A journey of a thousand miles…starts with a leap.

The last five months have been a remarkable period. It has been one of those experiences in life that introduce you into a totally new realm, and a few months into the challenges and excitement you realize there is no going back to who you once were. Growth has happened, and growth is permanent. You have been stretched irreversibly. As the poet would say, ‘clay is not elastic’.

April this year was the beginning, when the national SLM (Student-Led movements) director requested me to consider leading the LEAP program. Having been part of a taskforce previously put up to think through the same program, I had a good grasp of the state of LEAP, and some ideas on how to improve it. This, plus a personal burden for ex-candidates (form-four leavers), led me to know God could be calling me to do this. I agreed to the request.

4 months later, last Saturday (30^th July) was the graduation for the first class of 2011. The fun and laughter as the graduants received their certificates gave and still gives us a myriad of reasons to praise God. He has worked in us to achieve more than we could have by our own strength. The joy in the faces of the parents who had attended the ceremony, queuing with their children for a plate of rice, mukimo and beef, was the best pat in the back the team and I have yet received.

(Below: The queues, and a better view of NIST, our venue for the event)

The road

We began the first two months by setting foundations for the actual program. We had a vision-casting day, explaining the vision of LEAP to a group of about 20 people, then followed it up with trainings on discipleship and the basics of mentorship, as regards leading the ex-candidates.

The trained mentors did decrease gradually. A few weeks into the program, we had about 9 volunteers who have now formed the core leadership team. The 9 have consistently given their time, money and hearts to the initiative. They run the meetings, organized for camp, hosted sleepovers, fasted and prayed, mentored the ex-candidates, cooked, offered their electronics…

I am privileged to lead such a team. 

(Below: The students)

 We’ve all experienced a lot of growth; both for the mentors, who formed my core discipleship group, and the mentees (LEAPers). We’ve learnt to trust God for good weather on the days we conducted out-door meetings, we’ve prayed for full attendance for our events, finances, and support.God has been consistently faithful to answering our prayers positively. Amazingly, all the volunteers in the team who joined us while trusting God for jobs have currently gotten either attachments or are employed.

I thank God for what He is doing amongst ex-candidates, and I am excited to anticipate what next year’s LEAP will look like. To God’s glory.