"to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faithin me." Acts 26:18
In honor of Rebecca's birthday (that occurred a month ago...oops!) we had a camp out. The girls planned and prepared and cooked and organized. The boys had great fun joining in the eating and fire tending part of things. We had hot dogs, chips, matoke, and of course...s'mores (Uganda style). Eric was away in Kampala, so all the oversight was left to me. But these kids make it easy (for all you mama's of small children...don't give up yet! You're about to enjoy some really great times ahead!).
All I did was confirm that they had everything (they did!)
And start the fire...
with gasoline...
let's just say, I really impressed the kids...
with a fire ball...
and we all still managed to keep all the hair on our heads!
It was great!
Throwing the matoke on to the fire...
My insta-fire...just add water..."girl scout water" as we used to call it.
After dinner, the girls hung out in the tend with cookies and apples and watched a movie together.
A few Sundays ago, we worshiped at the village church, Butaga Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Uganda.
This church is a struggling small church in the hills of Mt. Wanale.
A very small, but very precious group of believers.
One family wanted their son baptized. It was a blessing to see the father taking initiative during the baptism and wanting to hold his baby for it. (Often, baptism is seen as a "mother's thing" and the fathers won't come to the front apart from being asked)
After the service, one of the young ladies of the church, Doreen, age 14, gave a bit of her testimony. She comes from a Muslim family, but she herself is a Christian. Because of her faith, her family has not supported her very much. At the end of the video, she tells how the Muslim leaders have even told her that if her parents die, she shouldn't help to bury them. She is a spiritual orphan, but has found a family in Christ. We praise the Lord for her faith and joy in spite of her difficult life.
Last Saturday, Knox Theological Seminary celebrated another graduation. The students have worked so hard! What a joy to be able to recognize it! There were four types of awards given. One was for course work completed through Miami International Seminary (MINTS). The school also issued a certificate for those that had completed 10 hours of course work, an advanced certificate for those that had completed 20 hours of course work, and finally a full diploma for those that had completed the full curriculum consisting of 30 hours of course work.
This little guy came to join us during the festivities. We were all fascinated by his "leaf" on his tail...especially my little ones who patiently sat in the heat for four hours!
So many of the students that attend KTC have amazing stories or how they have struggled through school. One student in particular stood out this year, however. His name is Simon. He comes from a small village called Kaiti, 16 kilometers away from KTC, where he lives with his wife and 11 children. In the beginning he hardly knew English and his reading and writing weren't that strong either, so he struggled through the course work, but he never gave up. Over the course of 9 years, on and off (his actual course work took him 6 years), he biked to school in order to "study to show himself approved" (2 Timothy 2:15)!! His congregation loves him. They were so excited to see him graduate with a full diploma. They drove up in a cattle truck to show their support of him.
When his name was finally called (thankfully, alphabetically, he came last! haha!) there was quite a celebration! We are so thankful for Simon and his work in Kaiti! And rejoice with him that he is finished with school!
We praise God for all the work he is doing at KTC! God continues to bless the local churches and build his kingdom with well-trained men because of the work happening at Knox Theological College and for that, we are very, very thankful!
