Thank you for joining us as we share our latest update of our time in Kigumba, Uganda. Below are a journal, article mentioned in journal, and four pics
Picture explanations:
SkySteve’s Arm (explained in journal)
Sky
KCMCS Students
Team arrival in Kuala Lumpur (Dr. Pei Li, Dr. Evelyn Biles, and Brother Lau)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Our updates for the work and ministry of Global Mosaic International are sent to more than 250 of our friends, support partners, previous team volunteers, and of course family.
One of our goals in communication is to maintain transparency and honesty as we share our journey with you. We want you to feel as if you are standing beside our team. A difficulty in creating a picture is the uniqueness of our work. Currently, most of our efforts are directed toward a small group of eager students in Kigumba, Uganda.
We are partnering with them to continue the development and accreditation of a school of counseling – Kigumba Christian Mosaic Counseling School or KCMCS. The story of this dream has been shared in our previous reports.
Our most recent time in Uganda was from May 24 to September 6. Aside from teaching two 3-credit hour courses to the BAs and one 3-credit hour Diploma course and three 1-credit hour diploma courses, your generosity helped us supply the school with
7 months’ rent of office Projector 2 foldable tables 20 stackable chairs 2-drawer metal cabinet Whiteboard Internet to office
I had promised to send pictures upon returning here to Kuala Lumpur with the more “oomph” Internet. However, the uniqueness that I mentioned above is that the primary scenes are of students in class and planning sessions with locals and team members. No buildings being put up, no lines of people waiting for food or medical assistance, no water wells being dug, no evangelistic crusades, no typical photo-ops. To keep our promise, I will attach a few pictures of the beautiful skies, engaged students, and a hairy arm (our Instagram followers have already seen).
We are not discouraged or broken, well maybe a bit discouraged. All four of us, Evelyn, Dr. Pei Li, and Brother Lau, and myself left Kigumba with a sense of joy and appreciation for the students and leaders in the school. They are facing a tough road ahead. A road with many turns, twists, and obstacles. Some will be easy to navigate. Some will be impossible at this time and place. We have the line in the sand or dirt which we need to define and redefine. How much do we give and how much do we expect. Culturally, we have differences in the setting of priorities based on the horse and cart scenario. Pray with us that we from outside Uganda and those we serve will be able to understand each other and keep our dialogue and expectations aligned. I am attaching an essay which addresses the concepts of fix, help, and serve. It is a well written commentary on our own dilemma.
I will share two specific stories, not related to our GMI work, but of the people we met on our travels in the third world. At the Entebbe airport there was a group of around 30 young women in line for the same flight we were on to Addis Ababa. They were all attired with the Muslim head covering or hijab. Pei Li struck up a conversation with them and discovered that they were Christian. All of them were headed to Saudi Arabia for three-year work contracts. This is a typical story of opportunity for third world country citizens. A big sacrifice personally with possible traumatic outcomes. The risk is worth taking, however. These young women would be earning $750.00 USD each month. I am sure most of their earnings would go to their families in Uganda where the annual income number is around $1,500.00. We pray that all of them will have positive experiences.
Our seatmate on our flight from Addis Ababa to Kuala Lumpur was a 35-year-old Muslim woman from Yemen. She is trained as an attorney but because she is an unmarried woman and faced with never ending war, she was headed to Kuala Lumpur to study English in hopes of finding employment with an international agency. We exchanged contact info and will connect with her here in Kuala Lumpur. She chose Malaysia because it is a Muslim country with an international community. She must have some means because she is renting an apartment already.
Let me explain the one picture of my arm. The kids we greeted each day on the paths and roads were absolutely fascinated with my body hair. No one in their life has this addition. They love to feel and, mostly gently, pull. The glee on their faces when they can rub it is joyful.
In keeping with our transparency and honesty we will share one bit of discouragement. In our minds I completely understand, but emotionally there is some wonder. We send out updates to around 250 as noted earlier. We receive acknowledgement from around 25. We do have likes and comments from our Instagram gang. All these updates are posted to the website and Instagram goes out to the Facebook. We have made some appeals for funding needs and greatly appreciate each person who has stood beside us with their gifts. Bottom line, we want to share our story with all of you. A humble request: It would be greatly encouraging to hear from more of you.
We plan to return to Kigumba in December to offer a 6-credit hour course over 2 weeks. We now have a team of six. Will keep you posted.
Steve, for Global Mosaic International.
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