Land Title for our "Promised Land"

After three years of toil, and an incredible amount of patience and persistence, Restore Leadership Academy finally has it's land. John emerged from the Ministry of Lands office 1 week ago with title in hand, one of the only official land titles in Amuru District. Land is an incredibly difficult issue in Northern Uganda, and we've been able to greatly assist the district in building it's administrative infrastructure in order to get it done. It's a remarkable achievement, a tribute to John's steadfast resolve, and God's providence.

Upon returning to Gulu, we jumped on the bikes and headed to the future home of the school- it felt like entering the Promised Land. There's something about toiling at a task for three years, which makes it so meaningful to finally complete. It feels like relief.

Here's a video of John and I on that day, riding past our water well toward the future entrance of the school campus...almost all of the land you can see in the video is part of our 40 acres...

"Promised Land" from Blake Gaskill on Vimeo.

I can feel the page turning, see the fresh ink of this new chapter, the building of the school. You educators can smile with me, anticipating the ways this school will enrich the lives of children in this community for generations to come. This will be one of the few secondary schools in war-ravaged Amuru District, where the need is desperate: yesterday we had over 100 applicants for 30 spots in our freshman class. Restore Leadership Academy will be a launching point for so many amazing young people, the training ground for young men and women of virtue who will go on to write the future of Uganda.

It's been overwhelming how God's woven our stories together to bring us to this point, and He continues to call amazing people to join in this inspiring journey. It feels right, it feels like the time, and I'm ready to roll up my sleeves...