Decisions

School starts in less than two weeks and already prospective students are dropping by. Yesterday a young woman came by to see if she could come back to school. She left nearly two years ago halfway through with her O-level studies and halfway through her pregnancy. She’s been by several times over the course of the last year with her little boy. He’s a happy, smiley, well-cared for little guy. Her grandmother is willing to keep him while she finishes her last two years of school with us. Will we take her back? She was one of our sponsored orphan students. A bright, beautiful girl with no father to pay her school fees. Will we continue to fund her education? I have to admit her appearance gives me pause. She has always dressed a bit seductively and yesterday was no different. She’s somewhat desperate, and not very humble. She’s thin. My American eyes forget that’s a sign of poverty and not affluence. If we refuse admission, what are her chances? How do we balance her needs with the impact she could have on our staff, on the other students. Will she be an example to them of what not to do? Will she encourage them that "playing sex" is not so bad after all? How concerned should we be about our staff? Is she actively looking for a husband? Yet, aren’t we Christ’s school, a place for discipleship and changed lives? For grace and mercy? As with many of our decisions here, the right choice is neither apparent nor easy. We’ll trust our Ugandan leadership team to come to a consensus about her application for admission. We’ll pray. And we’ll struggle yet again (in our arrogance) to balance the feeling that we are the answer to everyone’s problems with the overwhelming feeling that we can help no one.