On September 1st, 2008, we launched our second Island Leadership School in a small fishing village of 1,300 people identified as Ssenyondo (meaning “big hammer”). This “new” lakeshore location is on the island of Bunjako, just 25 miles and 1.5 hours by sea, and 68 miles and 3.5 hours by land (via land bridge through a large swamp) from our house in Entebbe.
A new intake of thirty students have entered into 16 weeks of intense Bible training covering a variety of subjects similar to classes you would expect at a typical Bible school in the United States. Bible Survey, Interpreting the Scriptures, and Foundations of Christian Doctrine are core classes taught primarily by our American staff (Brent), while Local Church, Leadership, Spirit-Filled Ministry, Evangelism, and Worship are covered by guest ministers who volunteer their expertise to impart Biblical knowledge to our eager pupils.
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Our agenda is intense, both in the content we’re attempting to cover, and with the great challenge of imparting so much to nearly illiterate elementary school dropouts who have an impoverished witchcraft worldview deeply implanted from childhood. Though our students hail from all over Uganda and Congo, all are fluent in the Luganda language and were taught basic English in elementary school, so we utilize an interpreter to instruct both in English and the Luganda language. We work hard each school season to translate more materials into Luganda (hiring a translator per page) and have them available to the students for their nominal school fee. That way each can go home with quality resources for further exploration and study and will be able to catch up on all they missed through slow writing skills.
We’ve set up this second mobile school so students can travel from all parts of the 10,000 acre island each morning (by foot or bicycle) and journey home each night in order that family life may not be disrupted. Because the program is only in session three days each week, doesn’t interfere with normally scheduled church meetings, and has a short life span of four months, these leaders are willing to put in the extreme effort for a season, adding Biblical studies to their already full life of raising families, working jobs, and overseeing ministries.
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We’ve hired two spectacular cooks to prepare breakfast and lunch each day, giving our group of 40 equal shares of brain power and drowsiness. Our “faculty” includes Bro. Brent (Dean), Bro. Peter (Administrator), and one guest pastor/teacher each week with classes divided so as to cover all necessary topics.
Each leader-in-training pays in 20,000 Shillings for the course (around $12), and our ministry pitches in around $250 for each student. Catering for thirty students becomes rather expensive for us, but is most likely the only way any of these precious servants would ever have access to such a program and this quality of training.
In the first eight weeks we have seen drastic improvements in the lives of each student. The testimonies we are hearing inside and out of class are more than worth the temporal investment of time, money, and energy expended, and watching lights go on in heads and hearts and witnessing true repentance and the makingof real disciples is both amazing and rewarding. It’s been encouraging to see various individuals make contact with the Holy Spirit and then see tangible transformation in their lives. Marriages are being fixed, families put back together (or unrighteous polygamous ones split apart), illegal businesses are being converted, mindsets are being shifted, and the Spirit is daily dealing with life issues as we teach and pray.
It is humbling to be a part of the Church and watch the Master move in this forgotten place.
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