God in our Midst- Part 1

Books for Bundi

"If you want to move mountains tomorrow, you must start by lifting stones today..." 

One area that we have really seen God move before our eyes is through this ministry that our teammate Alanna Jones has taken under her wings to bring to fruition. Books for Bundi has long been a dream of many past missionaries to Bundibugyo, most being moms like myself who have a passion for children's literature and what it can do in the creative development of a child. Alanna, who is also the RMS Preschool teacher, has been the perfect person to take this ministry on, as she too has a love for books, for learning, and for seeing children blossom through imagination.

The idea behind Books for Bundi was to provide a safe space where children in the community could come to engage in and enjoy quality literature that stimulated creative thinking, imaginative play, and endless possibilities about what life could afford. In reality, though, it is so much more than this. It is a gateway for these kids, channeling them from a rural part of Western Uganda, where often their life destinies are determined at the time they are born, to the rest of the world, which is like an open road of endless opportunities. Books for Bundi is a library, yes, but more like a Magic School Bus experience, where adventure is guaranteed to happen every time the doors are opened.  It is a place where students can come and practice their reading, get help with spelling, pronunciation, and comprehension. It is a place where the Gospel is presented, where books are read with excitement and enthusiasm, and where children can engage on their own in a quiet nook with words on a page and brightly colored illustrations. In one word, it is HOPE...for a better future, a better life, a better understanding of the infinite character of our loving Creator.

Presently, the Books for Bundi doors are open three afternoons each week, with each day specifically geared to a different age group and reading level. Over 2,500 books have already been donated, and the community kids are gobbling them up at lightning speed. It is such a joy to bring Lucy up there some afternoons or to just pop my head in and see the action unfold. I can just about visualize the "imagination bubbles" floating over each kids' head as they are absorbed in imagination and wonder. 

Another perk for me is that finally I have a "library" to take my kids to on a regular basis!! This was definitely a past-time of mine when we were in the States, and something I have desperately missed since being here. Now that the books are on the shelves, I can just pop on over there with the kids at any time, sit them down on the rug, and engage them in their own little world of imagination. Lucy is at the age where she can self-read (ie look at the pictures and imagine the storyline), and Olive has been absorbed with the alphabet on the wall and learning her colors. And, I actually sat down with another mom on our team recently, while our kids played on the floor, and had a REAL conversation, y'all. For, like, an hour!!!! It really, really, really has been an agent of God's mercy in our life.

Thank you, former BundiMoms, for having this dream...

Thank you Cilla Crane and many in the Nashville community who contributed the majority of books...

Thank you, Rachel, for helping interpret and love the children of Nyahuka as Jesus loves them,

and thank you, Alanna Jane, for carrying this dream to fruition. 

Your blood, sweat, tears, and passion for this place do not go unnoticed. 

I am blessed beyond measure to be the recipient of such a gift, and I know the kids in our community would agree!

*PS- If you feel lead to donate towards this ministry, click HERE.