A Couple of Guys, a Big Idea, and Cement

by Bob Goff

I told you yesterday about a group of people who got an idea to build a school in the bush in Northern Uganda. A couple people packed up their things, moved to an empty field in Africa and started building. They were so busy thinking about the possibilities, they forgot about the obstacles. Jesus talked a lot about being misunderstood. He told His friends that people would think they were crazy to do what they did – but like these guys, they packed up their things and did it anyway. They went out two at a time as well. And all they really had was a big idea. No plan, no committee, no tools. It was just an idea about a big God, who came as a kid, who loves kids, and said we would learn a lot from kids if we’d make time and a place for them in our lives. These guys are making a place for 250 kids.

Check out this blog from Restore founder Bob Goff. It's an amazing process to build a new school and incredible how our team has been pushing through obstacles!

 Building Something out of Nothing

I was pretty proud of myself when I made a picture frame once. The reason I was proud is that I had to overcome quite a few obstacles to build it. First, it took me a while to find just the right wood. Then I went to Home Depot and bought an expensive circular saw to make a couple mitered cuts.  I had to buy some expensive wood glue and then even more expensive clamps to hold the pieces together. After a couple days and a whole bunch of money I was holding a crooked frame. Let me tell you about a couple guys who moved from the Pacific Northwest to Gulu, Uganda this year and are building an entire school campus – out of dirt! They figured out how to compress the clay in the dirt into blocks and have made state of the art buildings out in the bush. You won’t believe what a these guys have done to build a school for the 250 kids and 30 teachers at the Restore Academy in Northern Uganda.   It reminds me of the creation story in Genesis, but it’s even cooler in a way, because I know these guys.  Before they headed over they asked me what construction materials we had to work with and I told  them – dirt. They asked if there was water and I told them there wasn’t - so they dug a well.  They asked how much money they had to spend and I told them – not much. They asked how many trained construction people they would have to help them out and I told them – none.  Then they asked who would train the workers they found and I said – you.  So they asked when they had to finish the school construction by and I told them – February 2012. They looked at each other, looked back at me, crossed their arms and said with one voice …. “We’re in.” You’ve got to meet these secretly incredible guys from the Restore Academy in Uganda have done. They don’t know what an obstacle is.

Dear Friends, We graduated another wonderful group of 63 students from the Restore Leadership Academy. Can you believe it’s our third class to graduate already?

We are so proud of our students at Restore Leadership Academy. Check out these pictures!

Check out our preliminary site map for the new Restore Leadership Academy!  

Dear Friends: A few weeks ago I flew to Uganda to participate in a trial regarding a Trafficking in Persons case by the nation’s High Court.

     

Great news for coffee lovers and Restore International supporters!  Thanks to our new partnership with Project 7, people who love coffee can provide an education for kids in Africa!