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From Terra Nova with Love!
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Unfiltered Hope
There is not much I adore more than being able to catch up with kindred spirits online. Last night was one of those times. I sat on the floor in my bedroom—no electricity—practicing my labor exercises. And I looked to the screen on my phone to see April sitting in her office at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of her Friday morning.

“The first week of school looked fabulous on Instagram,” she said.

“So, what was it REALLY like…you know, the unfiltered version?” She knew from spending just 6 days with our team in January that the reality was different…harder…grittier than the still images captured by the genius of my sister’s glorious photographs.

The unfiltered version involved one too many 15 hour days, battles of tape and bulletin boards and lesson plans. Then, there are the lingering worries of starting a new school year…the parents who have sent their kids away to villages unable to pay for school fees. There’s the ache of not getting to say goodbye to children we’ve known and loved for years, worrying about where they’re sleeping, if they’re eating, and if they remember how precious they are. There’s the lingering fear that, like last year, we’ll once again be faced with a 5th grade pregnancy or a 3rd grade sexual assault case. We cross our hearts in hope that this won’t be a year we lose one of our students living with HIV and that we won’t have to hold one of our students as they lose a parent or their last living guardian to something stupid like Malaria or untreated Cancer. We wait. We pray. We hope.

But it’s the hope that seems the only thing worth hanging onto as we march into our third week of classes. And that’s what my sister’s photographs capture so clearly. Our students don’t always have the luxury of ignoring the difficult and crunchy reality of their lives, but for a few hours a day they come to a place that invites them to hope for something better—God’s goodness for their lives. We’ve grown weary of the global coverage of this continent. African images so predictably showcase poverty, starvation, and utter despair, but that’s not the whole story. There’s hope here too, brightness, and a vibrance of life and community I’ve known in no other place. There’s the hard work of sewing seeds for a brighter future. I work with teachers everyday who tend to that sacred work. And in a few of the photos you might see on our Instagram you can almost see the hope and glory and goodness happening here…almost. If only the filter was a bit brighter, a bit more vivid, a touch more glorious. If only they made a filter for that.
That’s My Class
To celebrate our fifth new school year, we’ve introduced a brand new way to give to the work of Terra Nova Academy. “That’s My Class” is our new partnership program that gives you the chance to support a specific class at our school. You’ll get updates, photos, and news from your class. You can support your class through the year or support their education until they graduate. When you go to www.thatsmyclass.info you can meet each class, choose a class to support, see exactly how much it costs to fully fund your class for the year, and sign up to give. We’re looking for 25 new partners to give $50 a month or $600 for the 2017 school year. 2017, here we grow! If you’re already giving monthly and want to select your class, consider going to www.thatsmyclass.info  and transfer your monthly PayPal gift to the class of your choice. If you’d prefer to stay with PayPal but still want to select your class, no problem! Look over each profile, and let us know which class you want your donation linked to for 2017. We’ll make sure you get connected as soon as possible. Send us an email with your name, phone number, physical address, and the class you’ve chosen to tnauganda@gmail.com.

If you know someone who might be looking for ways to give in 2017 share “That’s My Class” with them, and let’s fully fund each of our six classes at Terra Nova Academy. Here we grow!

      
 
For Those Who Pray…
  • We’re preparing for a visit from a group of 6 educators from Alabama at the end of May. These incredible practitioners will be hosting a week of professional learning for our team. Pray for them as they plan, pack, and prepare for collaborating with our teachers and team. Remember them by name: Carol, Rebecca, Emily, Ann Elizabeth, Cindy, and Amy. We’re so grateful for their generosity and leadership in this first ever week of teacher school!
  • Our family will add a new addition next month, and we can hardly wait! Please pray with us for good timing in this delivery. Usual traffic time to get to the hospital is over an hour. Pray for a smooth and peaceful labor process. Pray for Micaiah and Malina as they prepare to become big sisters to a new baby. Remember Alisha’s mother as well. Sarah will be traveling to Uganda in March to be with the family during the first weeks of becoming a family of five. We’re out growing our car and praying for God’s timing and provision to be able to purchase a vehicle for our growing crew.
  • We keep the 25 needed partners on our hearts and minds as we seek to fully fund our ever growing school. Pray with us for God to stir hearts and connect people to the work happening here in Uganda.
  • We give thanks for the 122 registered students in 2017! We ask for wisdom and guidance as we pour into their lives, loving them, and teaching them about the best love of all—God’s love!
 
Check out this new Terra Nova Intro video that our sister, Alana Damron, recently made to share with Crosspoint Community Church in Missoula, Montana.
Copyright © 2017 Terra Nova Uganda, All rights reserved.


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