FNC ACADEMY: ABOUT TKW & FNC

So What is The Kissing Well???

The Kissing Well originally was created to be a purposeful non-profit outlet for a company that I used to work for. TNT Communications, now owned and operated by my folks, were giving monthly donations to all sorts of non-profits. Along with supporting other non-profits, TNT gave to my personal mission work of Uganda, Haiti and India. Many trips and the supplies for those missions were funded by TNT. After some time and reflection we felt we wanted to be more intentional about what we were giving to and how we were giving it. So we (Mom, Dad and I) decided to create our own non-profit. After a year of paper work and the generous time of our attorney, The Kissing Well was born.

So how did we land on the name "The Kissing Well?" For me, it infuses my two favorite stories in the New Testament, John 4 (the woman at the well) and Luke 15 (the story of the loving father, or better known as the story of the prodigal son). The grace and mercy that is shown to both the woman and the younger son is marvelous. These two characters without question didn't deserve their outcome. But because of the great love of Jesus and the Father, both are given a second chance. I am a product of a second chance. I am grateful I serve a God of second chances.

Today, The Kissing Well serves as the primary engine for FNC.

So What is FNC???

FNC, exists to bring hope to the hopeless to the people of Kampala, Uganda. The FNC Base Camp is strategically located in one of the cities largest slums called Kamwokya. If you are to ever visit FNC, you will know that God purposely planted us in the middle of a war zone for the souls of this community. We are surrounded with extreme poverty, Muslim schools and Mosques, and most of all fatherless children.

FNC at it's conception, was an acronym for Friday Night Church. We took a shot gun approach at our area God had called us to providing several platforms of ministry which included: "The Fire Place" (a once a month corporate worship gathering for the entire community), Bible Studies for both men and women, "World Changers", (our teens ministry) which still goes on today, and Joy Club, an after school program geared toward the little ones. All of these were going well, but the one area we saw the most traction in was Joy Club. The numbers began with 67 on the first week, then climbed above 500 after just 6 short months. We knew God was trying to get our attention, for what, we really didn't know. Until a little girl named Christine decided to take a step of faith and write my wife Wendy a small note...

What all of us didn't know, and probably not even Christine herself, was what God was about ready to unleash...It was shortly after reading this note, FNC Academy was birthed. Like most endeavors, our beginnings were humbling; learning mostly as we went. But with our eyes on Jesus, He made it happen. Day by day it became less of a dream and more of a reality. Today, FNC Academy has more than 160 students, Pre-K through 6th grade, and employs more than 32 full time Ugandans. As FNC has evolved, we had to let go to most of our other platforms of ministry. It takes everything you've got to make a school run properly, especially in a developing country. And our name and logo, well, that has taken on a whole new meaning as well. FNC, formally known as "Friday Night Church", now stands for "Faithfully Nurturing Children." And have you ever looked at our FNC logo closely? Do you see the child, his/her head, feet, arched back, kneeling down? Do you see her, do you see him? And that small star, it's in the perfect position of a child's heart. Yes, God wanted for each child that walked into FNC's gates, to walk out with a changed heart, a star! This logo was created by a special girl named Hope. And can you believe our entire mission statement "Hope to the Hopeless" has her name in it TWICE! Hope was one of our very first worship leaders for the FNC band. FNC was never supposed to be about children, it was OUR plan to be a ministry that reached out to adults period. Children were never really on the radar, much less a school...but God had a different view, a different plan, and even was trying to tell us in this logo which had no intentions of revealing a child inside.

So How is FNC Bringing Hope to the Hopeless???

At FNC (Faithfully Nurturing Children), we believe in a Hope that is ever inclusive and ever wholistic. So we've come up with what we call our 5 pillars of Hope.

1. Spiritual Hope: Teaching and demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ
2. Emotional Hope: Creating an environment and platform for each student to feel loved
3. Physical Hope: Providing meals, uniforms, shoes, and all the items required for a child
4. Educational Hope: Providing an affordable and international/Christ centered education
5. Financial Hope: Helping our students and families learn the value of stewardship

We believe each one of these pillars are crucial, and if any of them is left out, wholistic Hope crumbles.

1. "FNC ACADEMY"

The Academy is FNC's primary source of ministry. The curriculum we offer is international/Christian based, which provides the best opportunity for our students to excel. Extra curricular's are also among what is offered, such as Soccer, Basketball, Music, Art, Reading/Writing clubs etc. Our school year begins mid January and ends first of December, using 10 week quarters, with two weeks of break in between. This type of schedule allows our students and staff to have adequate breaks, while maintaining comprehension from quarter to quarter and from year to year. In addition, our long break during the Holiday season allows our students to

return to their villages for a time with their extended family.

The first 23 students and staff of FNC ACADEMY

FNC Academy 2017

2. "TEAM VISITS"

At FNC, we value team! A large part of our team resides on the other side of the globe. From time to time, (and that time seems to be more frequent now and WE LOVE IT!) teams from the US travel to our humble community to help us serve our children. We see it as a win/win/win...FNC wins, The team wins, and God ultimately wins. Encouragement is key in any ministry. Teams do that for us, and we hope to instill a bit of it in them. Below is a video that shows how one of our teams came and served us here. Thank you so much to all of you that have come, and for those that are coming...you never know, God might just put you on the next one. We look forward to welcoming you!