Written by Erin Gammill

It has been an amazing few weeks here in East Africa. This summer, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help implement the program Students Living a Mission, or SLAM, here in Uganda. It’s pretty special to have been part of the very first SLAM service week taking place in East Africa. I loved being behind the scenes and doing tasks to bring organization to the event, like assisting at registration. I also got to cheer on the students as part of the hype crew for their evening worship and Bible study sessions. I even got to use my healthcare knowledge to care for people feeling under the weather and people with minor scrapes and cuts. The most beautiful part of the week that made all of our service and efforts worthwhile, was the testimonies that came out of the SLAM students.

Many of these students had traveled from all over Uganda to come to our campus, some as long as eight hours by bus. They spent their days serving at a local school, clinic, and widow’s homes. Then, they would share meals, worship, and study God’s word after. Their service opportunities provided venues to concretize things they’d learned from Mr. Garner’s teaching. By the end of the week, they were testifying to the lessons they’d learned in Bible study sessions. Many of them talked about how they realized they can serve those in their communities with the skills God has already given them. They said now they know they can serve even when they don’t have a lot of money. What a powerful thing for youth living in such difficult circumstances to say! They also testified about a lesson Mr. Garner taught from the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. Mr. Garner taught that Jesus was referring to people like the SLAM students when he talked about the good soil: those who have been broken up by the incredible challenges of a life of poverty, but are humble and ready to receive God’s word (the seed). Their words, and the freedom and joy they spoke them with, brought me to tears. I truly believe many of them will return home to their communities and make a difference serving those in need around them. These youth are the future of their villages, and they’ll get to set an example of servant leadership for everyone watching them. They’ve been empowered to do the work, instead of feeling like they have to wait on outsiders with more power or money to bring change. 

Putting on this SLAM service camp and hearing the testimonies of these students was particularly impactful for me because it reminded me so much of my own experiences going to SLAM as a young person. SLAM changed my life and put me on a path to serve God. There’s something so striking and life changing about hearing the Bible being taught and then going to live it out right after. The reason I decided to study the Bible at a collegiate level is because of my times at SLAM. I hope the same will be true for many of these students. I saw them come alive in the short time they were here with us on our campus in Uganda. I know so much more fruit can come out of them if they decide to follow Jesus, serve, and study the Bible full time. 

Another purpose of the SLAM week we did this summer was to train our SLAM East Africa leadership on how to implement these service camps in their towns and villages across Kenya and Uganda. I was surprised at how capable I’ve become when it comes to putting on events like a SLAM service camp. I’ve been a participant or a volunteer with SLAM for seven years of my life now, and I’ve learned so much more than I realized through those years. I was so pleased to pass on that knowledge to our SLAM leaders here in East Africa. It was challenging at times to contextualize SLAM service camps in a new culture, but I felt prepared to do so from the community development classes I’ve taken at the Institute for GOD. It was wonderful to work with the SLAM EA Leaders and to see them take on the responsibility of creating these opportunities for youth. I’m so excited to see all of the benefits that will come out of these service camps as they continue to happen across East Africa. 

Post SLAM events, our group split up. Most of the team went to visit a new job creation venture of our ministry here in Uganda, while a few of us stayed back on campus. I’ve been helping organize our campus in Uganda alongside some of my other immersion teammates and the children of our cooperatives. We’ve been cooking and eating meals together, cleaning, and enjoying each other’s company with games like Uno and volleyball. I have loved getting to build up our friendships and share moments together, even though we’re doing things that may seem mundane or boring to an onlooker. God’s presence has helped us to make every moment intentional. We’ve been getting to know each other through meaningful conversation, and laughing together in the lighter moments. We even had a movie night last night where we drank chai, had biscuits, and ate popcorn. Though I met all of these kids last year, I feel like I have a much deeper connection with each of them now as a result of the last few days. I’m getting a better sense of their personalities as we’ve spent time in a much smaller group. Prior to the past three days, we had a team of at least eighty people on campus, making it tougher to really get to know them. The best part of spending time with them is getting to see the fruit of God’s word coming out of them. These kids study at the Academy for GOD online, and they clearly love God. I trust them to follow in the example of their parents and grow up to serve the Lord.