Never a Dull Moment.

How many missionaries does it take to lift a plane out of the mud?

15. 12 to do the lifting and pushing, 1 to watch the babies and 2 to take pictures!

Joseph and Louisa's comment for the afternoon was "What an amazing life we have!" With such unexpected events full of lot's of laughter and teamwork, I have to agree with them.

Aguma's Story-- Part 1

The day after Thanksgiving a friend and I walked to visit the home of one of our favorite students, Aguma Nicholas. He has just completed his O-Level exams after four years of serious study at CSB. It was a long trek for us, just over and hour each way. (Let's not even talk about how clumsy I was in crossing one of the small rivers that the road passes through!) As we sat outside his home looking at the mountains, he told us again of how he came to be at Christ School. his story had been published last year by our school paper. I have posted a portion of it here (as well as some photos) with his permission.

I was born in a poor Christian family of 12 people. During my studies in primary school, I was cracking stones and whenever I would fill a trip, I could expect some coins. I never had a dream of ever joining secondary school. My mother works only for something to fed us. When I was promoted to primary 7, I came to the market to buy a short trouser. I succeeded and bought the trouser for one thousand shillings (60 cents). After buying it, I heard rumours that there was a football (soccer) match going on at Kevin's school. I never knew its name... Christ School-Bundibugyo, neither did I know its location. "Hey, I am going at the match! Aren't you also going to watch?" A boy asked his friends as I was also listening to them from a distance. "Yes, let's go, I have my two hundred shillings (12 cents) here." The other one agreed. I was following them at a distance. I kept my eyes fixed. I could not have lost these boys for how could I find myself to the match? They slowly led me to a big gate that I had never seen before. I slowly moved towards the gate. I got two hundred shillings from my pocket. I entered the school and really I was green about everything I was seeing. "Hey, Yes! Today we are going to beat Bubandi by 10 goals!" Christ School students were bubbling English like nothing. If you never lived around this school, you could not tell that these girls were Babwesi (the local people). My mouth was wide open because of the way these girls talked. "Hey, you boy, why do you look so cowardly like that?" One of the girls asked me. What and how could I have responded to this girl? I never knew how to construct a sentence in English. I pretended not to have heard what she said, but the girl glued on me to an extent that I said, "Me is of the watching ball." Some of the people who were standing near started pointing their fingers at me, so I changed position. I went near the headmaster's house where these other different whites were watching the match. I looked at the headmaster's house and saw some of the wire lines on top of it and I was thinking why are those wires there? Oh Lord, why can't I join this school also? This was my prayer.

To Be Continued....

Aguma's Story-- Part 2

At the beginning of a new year 2003, I tried for sponsorship with the whites. I had written a small document and I walked with it in my hands. It had this information:

Dear______

I am Nick from Kabutabule, I don't have any one to pay for my school fees and so please I looking for some one to help this needy boy and pay for my school fees.

I tried a few people, but this failed. Then I specifically went to Madam JD. This one showed mercy and concern for me. One thing had almost made me also lose this chance. He was KC, the dog. Before I would enter, KC was barking to an extent that I got afraid and scared of him. I saw a man and through the spaces of the fence, I talked with him and he humbly led me to the madam. I still had my document in hand. This man went into the house to call for her and do you know what I was left with? KC the dog. He would jump off my head while salivating. He would lick my legs and pass in between them. But do you know the kind of person I was at this time? Half dead! I really fainted when I heard her say, "Tell him to wait a minute." I had heard that when this dog disturbs you, throw a pen at it and it then leaves you. I performed this ritual but the gods were not on my side. The dog did budge from me but it instead ate the pen on the spot. "What has been happening to you?" She asked me when she later appeared. She looked on the ground, she saw the pieces of my pen still there and she really felt sorry for me. "I have already received about bikumi bisatu (300) letters from orphans looking for sponsorship," she said, " If you pass from among the top ten pupils, I will take you" she added. "Please make sure that on Monday you have to appear here for the interviews." After hearing about the three hundred letters she had already received, I really despaired. I lost hope and everything I could think of was to start cultivating daily in my garden. Doing these interviews required one thousand shillings (60 cents). Getting this small amount of money was not an easy task for me. I walked the whole district looking for this money-- only one thousand shillings, but I nearly failed to get this money. It was my granny who helped me. On my way home, I kept touching in the pocket where the money was. I did not tell anyone about my journey. But it was obvious, no one even expected me to have a journey, I had no clothes, only a dotted shirt like a spotted goat and a black long trouser. I never wore sandals and whenever I would come across old thrown ones, I would treat them as if they were new shoes.

