Introduction to the Devotional

“Throughout my time at Amazima, I had countless opportunities to listen to the gospel, but I didn’t take what I heard seriously,” Saazi, Class of 2024, recalls. “Ironically, I used to play drums during chapel.”

Saazi says that initially playing drums in the chapel had nothing to do with worshipping God and ushering people into God’s presence, but that he did it simply because he loved playing drums. “Despite feeling occasional pangs of conviction, I quickly pushed them aside, clinging to my skepticism that Christianity was nothing more than a myth, as I had been told all my life,” he says.

But then everything changed. After experiencing Amazima’s programs and discipleship opportunites, he eventually gave his life to Christ during his first year of secondary school.

“For someone like me,

who struggled with doubts, the daily devotions at Amazima were a game-changer,” he says. “I watched the mentors, teachers, and various leaders and came to the conclusion that they practiced what they preached. All these people made me realize, ‘If this is Christianity, then I want that,’ because they were great role models.”

Saazi’s life had been changed forever. “I encountered Christ at the exact moment He ordained, and that’s when everything changed. I was inspired primarily by the mentors who led devotions and authentically lived out their messages.”

Do you remember those first moments after you came to know Jesus? Where you were, who you were with, and the hindsight realization of how God had been pursuing you all along? For Saazi, it all came together during his daily devotions at The Amazima School.

Every Wednesday night, the Amazima secondary students (7th-12th grade) attend chapel in a building affectionately known as The Rock. It is here they get to worship God together and hear from gifted speakers about who God is and why that matters to our lives. From there, they have daily morning devotions with their housemates and their live-in family mentors. The devotions are tailored to the message they heard in chapel that week.

We have put together a collection of those devotions that have been studied by the 350+ secondary students throughout the past year. These are the actual lessons that they talked and learned through, each morning together as the sun was rising.

This collection is set up for studying one devotion per week for an entire year. Each week will include a topic, scripture, application, and an invitation for reflection. We have also included some joyful photography in this book–glimpses of daily life through our beautiful students, staff, and families.

Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel that allows these students to know God and experience His love. While these devotions were originally created for our students in Uganda, we are confident that there is something we can all learn from God’s Word, and especially when we take on a childlike faith. We hope you find both encouragement and challenge through these pages. We look forward to how God will work in each of our lives.