed with all that the groups learned in this simple exercise! Among other lessons they came up with; together we will succeed, working together makes the work easier, we can learn from each other...well done!


In preparation for the final session before lunch John 'energizes' the group with some more Praise and Worship...
There I am leading a group discussion on "Serving Others"...to the far right of the photo you can see one of our clients reading scripture - she is doing the Swahili reading and Daniel (not pictured) did the English reading. First we defined what a master is and what a servant is. Then we talked about some of the attributes of both. Then we reviewed some of the major points in the passage from Phil 2:1-18.
Virginia (and Paul when he was not shooting the event!) translated for me. I must say it was awkward to try to teach when I was trying so hard to speak slowly and clearly...
...but it was a great group and they really tried to follow me and did their best to participate. Then Virginia got up and, I guess, gave a quick recap in Swahili...it felt a little bit like when my brother was teaching me to drive and I was going waaaay to slow for his taste so he reached over with his foot, out of frustration, and pushed the accelerator with his foot...just to get something going!
...this shot is out the 'window' - Paul having fun with the camera - did you notice his creative angles in the photos above?
We served a special lunch of barbecued chicken, chapati, chicken stew and rice...they seemed to enjoy it, many returning for seconds!
John and Paul encouraging our clients to move a little after lunch
We ended the day with a time for discussion and questions. This was a great opportunity for the leaders of the various groups to share their challenges and experiences, to encourage and support each other.
I learned along with our clients...even though I have been working with the staff for a few months, there were many aspects of the program that I had not been exposed to so this was a great time of learning for me. But I think my favorite part of these three days was working with my team and meeting our clients.

I am encouraged as I see the integrity, quality and caliber of people we work with in our ministry. They truly are working to leave a legacy for their community and their families. It is a privilege to play even a small part in this transformational process!