Inspiring Change, ONE life at a Time....
This is the story of Opio Jotham. He was a young kid in our Character Training Program every Saturday in the Banda Acholi Quarters. He is now a Doctor and is looking forward to eventually joining Place of Refuge Village as our full-time doctor once we have a clinic.
KIK Saturday Programme:
This was one of the unforgettable memories of my early childhood due to the life changing short lessons I learnt each Saturday we heard KIK.
As a young boy living at home with both parents, I had no serious schedule for my Saturday because I had no weekend lessons.
We were summoned one Saturday morning to attend a programme which was organized by a "mzungu" and I attended not knowing it would be the most remarkable behavior change and mental development programme for me personally.
The teachings were both scriptural and behavioral. Mummy Tomi Mills always cam with a group of people who taught us firt gospel songs which we enjoyed singing together and this organized and prepared us for the lesson of the day. Our memory was boasted by giving gifts for anyone who gave a recap of the previous Saturday lesson and personally I always endeavored not to miss out on the gifts so I always took short notes secretly to win myself a gift, which were mostly sweets.
We shared topics like the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:21-22), the full armour of God (Eph 6:10), and many other lessons which indeed gave us a very good foundation for Christian growth.
Personally, I was appointed to be among the children leader which directly made me learn responsibility, time keeping and I became more serious with the lessons with a mind of becoming serious with God.
Every Saturday we got half cakes after every lesson which motivated me to always attend and those who came late were not let in so everyone endeavored to make it early. As leaders we got a chance of visiting the beach one time which made us feel special and became more committed.
In summary, there are a lot of unforgettable good life transforming memories and lessons about KIK Programs.
On behalf of all the children who attended KIK, great thanks and blessings to Mummy Tomi, family and all the individuals who always made it possible for us to benefit. I bless God for you.
Yours lovely,
Opio Jotham
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Life in Uganda can be, in a word, challenging. From the basic things that a developing country lacks such as clean, running water and electricity to the emotional hardships of a high death rate and racial divides; the calling must remain selfless and Christ centered. In our 15 year stint in Uganda, thus far, there have been moments of, are we really making a difference?
You see, transformation, REAL lasting, impactful, generational transformation takes the one thing that cannot be rushed, the one thing that resists shortcuts and the easy path, it requires TIME. 95% of change will revert back to its original form if there is not a constant reminder that it is worth moving forward. We live in a society, especially in America, of instant gratification. We get a dopamine hit every time someone "LIKEs" a photo and we thrive on the motivational encouragements to "change your life NOW". Sure sometimes, God works in an instant miraculous moment, but more often, He is more concerned with the condition of our hearts. The lessons we need to learn and the character we have to build requires challenging, frustrating, hopeful, patient, day-by-day change.
We get it, the waiting is not glamorous, but it is incredibly necessary. We learn to traverse the ups and downs of this messy and beautiful life. We often stumble and make mistakes; we remain hopeful for a time until we cannot do it alone, and then someone comes along side of us and remind us, that God is faithful. They remind us that our heart is worth fighting for, that we are made worthy and through these seasons we are being molded and set apart as an example to others. As time passes we hardly notice a difference until we stop and just for a moment look back to where we started. It is then that we realize we have come so far we cannot even see the starting line. Every choice we have made has led us to this moment.
And this moment is a good time to remind all of our faithful supporters that lives are being changed.
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