Praying Together for the Start of Term 3

🙏Hello Prayer Partners! 🙏

Today we attended staff meetings for Term 3.  There were several prayer requests shared.  Would you join me in prayer every day for the next week for RVA's staff and students?  There will be one request to focus on for each day.  I've listed the prayer focus for each day below.  To help you remember, you might want to print this page and post it where you will see it and be reminded to pray.  I plan to add it to my phone's calendar so it will remind me each day to pray at a certain time.  As a family, we will include the daily prayer at meals and bed time.  

Here are the daily prayer requests:

Thursday, April 25:  Pray for the Seniors as they prepare for their last term at RVA.  Many of the boarding students will be saying good-bye to their African home countries.  After graduation, many of the students will travel to start their next chapter and may not return to the area that they have considered home.  Pray for the Seniors as they decide what this next chapter in their life may look like.  Many are planning to attend university and have to decide which school to attend.

Friday, April 26:  Pray for safe travels.  Some boarding students travel from far away and will start their journey to RVA on Thursday or Friday so they can arrive by Saturday.  Pray that the flights will be on time and will fly safely.  Pray that the staff driving to pick up students from the airport will be alert on the road and will arrive safely.  Pray for the families, also, who are driving their students to RVA.

Saturday, April 27:  Pray for rain and the end of the drought in Kenya.  As we are suffering from lack of rain, Cyclone Kenneth threatens SE Africa, including Mozambique.   Mozambique is still trying to recover from Cyclone Idai that killed 700 people.  Pray for the safety of those in the path of the cyclone.  Some of our students will be traveling from these areas while leaving family and friends to deal with the storm and the clean up.

Sunday, April 28:  Pray for the students starting classes this week and for dorm students' transition from being with family to being back in the dorm.  

Monday, April 29:  Pray for Peter, the acting superintendent, who is filling in while the superintendent is on furlough.  Pray for his wisdom, endurance, patience, and leadership.

Tuesday, April 30:  Pray for RVA's staff as they start a new term.  Along with teaching and caring for students, the staff is working on restructuring the roles of leadership and setting goals to tackle issues brought forward in the cultural audit conducted during term 2.  Pray for God's wisdom and guidance as the staff focuses on challenging issues such as bullying, racial equality, and gender equality.

Wednesday, May 1:  Pray for RVA's mentoring program.  Pray that the staff mentoring students will be encouraging while sharing truth from the Bible.  Pray for the students to be open minded and to ask the tough questions as they work on making the faith their own. 

Phillipians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, "Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Lord, hear our prayers!

Thank you, friends, for joining us in daily prayer for the next week.  Our first day of focused prayer will be tomorrow, Thursday April 25.

In Him,

John, Becky, Ruthie, and Gracie Myrick

Celebrations

Happy Easter! 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4

This is a day to celebrate!  He is risen!  Like us, we hope that you were able to spend this special day with loved ones! 

As we reflect on our second term at RVA, we have celebrated in a variety of ways. 

Our dear friend, Diane, came to visit us for two weeks in February.

 We went on a safari in the Masai Mara, visited the giraffe center, and shared RVA and Kijabe with Diane.

We took Diane to a Sunday School Outreach in a village in the valley.  With the retired Kenyan Pastor, Peter, high school students lead the outreach and teach the love of Jesus Christ with children that gather in an empty lot in the village.  They play games, sing songs, and share stories of Jesus.

Top left:  A village boy helped Gracie to tie her shoe.

During mid-term, we went camping in Hell's Gate.

 We hosted John's sixth grade students for pancake suppers during this last term.  We hosted 4 to 5 students a few times a week.  It was a great way to connect with the students and spend time with them outside the classroom.

On Valentine's Day, the girls delivered cookies and cards to our guards who help to keep us safe at RVA.

The Juniors and Seniors attended Banquet with a Beauty and the Beast theme.  Our girls dressed up for a picture with Cousin Rachel (senior) and her date, Tyler.

Becky helped our friend and inside worker, Emily, decorate cakes for her church's retirement celebration.

On March 16, John and Becky celebrated six years of marriage.  We celebrated with an overnight trip to Nakuru Game Park.

We saw many pink flamingos, eight rhinos, and watched the buffalo keep the nervous zebra out of the watering hole.

The girls turned five on March 26.  We celebrated with about 13 of their preschool friends and invited about eight of their Junior High friends to help us with the party.  Everyone had a fabulous time celebrating!

We also celebrated with family and friends!

Top right:  Gracie shared birthday treats with her preschool class (Ruthie did too but I don't have a pic of that)
Bottom left:  Torrie, Uncle Dan, Cousin Levi, Uncle Brian, and Uncle James came for pizza and cupcakes.
Bottom right:  Celebrating with aunts is the best!  We love Aunt Shelly and Aunt Missy.

The girls attend preschool two days a week and a t-ball class once a week.  They loved meeting with their friends and learning how to play the game.  At the end of the term they played in a game against the parents.  We all enjoyed the fun in the sun!

Ruthie is in the yellow shirt and Gracie is wearing her red "team" dress.  

March 30 was the end of second term.  During our vacation we have had several doctor and dentist appointments.  We also spent a morning visiting Crescent Island.

We were able to stand close to the giraffes and study them as they had a morning snack.

·        We are starting to pack for our home assignment and are celebrating some of our lasts before we return to the states.  We will be leaving RVA on July 18 and meeting Becky’s Dad in London to tour England and the northern coast of France/Belgium.  God willing, we will arrive in the states on July 29.  A church in Lee’s Summit is providing a missionary home for our family to live in and the girls will start Kindergarten in August. 

After today, we have a week of vacation left, then the students return for third term on Saturday, April 27.  As we begin to serve our last three months of this school year, we have a few prayer requests.  Please join us in prayer for:
       1.   Our family finishing the year well and strong.

             2.  The students and safe travels as they return to school.

             3.  John and Becky’s wisdom as they teach and guide students.

             4.  John’s 6^th graders and their studies in Bible class,  That John will be able 
                  to fully and answer their questions and they will grow in their 
                  knowledge and love of Christ.

             5.  Ruthie and Gracie as they continue to grow and understand more about God.  

                   Also pray for their transition and that they have peace as we pack up our home 
                   and prepare to move back to the states. 

             6.  We feel it is best to sell our car before we leave for home assignment.  
                   Please pray that we will be able to find someone who is willing 
                   to buy our car.

Thank you for your prayers!

In the love of the Savior we serve,

John, Becky, Ruthie, and Gracie

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6