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Tom Ngobi entered into our lives over three years ago, when we met on a stormy night in Bugaya, where Lori, Luke, and me "bonded" for the first time in an African village. From that moment God drew Tom and our family into a special relationship, that took an exciting turn last week when Tom arrived in our hometown in Rochester, MI where he will "bond" with our family and friends during the next four years while studying at Rochester College. The plane that transported Tom out of Uganda for the first time in his life carried more than his plans and dreams, it carried our friendship across an ocean and allowed our worlds to converge in a unique and special way.
People in Uganda and our friends and family at home often talk about what we have done for Tom. But I never evaluate our friendship in those terms. It is much easier, and more accurate, to talk about what Tom has done for us, and the ways that he has shaped my family over the past three years. Toms family and the church in Bugaya gave us our Soga names and by extension, our identities in Busoga. During Toms breaks from school we collaborated on several building projects in my yard that we undertook as mutual learners. The first structure we built together was Tom's house, symbolic in Soga culture of passage into manhood, but also significant to my family: Tom had made his home with us. Our partnership on these projects established a pattern for our ongoing relationship in which many conversations about culture, life, and faith slowly transformed us in different, better people, the way good friendships do.
 Our kids can't decide whether to think of Tom as a brother or uncle, which speaks to the multiple ways they relate to him. Lori and I always enjoyed watching Tom interact with our children - joining their adventures and games as a friend, or patiently teaching them as a mentor. But the relationship that developed between him and our daughter Tessa was most unique and special. He will tell you, and we will verify, that God planned for them to be together from Tessa's birth; on most days Tom is simply Tessa's favourite person to be with. Peruse through our family album and you will see!
 We often tell people that the greatest privilege of living and working here in Africa is the special friendships that we have developed with Ugandans that have shaped who we are as a family. It seems impossible to think about our family without Tom in the picture; thankfully we don't have to!
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Mark's Table 
