Journal of Discovering Story

(Many in Africa use Simply The Story as part of their medical missions work.
The following four letters are from one such person. 
Jayne describes her journey, from discovering “story” in an STS workshop to becoming certified to train others in STS. She tells of choosing to adopt story as part of her spiritual outreach in Africa.)

My Call in Missions:

”I am a missionary with Africa Inland Mission, Int.  I am a nurse and my role is the HIV Education Coordinator for AIM here in Lesotho. 

“My ministry involves working with pastors in the mountain areas of Lesotho to help them understand the call of Jesus to be involved in the lives of people suffering especially with HIV. I also work with training support groups to provide care for those sick with HIV related illnesses and to educated to village people to understand about the transmission, ARV’S (antiretro viral medications for those with HIV) and how to take them, and to give hope in the Name of Jesus to those who have lost hope. 

“I also work with herd boys, the shepherds, teaching them about Jesus and who they are in Him and His creation.
After One Simply The Story Workshop:

“This is so exciting to see the shepherds come to understand through the stories about God and His purpose for us and His plan for us to know Him and be His forever more. They love to hear how He has used shepherds throughout the history of the Bible, and it gives them hope to know they are important to Him and He knows them.
“They easily listen to the stories and pick the truths from the stories and then look at their lives and how those truths apply to them. It is such a joy to share with them what God has been wanting them to know about Him for so long. 

“They cannot read or write, and have been left behind in hearing and taking His Word into their own lives. What a gift for me to be able to learn from them as they look at things in their eyes and come to understand our God.

After Two More Workshops:

[Jayne and two nationals, who also attended the first workshop in Lesotho, then traveled to serve as Provisional Instructors in STS workshops in Cape Town and Pretoria.]

“We just arrived back in Maseru this afternoon from the two workshops and WOW!!  What abundant blessings both were. Much of the time in Cape Town was used to move us toward certification as STS instructors. It was a great opportunity to be closer to being cleared to lead STS workshops in Lesotho. I know we can have our own workshops to teach the method, but I think it is very important in our context and working with the African cultures that we have the backing of the organization of STS and can state we are representing and teaching their material. It will give our workshops the credibility of STS’s reputation as it has been tried and tested for a years and has proven to be a very strong tool for teaching God’s Word. That is our plan for here in Lesotho. We are planning a two day workshop the middle of October in the mountains where I live.

Our East Africa Director is coming to South Africa, to speak at Lausanne in Cape Town. He will come to Lesotho first for our workshop and to do vision casting. He will also be able to check us off on a few more things. By the first part of next year we would like to have another workshop but a two/three day one. I will keep you informed about how those plans come along.

I just wanted to share with you and Dorothy how grateful we are for your prayers and support for these two conferences and for our work here in Lesotho.  I am so sure STS is meant to sweep the mountains and bring the “gift of the wonderful truths of the Gospel” to many rural villages where many people don’t read, can’t afford a Bible, or don’t want to read to come to know Jesus through His stories and God’s plan for them.  

I can’t thank you enough for what you do for those who can’t read His Word for themselves and depend on us to tell them. I feel God telling us to get back to His Word and depend on the Holy Spirit to bring It alive and active into the hearts and minds of those listening and discussing.

Mamotsoane and Sefiri both were great and are going to be great leaders and co-leaders. We all still have a lot to learn, but are committed to continue. They too are so grateful for all of your help. 

All for His Glory!

Jayne

What I Wrote My Supporters:

“I have talked before about using Simply The Story style of storytelling with the herd boys in telling them God’s story starting in Genesis. I have had the blessing of attending several workshops to learn and then teach this method of sharing the gospel. 

“We found that STS was originally created for those who were either non-literate or semi-literates, but it has become a tool to use for all who are wanting to learn about God. We have been certified now to have our own trainings in Lesotho, and we are making plans now to translate all the material into Sesotho. It is so very important to tell the Bible stories and to teach the STS method in a person’s heart language. 
“It is exciting to see what treasures people are finding for themselves from telling a Bible story and asking thought provoking questions that lead to discussion of what God is saying to us. And it is exciting to see where God is leading us to use His stories the way He taught in revealing His truths. 

“This method can be done anywhere because the only thing needed is one Bible for the storyteller to learn the story. Even where we don’t have Bibles available, we are praying for a supply of audio solar powered MP3 players with the Bible recorded. Those who can’t read can listen and learn the stories and then go out and tell them to others. 

“If you would like to be involved in providing these players, please write to me and I will tell you how you can do that. It feels as though God is saying ‘Get back to my Word and depend on the Holy Spirit to use it as the double edged sword that it is to cut to heart and soul.’”

Jayne Wilkins

If you would like more information about how STS is being used by Jayne or this area of ministry, please contact us and we will forward your request.

Stories Slip Behind Locked Doors and Into Locked Hearts

I just had the opportunity to go to a youth prison for the third year in a row. On the previous visits I had told a story. These youth are tough, mostly gang members. The answer to this one question is important to me ... “What is the long-term effect of these stories on the young men?"

This return trip offered an opportunity to see how God might answer my prayer to know if the story style of ministering to these hard core youths was making any impact.  

Just before going to the group of about 15 youths who would hear my story this time, the host took me with him as he stopped at a different area of this lock-up facility. This host is part of a group that ministers weekly to these juvenile offenders. A young man “Jack,’ I will call him, was going to be released the next day. This prisoner and the host wanted to meet to say “goodbye” to each other. As we approached, Jack looked at me and said, “Hey, I remember you.”

