A journey of 10,000,000 miles starts with one step………

A journey of a10,000,000 miles starts by………….?

I can strongly say the long journey for my life started from humble beginning. Humble to mean it started from nothing to something,

unknown to known and nobody to somebody. This journey just started immediately I was

born. Please join me as I walk you through my long, long journey that has not even reached

half way. I hope you will enjoy the walk.

our heavenly father put me under the custody of my earthly parents after giving birth to me in the last twenty five years ago as their 1st born. This tells you how much they were happy for their new born bouncing baby boy. Now comes the time for giving me a name. They decided to call me “BOLLY” . This is how am popularly called in the village. Believe you me I have never known the meaning of the name, may be my dad knows. My parents did not stop there, they rather went ahead and gave me a name that gives me identity not only at village level even at national and international levels. My official name is Livingstone Zachary Onduso. This is but my official name , feel free to call me “Bolly” because it reminds me many things in my life.

BIRTH AND NAMING…….

Birth was the first step of my journey. I pause and take a minute to thank my

mum for not aborting me so as I can live and tell the story to what God has done in my life. I hope you enjoyed the 1st part of

the journey. The following step is

schooling.

My goodness!

Stormy life…..

A storm

River

Meanders

My life at some point have assumed the shape of the river at its old stage and sometimes gone to the worst and becoming a storm. Let’s remind ourselves some geography lessons. The river has 3 stages; the source, the middle stage and the old stage. At the old stage the river has no energy to carry itself, so its water flows sluggishly and slowly towards the sea. This is the stage that rejuvenation is required. There has been full of meanders and storms in my life but I thank the living God has been always at my rescue and rejuvenate me at every stage. I want to say this loudly, God has never forsaken me during stormy time or good times. He has always provided a solution for me and I say bravo to our Messiah. Amen. As we continue with the journey I will be highlighting areas that I have seen God see me through.

Stormy life..

I started schooling in early 90s. I joined my class one in the year 1991 at Ekambuli Primary School in our small village by the name Ebukambuli. This was after attending Nabongo nursery school in Kakamega town. This was the beginning of problems. Those time there was no free primary school education like it is now,so my dad had to pay primary school fee that catered for activity fee, exam fee, watchman fee just to mention a few and provide basic needs for my mother(house wife) ,my other 3 siblings. I believe the fee was not that big, but however small it was, my dad struggled to raise it. This resulted in me being send home from time to time.

School storm….

While I was still confused in what will happen with my school life, God came and brought compassion to my rescue. In 1993 when I was in grade 3 God gave me an opportunity to be one of the few children enrolled by compassion international from our poor community. Compassion stepped in started to take care of my raging storm. It started to help me step by step. It gave me school uniform that covered my bare buttocks that were exposed by old torn pair of shorts(I won’t forget this, that one time I used to go to school with torn cloths and God send Compassion to dress me. Thanks to compassion). It also provided other basic needs like bedding, health and more. At this point compassion rejuvenates my hope in life, and I want to say if it were not for compassion may be I could have not even finished my elementary education for primary school. I mean I could not have reached in grade 8.

Compassion cushions the storm..

Another bone to chew…… I completed my grade 8 exams in 1998. I performed averagely well

by getting 540 marks out of 700. I received admission letter to join form one from one of the best provincial schools in western province. This was a hiccup for my dad because he was to look for the fee to take me to secondary school, but he had no job or money he was just a casual carpenter. My form one fee during that time was KES 29,000 and compassion was only to give KES 7,000 and the remainder was for my poor dad to raise so that I can join that best provincial school by the name Musingu High School. By March 1999 I had not joined school because there was no money to take me to school. I lost my admission chance. I remember this was my saddest moment in my life. Performing well in K.C.P.E but no school fee. I saw myself not proceeding with my schooling. An idea evolved, my dad and the current Project Director of KE 415 by the name Richard Maina Odinga decided to send me to a village school by the name Matioli Secondary which its fee was by then KES 16,000 p.a. Having gone to Matioli secondary did not mean that my fee problem had been solved. Still my poor dad struggled to get the additional money to top up after compassion had given its share. Regardless of the fee problem I decided to work hard hoping that one day I will excel in life. At every end of the term I emerged the best student with very high marks. Out of this hard work the Head teacher decided he will not be sending me home due to fee. From this point you can see the favor the Lord upon me. A point came when my performance was so enormous and the head teacher thought that I should not continuing learning on a such school that has no good competition. So he suggested that I go to Mwihila High school- A district school which from his opinion he thought the school will be good for me to be able compete other hard working students.

