Demystifying the Computer in Africa

Several years before my parents and I were introduced to Rashid Luswa, he set down his vision for a Christian school that would offer a high caliber, competitive education. There is no shortage of schools in Uganda, but excellent, competitive schools are hard to come by and Rashid knew this. He did not just want a school that survived. Rashid envisioned a school that would allow students to accomplish this visionary, God centered mission,

"Bethel Covenant High School would therefore be envisioned as a place of rest for the weary soul, a place where worshiping and glorifying the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would take preeminence, and a place where young people would be helped to develop their God given potential... The school's mission: To develop men (students) into the most honorable and responsible citizens, by equipping them with the highest standard of practical education, by God's Grace (Rashid Luswa http://www.ugandamission.net/orphan/bethel/bethel.html)."

In order to attain this standard of education , Rashid knew that computers would have to be an integral part of Bethel's system, so in his proposal he included plans for a computer lab.

"Though we are living in the IT age, yet in many ways, Africa is still in the subsistence, pred-industrial age. The computer still mesmerizes many as the "wise machine." At Bethel Covenant High School we intend to install a great leap forward by introducing a computer lab with sixty computers (one per ten students), as well as introducing students to the Internet (Rashid Luswa http://www.ugandamission.net/orphan/bethel/bethel.html)

Halfway around the world, my dad was reading Rashid's vision on the internet, and the Holy Spirit began growing the seeds of a grand project in my dad's mind. My dad had met Rashid in July 2005 while visiting me in Uganda, and Rashid's perseverance, vision, and energy had left quite an impression on him. When he returned home, he did what we all do when we want more information on a person, he googled Rashid and ran across the proposal and vision for Bethel Covenant. One year after his first introduction to Rashid, my dad and mom had the great privilege and joy of being the channels of God's grace to Rashid by gifting him with several laptop computers and a server that are the humble yet significant beginnings of Bethel's first computer network/lab.

Many obstacles were overcome in the installation of this lab. To name a few: unreliable electricity due to mandatory, government regulated blackouts, several broken but fixable computers, time consuming construction on the room housing the new computers, the usual cross-cultural miscommunications, and human error and sin nature ;) Overcoming these obstacles just made it more evident that the success of this project was entirely due to the Lord's grace and mercy. If it was easy, we wouldn't have learned some of the great lessons about God's faithfulness that we did. But it wasn't all about overcoming obstacles. We were also overwhelmed by God's grace to us in the form of a $2,000 server that was donated in addition to several other generous donations/discounts given to us by kind supporters. I have no profound words to express my thoughts about God's goodness in all this, so I leave it to the great Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs to say it for me:

"We never consider that God can open the eyes of the blind with clay and spittle, he can work above, beyond, and even contrary to means. He often makes the fairest flowers of man's endeavours to wither and brings improbable things to pass, in order thatthe glory of the undertaking may be given to himself (The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment pg. 24)."

So we are thankful for the success of the first phase of the computer lab., and we are content with what was accomplished but we are also looking ahead to the future. The computers are there, and the students have access to many texts and programs that were previously unavailabe to them, but we are praying to expand the impact of the computer lab. An integral part of the vision, is that the computers would become a tool that would help the students in their understanding of the Bible and consequently their relationship with the Lord. We are praying about obtaining a good inductive Bible study program that would help not only the students, but also the staff in their understanding of God's word. Secondly, Bethel still does not have internet access, and the high cost of internet in Africa would be a heavy drain on Bethel's already limited resources. Finally, there is still alot more training of the staff that needs to be done. Right now, my parents are praying about a return trip later this year, so that they can spend time doing intensive training and brainstorming with the staff. My dad would also be very interested in taking more people with him on his return trip, so if you have any technological skills and a love for the Lord please contact me through this blog and I'll put you in touch with him. Also take the time to check out his website which has a lot of pictures of the new computer lab. www.oldendays.us/africa.

Home

We are back in the United States! I hesitated to write that we're "home", because God has begun to refine my definition of what home is. The popular saying goes that "Home is where the heart is." When I'm in California, my heart is yearning to be in Uganda, and when I'm in Uganda, there are time that my heart longs for nothing more than the security and normalcy of my home in the U.S. It is a constant tension and battle of learning that contentment is not dictated by circumstances or location. One morning in Uganda I had an epiphany about home and contentment, thanks to the host at our guest house, Dr. Henry Krabbendam. He was delivering his usual morning monologue (everything even his jokes end up in some sort of pointed, convicting sermon, he always leaves you with food for thought) when he made a statement that resulted in the light coming on over my head. "Christ is the only comfort zone we are allowed to have." Dr. K. delivered many other poignant quotable quotes during my time with him, but this one in particular has been hammering away at my "tortured soul" for the past week and a half. In essence, this quote has become the theme of my time in Uganda, and this one statement has been starting a revolution in my mind which I pray carries over into my actions. While God has gifted me with a wonderful, secure home here in California, that is not my ultimate security or refuge. If God took that security away, I would still have a home, and it is one more solid and real than any physical structure or geographical location that I may refer to as "home." So if home is where the heart is, then my true home is in the person of Christ.

This is just one many ongoing lessons from my time in Uganda, and I look forward to sharing more of them with you as I continue to debrief from the trip. In addition, I'm also very excited to start posting pictures and more in length descriptions of some of the projects we were able to be a part of while we were there. For the next blog, look forward to a summary and pictures of the computer lab. that my parents were able to set up at Bethel Covenant College. My hope is that these blogs will inspire some of you and give you food for thought about how God can use your particular skills, gifts, and talents in places like Uganda or here at home. I know that many of you have great ideas concerning ministry projects in Africa and around the world, so please feel free to interact with these blogs and start brainstorming about the possibilities. Who knows, maybe this blog will be the beginning of creating a missions team for next summer...