March 29, 2021

CASP Bible School on Wheels Commencement

It is my great pleasure as the president of Beacon of Hope International to congratulate all the graduating students from the Bible School on Wheels class for their 2019-2020 achievement. 

I further wish to recognize and honor all the dignitaries present today who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to participate in this celebration.  The Honorable Lord Bishop of Central Busoga Diocese, Rt Rev. Patrick & Mrs Wakula, the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development who is representing the Honorable Speaker of Parliament (The Rt. Hon Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga), the Local Parliamentary representative (Hon. Milton Muwuma), the Governor of Iganga District (Mr. Patrick Kayemba), the Mayor of Iganga (Mr. David Balaba), The Representative of the Canada Africa School Project (CASP), Pastor Moses Lyagoba.  Finally, I want to recognize and thank Rev. Michael & Mrs Cindy Maddy who were the initiators of this program in Uganda in 2018.  

It should come as no surprise to any of the participants of this gathering that you are all present at this celebration today because of a carefully orchestrated plan by God.

Please follow the thread of this beautifully woven story with me. About four or five years ago in consultation with many African Pastors, Pastor Bruce Wilkinson and his team at Teach Every Nation (TEN) realized the need for seminary quality training, so that pastors can receive training for their ministry right where they work. This needed to be done without great expense to the trainees and without them leaving their families and congregations for extended periods of time to achieve their training. Pastor Bruce and the team at TEN went away and created the BSOW program to serve this purpose.  

It was also no coincidence that in September of 2018, shortly after my last visit to Uganda and Zambia, I attended a presentation in Irvine, California where Pastor Bruce Wilkinson was making a presentation about his new Bible School on Wheels curriculum.  At about the same time I was introduced to Mike and Cindy through a mutual friend who met Mike at another conference.  I learned that God was stirring the heart of Mike and Cindy to come to Uganda. I Informed Mike about the Bible School on Wheels curriculum. Mike investigated BSOW, found it to be an excellent solution, raised funds, purchased, and shipped thirty-nine kits to Uganda, in preparation for Mike and Cindy’s mission trip. While Mike and Pastor Moses were recruiting student pastors to enroll, the government announced their plan to ensure that churches may only be led by leaders who have formalized seminary training. What a beautiful picture of God’s plan perfectly orchestrated and perfectly timed for his purposes.

The graduating students represented here today are only about one third of the pastors who are in training using BSOW. There are several hundred more in districts across Uganda also being trained.  It is our prayer that between all the parties involved we can find a way to acquire the training kits to enable the trainee pastors to continue on and complete year two and three of the BSOW studies. 

Following the disruption all experienced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we are all looking forward to the opportunity of being able to get back to the other programs that we have been involved in since 2011.  These include the Smart Choices AIDS prevention program, Discipleship program, Vacation Bible School, and Sonogram Scans for pregnant women at the rural clinics.  This past year has been an extremely challenging time for everyone, but it is our prayer that God has awakened in his church a refreshed desire to be more intentional in our service to Him and to serve the most needy and vulnerable members of our society.  

Thank you to everyone present whose presence has made this such a special occasion.

Sincerely,

Glynn Smith

President of Beacon of Hope