“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3: 5-6
Recently pastor Paul said, “The world is in total confusion, but Uganda is confused more.” Like so many places in the world right now, there is a lot of uncertainty in Uganda right now. People are not sure where to turn or what to do. Children long to be back in school and their caregivers don’t have any clear answers as to when that will happen. The Ugandan government is saying that schools are reopening and is now demanding school fees be paid in order for children to return to in-person learning, but there is a general feeling of mistrust surrounding this. Ugandans are worried that they will pay these fees and then schools will close once again. For many these fees take up a large amount of their income, ROWAN would have to pay $6,000 (USD) in fees to have all of its children return to school right now.
Pastor Paul is meeting with ROWAN staff to brainstorm ways in which the Learning Center can be used for help in continuing the education of ROWAN’s children. You may remember that thanks to last year’s Christmas campaign, we were able to purchase an educational curriculum and now have a staff of 4 teachers in our Learning Center. So, thanks to the generosity of so many of you, our ROWAN children will have access to education during this time of uncertainty.
As Pastor Paul says, “Gratitude is our foundation. COVID has pushed ROWAN outside of its walls, outside of its programs. What does ROWAN look like when we are outside our walls? We rely on God’s daily bread for our direction, inspiration, and provision. Our courage is expressed in surrender.”
We at ROWAN have so much to be grateful for – even in these uncertain times. We have not had a single member of the Ugandan ROWAN community test positive for COVID. We have supporters whose generosity and kindness have allowed us to meet the needs of our members throughout this pandemic. We have been on the receiving end of miracles and had so many answered prayers during this season of hardship. And we have seen the power of love in action. God is great. Prayers are heard. Hope is real.
All photos by Bob Ditty
