Empowering Ugandans
Empowering the Ugandan staff at the James Place is something that has shown me clearly how Jesus shows up in our lives.
Coming to Africa I thought I was the one that was going to be teaching the people here the important life lessons, but very quickly I learned that the roles were going to be reversed.
One of the things that I admire most about The James Place is how mainly every job is led by Ugandans, it’s not the interns that come in and run everything, and I think a lot of us (like me), before you see it with your own eyes, think well how does that work? Well I quickly learned how it worked after seeing how hard the women in the kitchen work everyday to feed at least 360+ kids, and I knew this was Jesus telling me, “you’re the one that is going to be learning something here” because Lord knows I have no idea how to prepare that much food in such a short amount of time.
Being able to spend time in the pre-school and in childcare has taught me the importance of patience. The patience that the teachers have with their students is inspiring. Proverbs 14:29 says, “Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.” Being able to observe and help the teachers in the preschool has shown me that having patience is a key quality when it comes to children’s education and I will constantly be reminded of this verse when I am working with the pre-school and childcare.
I pray every day that I will continue to see Jesus teaching me things through the relationships I have made with the Ugandan staff at the James place because I know the lessons I learn here will last me a lifetime.