Our Guest of Honour was an old friend of ours The Hon. Justice John L OSIEMO. He is one of those whose children were among those who actually founded the school way back in the '80s. He himself was also Guest of Honour in 1984, thirty years ago, before any of the current School buildings had been built. It was especially a great pleasure to have him,and his wife,with us for a 2nd occasion, and to note that the Lord had walked with him and his family in the interim, advancing and prospering him and his family. Initially John Osiemo had trained as Teacher, but later on he turned to the Law. At the time of his first visit to us in 1984 he held the post of Senior Resident Magistrate for the District. He soon was promoted to the Bench and became a High Court Judge. He is now retired, but remains respected and well known. He lives not far from us, and his children, once students with us, are now grown up and making their own way in different professions, and in faith toward God. The Judge is photographed here prior to presenting School Prizes. Below and to the left he and his wife are seen signing our Visitors Book in the Director's Office. I am including the text of his address here below.
'STUDENTS, teachers and parents, it gives me great pleasure to be in this School addressing this gathering. Thirty years ago I was a parent in this School, and I left a very proud parent because my children, who were among the pioneers of this School, who all performed exceptionally well, and are now successful in various disciplines.
To those students who will receive Prizes today, I would say Thank-you, for you have made your parents proud. In order to succeed in life, you must have the following - Ambition, Determination, and above all Persistence. Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent alone will not - the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination must be ever with us. We all strive to succeed in life. But a successful person must have the following qualities - Being Virtuous he is free from anxiety, Being Wise he is free from perplexity, and Being Brave he is free from FEAR.
Every human being's ultimate aim in life is to be happy, but what is the way to happiness? It is to keep you heart free from Hate, your mind from Worry; to live simply, expect little and give much.
We all pray and ask God for a happy life, but God sometimes does not give us what we ask Him. We ask God for strength, and God gives us difficulties to make us strong. We ask God for wisdom, and
God gives us problems. God sometimes allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons we could not learn in any other way. We must ask God to grant us patience to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference. We must resolve to be tender to the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the struggling, and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometimes, in life, you will have been all these.
As human beings we make mistakes. In your journey of life you have made mistakes and you will make more. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life. No man ever became great except through making many great mistakes. No man consciously chooses evil because it IS evil; he only mistakes it for the happiness that he seeks. Rest assured that generally speaking others are acting in the same manner that you would under exactly the same circumstances - hence be kind and understanding when dealing with their failures.
We must be content with what we have. But what is the secret of contentment? The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach.
With God on our side we should not have too many problems.
God made you for a reason, and your life has profound meaning. We discover that meaning and purpose only when we make God the referee of our lives. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. Without God life has no purpose, and without purpose life has no meaning.
LASTLY you must make sure that you do not waste time, for time is infinitely more precious than money, and there is nothing common between them. You cannot tell how much time is left in the Bank of Life. Time is life! The secret of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. Take time to marvel at the wonders of life.
Before I conclude I would like to tell you a story given to me by a lady called Margaret Fisher, which I always enjoy reciting. It goes thus.
'ONE NIGHT I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord,
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of foot-prints in the sand.
One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before us,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
And I noticed that many times, along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that this happened at the lowest and saddest times of my life.
I questioned the Lord about it:
Lord you said that once I decided to follow you, You would walk with me all the way!
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times of my life
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, in times when I needed you most, you left my side.
The Lord replied
My precious child, I would never leave you during times of trial
and suffering. Where you see only one set of foot prints
it was when I carried you'
In your life you must have a 'draem', and once you have a 'dream' - with ambition, hard work and determination - you must persist until that dream becomes a reality. THEN you will be a successful man or woman .May God Bless you all.'
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The Day was blessed with good weather - a day of sunshine sandwiched between two days of heavy ran and and coldness. Parents turned out en-mass to support their children, and show interest, and generally I would say it was among the best Parent's Days the School has experienced. It was also the 45th Anniversary of the Founding of Testimony Faith Homes.
I am sorry this has arrived LATE. Our Server went down on Friday evening, and only returned this morning (Tuesday). I will hope to be back once, as usual, on Saturday. With our love to you all in Jesus
John and Esther & Daryl and Carol.
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