Snowball Fights Ugandan Style

It was great entertainment watching the nursery children in Kibaale collecting piles of cut grass on the playing field and throwing them like snowballs at each other today!  It doesn’t take much to entertain them and they make the most of opportunities to create their own fun :)

Student Teachers and Open Doors

Today in Kibaale the new dining hall was put to good use by the upper primary classes as they were practicing their English skills and getting ready for the end of year exams.

Teachers are working together to creatively find ways to engage the students in teaching each other, and it was great to find one student confidently presenting his own lesson to his fellow students. 

It was also encouraging to see the secondary school hosting a “geography workshop” for 3 other schools in the area.  It is an effective way to collaborate with other schools and help our own students review what they have learned.  Teachers and students come together to discuss the topics they have been studying and help each other prepare for the government exams that begin in October.  This kind of networking is part of our vision to be a model school and a ministry outside of our own immediate community. 

Visit from Kyambogo University Students

On Sunday we were pleased to have a group of students from Kyambogo University (near Kampala) visit the Timothy Girls’ High School and lead the chapel service for our girls (and some of our workers who also attend).  This visit was organised by Julius, one of our Kibaale School alumni who is now in his second year of studies at the university and who has been very involved in student leadership positions there.  

Julius calls Karl and I his “parents”, as he has no family of his own because he was orphaned several years ago when he was a student in primary school.  He lived with us when we first moved to Masaka to help start the Timothy Centre,  helping with security at our house and doing some of the landscaping work with Karl as the TC site was being developed.  He worked hard to earn some money for university expenses, and gained the respect of the older men he worked with-- and was instrumental in leading them to Christ.  When he went to university he was very excited to have the opportunity to study business education and this past semester he did his student teaching at a high school near our centre.  He was so well liked and respected by the students that some of the regular staff members asked him to assist them with their classes when they had difficulty with certain concepts.  A few weeks ago he was representing Kyambogo University at an East African student leadership conference in Entebbe and we were surprised to find him at the conference that was hosted in the hotel we stayed in that night! 
So when we heard Julius was bringing a team of students to minister to our Timothy girls we made sure we were here to hear them share in chapel….and Karl was asked to meet with the Kyambogo students later in the afternoon to talk about the importance of servant leadership. 

It is so encouraging to see students like Julius so passionate about living as a Christian with integrity and focus, and making the most of the opportunities he has to help others wherever God places him.

“Home-coming”!

Yesterday we were very happy to welcome Ken and Carina back “home” to Uganda with their family!  When Ken and Carina last lived in Uganda over ten years ago, they worked with the PAOS team in Kibaale.  We have great memories of the early days and God’s faithfulness in helping to get the work established there.

Now Ken has returned to serve as the field director over the PAOS work in Uganda (Kibaale Community Centre and Timothy Centre). Carina will be working with the Timothy Girls’ High School staff, and assisting where possible in the child sponsorship office in Kibaale.  This time round, they have their three young girls with them, so homeschooling will be a new adventure as well.  It is wonderful to have our good friends back here living as neighbours at the Timothy Centre.  Welcome home!!

Stocking up on groceries in the city before the big trip to Masaka

Reconnecting with Evacy, our TGHS headmistress, who was a colleague years ago in Kibaale

We are also glad to have Alicia and Kristin, two Pacific Academy alumni who are completing university degrees back in Canada, join us for 3 months to help with the homeschooling of the Canadian staff children here. 

 Time for planning the way ahead for the projects here!

Rainy Season Creatures

When the rains begin each rainy season, we see a plethora of interesting creatures which seem to come out of hiding somewhere.  Each morning there is something greeting us at the door.  Entomologists would have a great time here!

 

 

 

We wonder what will show up tomorrow morning!

We also have the “all-season” insects that add to the great beauty of this place.

Back to School for Timothy Girls

It is good to see the students at Timothy Girls’ High School back on site this week, as they begin their last term for this school year.  They were busy studying, writing exams, and doing experiments in the chemistry lab.  Nothing like starting off with a bang!

  

Teachers were busy planning for the term and making sure everything is ready to go…

 

…and the cooks were back in their stations.  One of the comments we often get is how nutritious and tasty the food is our school—not a usual comment for a boarding school!

And Rita, our receptionist had a ready smile for everyone.

Welcome back to school, girls!

Staff Development Week at Timothy Girls’ High School

School opens again on Monday for Term 3 at Timothy Girls’ High School! The staff are back this week from their holiday break and are taking part in the staff development sessions that take place at the beginning of each term.  Our headmistress, Evacy, is doing a great job of leading the staff in learning how to apply the Christian worldview to all areas of the educational endeavour.  Much of this she learned through her years of teaching in our ‘sister school’ in Kibaale and in her training at Uganda Christian University.  She has also been a very active participant in the many workshops offered through the Christian Schools Association (Uganda).  Well done, Evacy!