so, i do have time

so i actually haven't done anything today. at all. which is really odd. i've been at the skinnners all day and we have been taking things easy. the skinners are way cool (can't really say they are the coolest missionaries, but ya know...).

so, let me take a few minutes to talk about tony. he is incredible. i work with him. he is from rwanda. his family fled the country right before the genocide. both his parents died for aids and he went to live with his uncle who made him walk for kilometers to do trading and would often beat him. he still has the scars. one time he fought back and knocked his uncle out with a rock they used in a pestle. he started running and ran from 5 am till 6 pm when he got to mbarara. it was 60 miles. he went to his sister who lived there but she didn't want anything to do with him (he is the third youngest of 11). so he was out on the streets of mbarara for a while. then he found a white father (muzungu priest) to pay his school fees. he started school in rags with no food and the girl who was assigned to sit next to him cried when she found out she had to sit with him and wouldn't even talk to him. fastforward to now. he is a 30 year old farmer and compound guard with 2 kids and a wife. he also takes care his niece whose mother has aids. he can swim. he's a mechanic. he can take apart an entire engine and put it back together. he also knows how to weld. he has a vision to start a program for boys to learn practical skills they can use. like a trade school. university (college) is the highest good here. everyone wants to go even though only 10-15% of graduates get a job right out of university (sound like america?). he says that the trade skills are highly undervalued and the youth want to work but have no way to learn. he wants to sell the products and services the students produce to fund the program (business as missions. so awesome). i think it is an awesome idea. we are leaving now so must go. but there are tons of stories like this all over the place. everyone here has a history of pain and suffering. it is incredible to hear their stories and then see them say God is good. mukama asiiwe (praise God)