It is October Already!
10/26/08
Dear Friends and Family,
"You have to work as a slave to be rich like a king."
The students made bricks for their school. It was a hard and dirty job, but we were still able to smile to the camera. Pray for them as they struggle to make more bricks so that the administration building could be finished and therefore the school could be registered before the Form 2 Exams next year.
This was on our school announcement board this week as students returned from their Mid-term break. Many of them walk many miles to return from their villages. I have had the opportunity to visit three of those villages by foot. It took about one hour and a half to reach each one. Students like Delitus, Tenim, and Maida and many others do make great sacrifices just so they could get an education. I have a deep respect and admiration for their willingness to carry bricks, make bricks, shovel sand and haul wood to burn the bricks. This is something we probably will never see our kids ever doing now just so they could get an education. It is hard for me, as the teacher who supervises the work of the students, to just watch them. Therefore, I decided to join in the work and discovered what backbreaking work making bricks would be. As I looked around the system that each group established, I decided to ask why Delitus is smiling even though he looked tired. He said with intensity in his eyes, "Because I'm getting an education." For Delitus, this is truly a second chance for him. He was actually on his way to Secondary School in 2000, when a terrible accident caused his older brother to lose a leg. This meant that he had to stop school. He is now 24 years old and has been walking from village to village, selling cloth materials by foot. He heard about Imauluma Secondary School, one of the VST schools from his aunt. It was a dream come true for him. In our schools (VST), it does not matter how old you are. To Delitus, this truly is a dream come true for him. Delitus is a bright and strong leader, who deserves this second chance. He currently is in the number one position in the Form 1 level.
When I exclude the little irritations or uncomfortable surroundings and focus on the broader perspective of my calling here, I truly see myself quite blessed to be able to teach in Africa. To see how students are sacrificing in so many different ways just so they can get an education. It truly is a humbling experience to witness. I cannot wait for next year when our students, the ones the school system left behind, appear as one of the top school finishers in our region. That would be the greatest underdog story ever!
To all of you praying and supporting me financially, this is what you have decided to invest in. Thank you for choosing to work alongside with this special ministry that I have the privilege to witness. As both presidential candidates said in their last debate, "We are living in tough times." From what I hear over the radio, people around the world are choosing to keep or pull out their investments, and other money savings because of the risks of losing it.
I am currently reading an insightful book entitled, "Letters from a Skeptic.” There is a section in the book I want to share with you. It is about the choices we make and how those choices can either influence the areas of our lives for good or for bad. It can go either way. So take this and apply it in your life somehow.
The more we choose something, the harder it is to choose otherwise, until our decisions finally solidify in us. The momentum of our character becomes unstoppable. We create our character with our decisions, and our character, in turn, exercises more and more influence on the decisions we make.
I love you all.
Striving to make wise choices,
Anthony
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