My dad transferred me to Mwihila high school. To cut the long story short I did my K.C.S.E exams out of difficulties and managed to get a grade that could get me to university. BY the time I was clearing high school my fee arrears had accumulated to more than KES 30,000 by then. This means I could not collect my certificates and stuffs from the till I clear the fee. Again compassion takes the responsibility and clears my fee. Thanks to compassion.

Hard Bone to bite…

After having it rough in my both primary and high school, I was born again in early 2002. Jesus came into my life and He has been my driver in all seasons. He has continuously blessed me, my family and friends. Once I knew Jesus any my mind set changed completely. I stopped seeing problems as problems but as opportunities. My siblings and I have gone through hard life. Sometimes we could go without food for even 3 days, only drinking water to keep us going, but thanks to Emmanuel He has kept us alive till today. We had it rough as our mum passed away in the parted ways with my dad only pass away later in 2003. We had now to stay with a step mother who was cruel then. Thank God we are now staying well as with our step mum. We are 8 children, I being the 1st born of the family and do you know what is me who has gone beyond grade 8. It is not the my siblings did not perform to go to high school is that my dad had no money to take them to secondary. So am the hope of the family to rekindle the fire for the future of my siblings. If it were not for that Jesus you see on the cross the family would have no person to give it hope.

Crucified of my sin…

When I was still thinking how and where I will get money to take me to collage, God brings LDP. I want to thank God for bringing LDP to Kenya on good time to help some of us who could not have managed to pursue our university and collage education. LDP program has real fueled my hopes. I believe if it were not for God bringing compassion and LDP program I would not be the person I am today. May God bless compassion and LDP program. In 2004 I was enrolled to this prestigious program that took the responsibility to not only to sponsor my university fee and other accommodation stuff but also train me to be a fulfilled Christian servant.

LDP Rejuvenates my hopes………

After having a bumpy journey, on 17th December2008 I finally graduated from university. God helped me and I managed to graduate with a 2nd upper honors in BSC in Computer Science & Information Technology. The picture alongside, says it all. The house depicted in the snap is our poor house that I have grown from, went to school from and earned a BSC degree from. Isn’t that enough for me to thank God and Compassion for how far I have come from.

A graduand from humble family…

Last December 2010 God blessed me with a job in Shanghai China. I left Kenya on 3rd Dec 2010 to stay in China and work at Bleum, China’s IT outsourcing Company as Senior Software Tester Engineer. My journey has not been smooth but because of God I have managed to find way through darkens, thicket and ragging storm. Today I smile and thank God for what He has done, what he is doing and what He is just about to do. Kindly pause and look at the picture alongside that I took just by the Bleum Company office and see what God has taken me through. Just reflect from when I was a baby as shown in one of the slides and now an employee of one the biggest IT Company in China.

Bleum employee from humble family…..

Even though am not yet there but at least I have something to smile and celebrate of what God has done for me through Compassion. I can now see the light at the end of tunnel.

Light at the end of the tunnel…

As I near the end of my story I want to encourage that discoursed hurt. I proclaim with confidence that nothing is possible with God, do your part and God will crown it when your time comes. Especially to those people who are in this prestigious program by the name LDP should be counting their blessings, because LDP is the spring board for better things to come on your way in the near future.

Count your blessings…

Let me share with you my one of dreams. I pray that one day which is in the near future I will be able to stand and advocate for the hurting children and give hope sunshine in their lives. I think dreams describes my life so much. Dreams have made me achieve things that may be I would not Have achieved them. The greatest think that achievement that dreams has delivered to me is the my academic success. I was always dreaming to go to school and excel very well and it has come true to me and this encourages me even more.

My dream…

As I nail down my story, I want to recognize all those people who serves in the Child Ministry, Compassion International. I part all of you guys your on the backs just all the way from Compassion president Dr. Wess Stafford to that CDWS at the project level. It is out of hands and your sleepless night that has made some of us who have gone through compassion program to be who we are today and who we will be tomorrow in future.

Nail down….

I end this is but my testimony and end by encouraging all of us from the Proverbs 4:23. God says to us “be careful for what you think because your thoughts run your life”.

My vision and mission is to keep on pressing on till the end comes.

I hope you have enjoyed my story. Thank you and take care. Amen.

A start always has an end…

----THE END-----Written by :Livingstone Zachary Onduso,Edited and complied by : Zachary Onduso