I have always been an amateur counselor, perhaps those are the worst kinds. I listen sympathetically to friends and sometimes I offer them something helpful in response. Mostly I am willing to share my journey with others, especially the painful and disgraceful parts. The parts that remind us that we are not alone in our disappointments and failures. Perhaps sharing my short comings has been the most significant part of my journey this far.

Over this last year we came to the realization that counseling is a huge need at Christ School. We played around with the idea of discipleship for selected staff members, of trauama counseling for significantly needy students. We looked at many interesting books. And we heard loud and clear from staff and students that any discipline improvements should contain a clear counseling component as well as the necessary rules and punishments.

We’ve been praying about all this and now we see God beginning to move. Our ten probationary students are beginning counseling with individuals on the leadership team, new students are signing up for counseling all the time. Now we need to do some staff training and bring in some reinforcements.

Enter Eunice, an amazing Ugandan Christian lady who has the peaceful and beautiful countenance of one who has been satisfied at His table. She has agreed to move to Bundibugyo to serve as a full time counselor to both boys and girls at this school. The third in a line of interviewees, Eunice came at the perfect time. She has no educational background in counseling, but she has a firm grasp on grace and an equal appreciation for the need of law. As I have begun to see ever more clearly, grace without the context of law is just permissiveness and doesn’t do a soul any good.

I was reminded of the need, watching staff on duty this week “discipline” students at preps, meal lines and class times has been the observation of an endless litany of criticism and judgment. When I watch how we are breaking down these children it hurts my heart. I don’t want to rush in with my own criticisms of these teachers, but I hurt to see how we are handling heart issues with behavioral focuses ONLY and a lot of shame and guilt.

This week I will start a Mentoring 101 course with one of our staff ladies. Last week I started counseling with the thumb-sucking gal. We begin a study of the book Resiliant Parenting with our staff this week to talk about counseling, discipleship, the place for punishment and restoration. And I will introduce a new format for one-on-one counseling questions to a staff who often, like me, just criticize and give advice.

Here’s how The Message put what we’re looking for here.
“You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy it’s results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other and treating each other with dignity and honor.” = James 3:18, The Message

Would you pray it into being here?

And we have asked God to provide the needed funding to counsel at least one full time counselor this year. We have made an informal agreement with Eunice but are looking for the finances to finalize a contract. A counselor is not a luxury in a school where nearly 50% of our students have lost at least one close family members, where the school is located directly next to a former IDP camp where many students grew up, where the number of AIDS orphans grows all the time. The total financial costs for one counselor is about $185/month including salary and feeding. We are praying that God will provide the need.