Day 3: Yesu Akwa Gala

Hello

            Yesu akwa gala means Jesus loves you, in the Luganda language.  I learned that today while forming a band with my new friend Peter.  Peter is our driver for the week, and he is one of the most joyful people I have ever met.  Today was in fact very joyful.  It was our first day at Rock of Ages School.  What a blessing to finally see our dreams become a reality.  At the end of the day, it was very fitting that our host, Jeff, emphasized that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Today was a joyful day.

Children cram into the door of a classroom

          Rock of Ages was not like I expected it to be.  There is hope there. A lot of hope.  Rock of Ages is located in the village of Mbiko.  The reputation of Mbiko is that it is rife with prostitution, which leaves a lot of children but not a lot of parenting.  However, the students at Rock of Ages are full of joy and learning.  God is doing a great work at this school.  The Lord is using this school as a light of His love.  A light to shine in a dark place.
             Rock of Ages was founded by Betty Wasswa.  When she gave us a testimony yesterday, Betty said that she started the school with a shaky hope. On her first day, in 2007, Betty walked through the village of Mbiko and tried to recruit students by talking to the local parents.  At the end of the first day, she had one student.  She nearly gave up, but her husband, Abdu, encouraged her to continue.  Praise God that she did persevere, because now the Lord has grown the school to have one-hundred and forty-four students.  The biggest struggle for the school now is that it is growing very quickly, and they do not have enough land or buildings to hold the expansion of new grades.  Currently, Rock of Ages teaches three preschool classes and first through third grade.  The hope is to teach through eighth grade.  This will require new land and facilities.

Jen administers a physical exam

            When we visited Rock of Ages today, we did a few things but mostly got our bearings.  Jen did physicals for two of the classes. Michelle and Karla worked on some name-glitter crafts with all of the classes.  Everyone spent time in the classrooms, and everyone saw joy in the children's faces. Tomorrow, we plan to finish the physicals and visit some of the children's families.
            After the school day, we returned to the Jinja house, and we were blessed by some time socializing with our driver, Peter.  Peter taught me a Ugandan worship song, and he helped "write" a new song with me.  Later in the evening, Peter told us the story of how he and his wife became married.  It was a very moving testimony of sacrificial love, commitment, and the redeeming hope of Jesus Christ.
            It truely was a day to remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Even when the darkness is thick all around us, we still have the joyous strength of God in us.  Jesus has won victory over the darkness.  Jesus continues to make that victory known every day.  We see Christ's victory in Peter's testimony, and we see Christ's victory at the Rock of Ages school.  Today was a joyful day.

God's peace,

Mark Tatham