Friday, April 15, 2011

A Friend for Life

See this beautiful girl right here?
Her name is Kelsea, and she is dear to my heart.
She shares my passion for Uganda, and her life reflects the love of Jesus.
God has given her a heart for teens and for teaching.
But the news that I've been so eagerly waiting to share with you is that Kelsea is also going to be serving as a missionary in Mbarara in the coming year!

I've mentioned before that the recurring theme I've seen in my life over the past few years has been God's faithfulness, and everything about my friendship with Kelsea exemplifies yet another story of God's provision and blessing. We met on our trip to Uganda in 2008 and have maintained a sweet friendship since then.

Although God has taken us on very different journeys over the past 3 years, He saw fit to grow our friendship, maintain our passions for Uganda, and open and close just the right doors to bring us to this point of shared ministry for the sake of His glory and advancement of the Kingdom.


She is a gifted writer and has a way with words, so you'll definitely want to check out and keep up with her blog http://www.aboundingbeauty.blogspot.com/

I have no doubt that God is not done surprising us and is about to take us on the journey of a lifetime! But there are few people that I would rather share this experience with than Kelsea.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The News I've Been Waiting For...

I had a very exciting week in regards to updates about my assignment in Mbarara, Uganda. I was able to get in contact with Dale Hollenbeck (the unit leader of our team in Mbarara) this week, and he has provided me with a wealth of information that answers many of my questions!
  • The language spoken in Mbarara is Runayankore. It is similar to Luganda which is a widely spoken language in Uganda. When I arrive, I will take a class on how to learn a language. It is a revised version of LAMP (Language Acquisition Made Practical) and will encourage me to spend a lot of time walking around the community practicing what I know. 
  • I will do a home stay in the village (I don't know for how long...) which will help me learn how people spend their day and live as a family. What a wonderful opportunity to gain a deeper understand of where my students will be coming from!
  • I will be joining the team that is serving in Mbarara. These people currently include: Kathy Hollenbeck who works with children in the neighborhood and home schools their 3 boys, a couple who work with university students, a man from Mississippi who works with the agriculture discipleship program, a couple who works with pastors and high school/college women, a woman from England who is helping the university set up its physiotherapy department, a man from England who works with high school students, and a man from Virginia who is an English and Literature teacher. I greatly look forward to meeting these people and joining them in serving the community in the name of Jesus.
  • 
    These are the faces and classrooms of my future!
    
  • I will be teaching at Ruharo Infants School! There are 9 other faculty members. The classes and their sizes are as follows: 4th Grade (or Primary grade 4, or simply P4)-10 students; P3 - 20; P2 - 23; P1 - 20; Top (which I think is Kindergarten)-36; Middle 30; Low; 26. The school day starts at 7:30 and finishes at 5pm. The staff is mostly Christian, but there is a lot of cultural Christianity there. Beth, the headmistress, is a strong Christian with a desire to see children come to Christ. What a joy and honor to be able to share my love for the Lord with my students!
  • The Hollenbeck's goals for me are threefold: Disciple the children, encourage other teachers to disciple the children, and eventually help the team strategically plan a way forward in primary education.


Ruharo Infants School
Please pray that these details would continue to fall into place; for these children, my future students; for financial support to continue to come in; and for the team, my future family, that is already serving in Mbarara.