Our Oldest Son, Kakuba, John

As we introduce you to our family, I thought I would start with our oldest son, Kakuba, John. I chose to start with him because he will not be with us much longer as he is going away to school in Kampala next month. Kakuba was one of the first members of Ebenezer family, coming to New hope in 1996 at the age of 7 years old. He initially lived in a dorm type setting until Ebenezer family was formed, then moved in to the family group. Although his father died before he came to New Hope, his mother is still alive as well as several siblings. His mother lives nearby and he regularly goes to help her. He has a plot of land near his mother's house that he inherited that he takes care of, planting various crops and caring for them.

Kakuba plans to study electrical engineering in school with an emphasis on repairing small appliances. After a two year electrical engineering degree, he plans to work and put himself through an additional two years of school to get an equivalent of a high school diploma. This is important for him to do as it will open up more job opportunities.

Kakuba says it is exciting to go away to school, yet a little scary too. He is moving from a rural setting to the country's largest city. He desires to make Godly friends and continue to follow God in the midst of much ungodliness in the city. There is also a lot theft in Kampala, and new people are often taken advantage of. He would appreciate your prayers for God's protection of his heart, mind and possessions! He was encouraged to find a room to rent across the street from a large, active church and has already gone and spoken with the leadership about how he can be involved. We praise God for arranging his housing so close to the church.

The family will miss Kakuba. As the oldest member, he is a leader in the family and is much loved. Recently I was down in the family when Kakuba returned from an absence of several days. It was neat to see how excited everyone was to see him. I was sitting reading to one of the youngest members, five year old William. When he saw Kakuba, he jumped up yelling "Kakuba, Kakuba!" and about fell down trying to run to him to hug him. It was then I realized the quality of Kakuba character