Today was our first full day and we hit the ground running! After a descent night’s sleep coupled with a belly full of the Neptune’s yummy breakfast, we were off to Bomani for the day. We started at the government school where we were shown the classrooms, offices and around the facility. Image having class sizes ranging anywhere from 50-100 students and not having enough desks for all the students. Fox River has graciously provided new desks in an attempt to create a better learning environment for the students who previously had to sit on the dirt floors. This year we had desks made for the teachers too. We were able to present them to the school this morning at the assembly that had for us. The children also citied poems and sang songs for us; which was very special. The level of talent and the passion for the arts here is incredible. It’s such a blessing to watch! One of our favorite parts of the morning was handing candy out to the children at the gate and to see their faces light up with such happiness. It touched my heart. From there we went down the road to our school in Bomani, you could hear the kids singing at the entrance before we even got to the school. To see the difference between the government school and the Fox River school is incredible. God has blessed us with the ability to give such an amazing experience to the children in our school. They prepared several lovely performances for us and it was great to watch the children pour out their hearts for us. After the performances, we were ready to have some hang out time with the kids and today we got just that! When the performances were over we had the opportunity to serve the kids by helping with hand washing, serving up the food or just hanging out with the ones waiting for their turn to eat. Ann’s kitchen staff prepared an amazing special meal for us. Let me tell you, it’s always my favorite meal of the whole trip!
We spent the afternoon playing games with the staff and hearing the history of the school. After breaking into small groups we had the opportunity to talk to the staff members about their responsibilities at the school. On the way home, we talked about the day and reflected upon what blessed us the most. The consensus was the relationship built between the staff members and the children. The time we spent with them will be remembered for a lifetime!
During our time at Bomani, Pastor Allan gave us some history of the land. Pastor Allen told us that before Fox River bought the land, a child was sacrificed here. What a tragic story. But now, this same land is now where people find life in Jesus! Praise the Lord! Pastor Guy talked about that statement tonight in our meeting when he challenged us to remember Jesus called us to come, serve, follow, obey and go. We are the branches and Jesus is the vine. If we abide in Him we will bear fruit. Pastor Guy challenged us to stay connected with Him as we are on this journey and remember that even when things don’t make sense to us now, Gods plan is perfect and if we abide in Him He will bless us more then we could have ever thought possible!
At the government school
The kids out side the gate at the government school
Handing out sweets!
The desks
Our Bomani kids
We had all the pastors do the slinky game!
My photographer assistant!