We three sat down to talk and I began to ask some questions. I wanted to know what Jack remembered from the storytelling the year before, and perhaps find out if the story had any long range impact. So I asked him, if he remembered what I had talked about. He said, “You told a story,” Then, before I could ask if he remembered what story I told, Jack started to retell the story of Genesis 35:1-5. Then he said, “That story kept me thinking about what idols might be in my life that I'm still hiding.”

I was astounded. 

AM, USA

A day after this prison letter came to us, a note from India arrived. An Indian pastor who uses STS Bible storytelling wrote … “In recent past, I had been invited to speak to teens in a Youth Camp. In the middle of my discourse, I asked, ‘How many of you know the ‘Ten Commandments by heart?’

”There were many teens present, but not a single person could raise hand. Almost all these teens have come from Christian homes and some whose parents are active in ministry. I was surprised to witness blank response!

“After the message, I discussed with the coordinator and expressed my regret to him. We can’t simply blame the children; the reason for lack of understanding of God’s word in present day youth is due to lack of effective Christian parenting at homes as well as us in ministry. I thank God for Simply The Story which teaches us how to keep God’s WORD in our heart pocket …”

[Notice the contrast in the church kids, believers who could not remember the Ten Commandments and this teenage believer who as a prisoner a year later was still remembering and being affected by the story he heard one time!]

But What Did They Remember?

Modavador G’s use of stories to minister in a particular high security prison was a new experience for him. But after only three times of ministering there, something significant occurred. 

A fourth visit to this prison was a time of celebrating the upcoming release of three Christian inmates. After various chaplains preached to 90 inmates, three soon-to-be-released inmates came forward to give their goodbye testimonies. These prisoners had been ministered to for years by chaplains and visiting speakers. 

The first inmate told this. “God showed me stuff in the Martha/Mary story that is going with me to the outside.” (Then he shared specifically the parts in the story that impacted him.) 

The next prisoner testified, “That glass of oil story helped me and I will never forget it.” (The inmate then told the part in the Elisha story that touched him, about God's care for the widow.) 

The last man shared this. “That King David story was about me.” 
Testimony as told to us by Modavador G SC, USA 

After all the years of preaching and teaching that Christians had given these prisoners, in their good bye testimonies, three for three, mentioned the impact specific Bible stories had had on them.  These inmates even remembered the story content and ways the stories had impacted them.

Contact us if you would like to connect directly with Modavador G on the use of story for evangelism and discipleship with inmates, or on his Holy Hip Hop, Spoken Word version of God's Story: From Creation to Eternity.

Open Doors at African Prisons

In 2018 our leaders in East Africa started doing STS workshops in a prison. After a number of workshops, they planted six Oral Bible Schools for the inmates inside the prison. Four of the the OBS cohorts graduated before the Covid pandemic, but two were stopped due to lockdowns when the pandemic struck.  
  
By the time the lockdowns were lifted, some of the students who had graduated from the prison's OBS had been transferred to another prison. They contacted our leaders through some friendly prison guards. Since then, we have had 2 STS workshops in that prison. Three Oral Bible Schools were started in the new prison at the end of March 2023. What's more, eleven other prisons have opened their doors for our leaders to conduct STS workshops and plant Oral Bible Schools. 

The transformation among the inmates who have attended the STS workshops and Oral Bible Schools is evident. One inmate, after hearing the story of the leper (Mark 1:40-45), gave his life to Jesus. He testified how he had been running away from God. He said that just as the leper disobeyed the Lord who had healed him, God had blessed him with life, but he had continued to be disobedient. This disobedience is what put him in prison. From that point, his life changed. 

In a nearby country our leaders are just getting started with the prisons there. One leader met with the commissioner general of the prison service. The commission has now opened the doors for our team to begin training chaplains. 

Truly God is at work in the prisons across East Africa! 

Reframing Conversations with Teens

This testimony comes from one of our key leaders.

My wife was more the one who used STS inside the family. With my travel schedule as an instructor she was the one more steadily at home. She used it to practise her own stories and, whenever she would be learning or working on a new one she would practise with one or other of the (three) teens in our household. It made for a rescue of table conversations, which had a tendency to descend into all sorts of rubbish, and we could have non-preachy ways to get our teens into the Word, and deeply as a result.

Youth Get Fully Engaged

A youth pastor from Michigan called us shortly after a workshop at his church. "I went home from the workshop and that Sunday, I did a story, one I had done in the workshop. We had some new high schoolers come and it was very unusual. Usually when new youth come to church, they do not participate. It takes awhile. But these new ones joined in -- in fact everyone was involved. It was lively!"

"We are doing a youth retreat in a few weeks and I plan to use STS story style of teaching there. This STS is really useful for youth.

"I hope to receive more training in the future so that I can effectively train others."   
  
R. MI, USA

Going Slower Digging Deeper

"I have really enjoyed learning Simply The Story. It has really impacted my life in a huge way.   
  
"Through the stories, God has taught me several important lessons that I know He has been trying to show me for a long time. I discovered these truths by working slowly through the story instead of reading it rapidly like I had done previously. And, since I did this on my own without any outside teaching or assistance, it was such a mental breakthrough for me. I discovered that God really can teach me things through His Word, and I've become re-excited about having devotions.   
  
"I also enjoy STS because it is conducive to all ages. As a teenager, I am sometimes turned off by lectures or seminars. But I have found that STS is a great way to share the gospel through conversational, everyday language that engages everyone.   
  
"I am so glad that God brought STS into my life, and I hope to continue using it with those I meet."  
Workshop attendee, Age 17 GA, USA