Uganda

Claire Amico

Jinja, Uganda

In the spring of 2016, I was teaching seventh grade math in Culpeper, VA when I began to feel a heightened interest and tug on my heart for ministry abroad. Over the next six months, I continued to pray about this desire God had laid on me, and in November, I began exploring online to see what was available. In February of 2017, I saw that Amazima Ministries had opened a position for a Math teacher at the Amazima Staff Children’s School - a school for children of the missionaries who serve with Amazima Ministries in Jinja, Uganda. I applied. The next few months were a blur of back-and-forth with Amazima, seeking counsel from trusted Christian friends and pastors, conversations with my parents, and eventually, accepting the position as the Math Teacher at The Amazima Staff Children’s School!

 Over the years, my position and role within Amazima has changed. In fall of 2019, I was serving as the Principal of what was now called The Amazima Expat School, which still served the role of providing a high-quality education for the children of the missionary families who came to serve in Uganda with Amazima Ministries. With the fluctuating numbers of families who were serving in one of Amazima's departments year-to-year, the Expat School was becoming more challenging to sustain. So we opened up conversations with a ministry nearby (Good Shepherd's Fold) that, amongst the many ways their ministry serves, had a more established, small international school that was open to serving the missionary families within the larger Jinja community. We decided to move towards joining our school with theirs.

 Currently, I have the privilege of continuing to serve with Amazima Ministries by teaching at Good Shepherd's Fold International School. I no longer teach solely the children of Amazima missionaries but children of missionaries for a variety of organizations in the area. This allows the families we serve to continue to serve in the calling God has for them in the Jinja area, knowing that their children are being cared for and receiving an education that will equip them for whatever God has planned for them after high school. While my role changes year-to-year, I am currently teaching three math classes, a literature class, a typing elective, and serving as the HR Coordinator for our school. There have been many challenges over the past 4.5 years, but through it all, God's faithfulness, kindness, and goodness has been incredibly evident in both my life and the lives of those around me.

 Please pray for our school as we disciple and teach these students! Our students are facing the same challenges that kids and teens are facing in the U.S., but they are facing them in a culture that is not their own and with an ever-changing community surrounding them. To be able to walk alongside my students as they navigate this is simultaneously my greatest joy and what most often brings me to my knees.

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