A Day Inside FNC Academy

Steven Okello has just rung the 10:30 breakfast/break bell.  I know it was Steven because he has been chosen this year to be FNC Academy’s official timekeeper, and because I just saw him smile at me as he entered the administration block.  Another bell just rang.  This one came from our upper side, the new addition, which holds our little ones, from day care to 1^st grade.  The children have just 15 minutes before class resumes.  So it’s serious business, with little time to waste!   

The day continues to run, and run it does.  Diana is busy collecting the attendance sheets from each classroom, Michael is finishing a math lesson for grade 4, and I’m over hearing Solomon as he teaches geography.  Winnie has one of our larger classes with 21 students.  Her voice is tender but commanding.  She’s instructing language class to our 2^nd graders.  

Earlier this morning, I was walking through our upper facility, admiring our staff and the care they give to the little ones.  Teacher Jordan, Vicky and Momma Joshua were all singing with our day care students, while Barbara and Dorothy were taking their Pre-K classes on a small field trip to check on the beans they had planted just a few weeks back.  The class managed to also learn about the color green today, by observing our small mango tree in the lower compound.  Oh, and all 4 cooks were busy…very busy, as they do their level best to keep almost 190 people satisfied through out the day. 

Mid-day is vastly approaching; our African sun is in full force.  It rained the whole day yesterday and we are grateful for both.  I often wonder how we got to this place…or how this place found us, this place of peace that continues to bring Hope in a world of unknowns, full of fear and doubt.  But we press on, leaning on one another, ever hopeful that our King continues to remain on His throne.  It's good to be home.   

Thank you to the most recent team from the US that poured their hearts out to us here.  Cindy, Elyse, Jordan, Terri, and leader Ben, you all were such a blessing. And to Wyatt for sticking around with me for an extra few weeks, you’ve got a real gift with kids my friend.       

One week remains until I rejoin my family stateside. Wendy and I and the girls return back here in Uganda on May 30th.  With a home rented and transport in place, all that is remaining is the final works on our visas and work permits, and of course a lot of goodbyes.  One never looks forward to those.  But every goodbye follows a new hello, or maybe for us, some old ones, which is comforting.  I'm not sure how long this next chapter will be or where it will take us, only God knows.  Dad's always said, "We'll go until we can't go no more, we'll sail the ship until we can't sail no more."  It's been a great ride thus far, full of sunny bright days and storms that question your own sanity.  But our Anchor holds firm and our Compass remains true, to lend a hand in a work that God began from His.