CHE meeting at Bogbakole

Yesterday, March 19, Rev Elenga and I went to the village of Bogbakole to introduce the CHE (Community Health Evangelism) initiative to a number of the village leaders.  22 people came from the local Covenant and Free churches plus several local government leaders.

We spent about 3 hours together during which we talked about how CHE addresses the concerns of the entire person:  mind, body, spirit and emotions.  It is truly a wholistic approach.  Rev. Elenga used the story of the paralyzed man that his friends carried to Jesus for healing to talk about key development principles of working together, being creative, helping others, believing in what you’re doing, determination and more.

women listening

I led a short session on the river crossing story which is always fun.  After the drama we talk about what we saw and what we can learn from the drama.  In particular we learn that development is teaching someone how to cross the river and not doing it for them.  When we learn something new that is helpful in addition to putting it into practice in our lives we need to teach it to someone else.

The next step for the village is the formation of a CHE committee, training the committee and then selecting the Community Health Evangelists or CHEs.  The CHEs are the ones who go house to house sharing with they have learned with their neighbors.

carrying someone across the river

getting smarter – teaching someone to cross the river

the person taught now teaches his friend who was left on an island in the river