To Be Continued....

Aguma's Story-- Part 3

On Monday, the day for the interviews, it was 7:30 am when I arrived. Before reaching on the other side of the school campus, I thought that I was the first person to arrive at school. On reaching the veranda of the school, I did not believe what my eyes were seeing-- "Is it a market, here?" I asked myself. Do you think that I still had hope? No, it all went away from me. You would see others looking up with their lips moving up and down as if they were possessed by evil spirits trying to remember what they had read last night. I thought of going back and eating my one thousand shillings than wasting it in these interviews. On this day, we were told to come on Wednesday and check our results at the gate.

On Wednesday, I went to check. Do you know what? My name was the first on the list of those who were to be sponsored! How happy I was that I even failed to speak. My mother was happy too. She was too thrilled with words and it was as if the government had come to visit us.

At Christ School, I found fellowship. A teacher encouraged me as a young Christian. He became a good friend of mine and indeed helped me to grow. At first I was easily angered, for a slight thing I would fight. Girls were my enemies. I never wanted them to talk or touch my things. Then I went deep in the love that God had for us and how Jesus was humble until the time of his death for an individual like me. I left all these wrong behaviours. Later on I was elected as the fellowship leader in the school. Through the saving powers and the love of God, I gradually changed. Though I still live in a world of suffering, I know that I am the richest person because my father in heaven is the richest God in the whole globe. To him who is able to keep you from falling, and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence-- to the only God our saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might and authority, from all ages past and now, and for ever and ever. Amen.

By Aguma Nicholas, an excerpt from a work entitled "God Sees." Posted with permission.

A Time of Thanksgiving

Our children love Thanksgiving. The whole team gets together for a huge meal full of all kinds of special treats. Poems are read, songs sung, games are played and in general with bellies full of turkey and stuffing we are thankful together over another year of perseverance and blessing here in Bundibugyo.
Its a good break for Kev and I, happening as it does smack in the middle of both CSB end of year exams and the month long national O and A level exams. This year the most amazing thing happened, our deputy headmaster was appointed as the UNEB (Uganda National Examination Board) "in-charge" for our end of the district. This is a huge honor and responsibility. He is in charge of selecting and organizing the teachers that monitor the exams given at each testing center. He signs in and out each exam every day for each school. Most importantly, he sets the standard for what is acceptable locally and what is not. We are proud of his leadership and feel thankful to stand cheering from the sidelines as he exerts a positive influence over the long standing corruption and rampant malpractice that is common in this place during exam times. While it is likely that some cheating is still occurring, his leadership has blocked many such schemes and is setting a higher standard for next year and we hope for years to come.
We continue to be thankful for the talented group of Ugandan teachers that make up the heart of CSB. They pour their lives into our students, persevering in a place that is difficult. For them, as for us, CSB is more than a job. We are thankful for their calling.

The Food Spy- A Thanksgiving Poem

Sometimes on Thanksgiving
When I'm so hungry and shy
I sneak in the kitchen just like a spy.

I feast on a turkey and if you ask why
Its because I'm so hungry and shy.

I feast on a squash after its washed.

I gobble a pie and if you ask why
Its because I'm so hungry and shy.

By Joe

An Introduction of Sorts...

Nine years ago, Kevin and I moved from Durham, NC to establish a Christian secondary school in a remote corner of Western Uganda. What a journey it has been! By the Grace of God, 4 kids and 400 students later we are still here.

We were intrigued by the concept of this blog as a way to keep up with many of you who have made this school and this ministry possible. We hope the pictures and stories you find here will encourage and challenge you. Bundibugyo is a beautiful place. True, it is full of heartache and brokenness, yet it glimmers with potential in the hands of a future generation. It is towards this hope that we press.

As we chose a name (which is always fun) we wanted a word that would be something of ourselves and something of this place. In the local language of the people here the concept of teaching is translated as kwegesiya. So there you have it...