Jambo from Africa!

Dear Friends, Supporters, and Prayer Partners,

We greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us take Paul’s advice in Philippians 1:27 and live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

We also greet you from a cool and dry Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. Becky, the girls, and I have settled into a nice little two story duplex on campus and have been busy preparing for the start of school.  The new students arrive with their parents for New Student and Parent Orientation tomorrow. The rest of the student body arrives over the weekend, with school starting on Monday.  The school will have over 500 students this school year, with about 350 students boarding each term. Please keep all of the RVA families in your prayers as they travel and as they go through the difficult process of saying good-byes this weekend.

Becky, the girls, and I have been settling well in Africa.  Our three weeks in Africa Based Orientation went very well.  We learned about the work of Africa Inland Mission across the continent, including information about different cultures, religions, and unreached people groups.  We met many fellow workers whose children we will serve or have served at Rift Valley Academy.

A family hike at Menengai Crater in Nakuru, Kenya.

This crater was close to our hotel for ABO. 

 

The girls quickly made new friends when we visited a church our first weekend in Nakuru.

New Teacher Orientation at RVA also went well also.  I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of progress RVA has made as a school.  The programs, facilities, and curriculum are well developed and ready for the students.  The returning staff is excellent and the new staff appears to be top-notch. Mark Kinzer, RVA’s new superintendent, has a passion for the students and his desire for them to know Christ is contagious.  Keep Mark and the staff in your prayers throughout this school year.   

I, John, have been enjoying seeing old friends and getting to know new staff members here at RVA.  I have been working hard to get ready for the school year. Although I have 30 years experience, teaching eighth grade math and Geometry will be new for me. Pray I am an effective math teacher for the children I will serve.

Becky has been working hard at setting up our home, learning to cook and shop in Africa, caring for the girls, and training a house helper.  Becky spent a week in language study and is working at using and improving her Swahili. Pray for Becky as she builds relationships among the staff, works with the preschool program, prepares to be an eighth grade class sponsor, and adjusts to living in Africa.

Ruthie and Gracie are adjusting well to Africa.  When we attended church during Africa Based Orientation, both girls jumped right in to the activities, and they have not slowed down. They are making friends around RVA, and love playing outdoors. The girls come in with skinned knees, bruised shins, and dirty smiling faces every night. They miss family and friends and talk about people at home often, but they are loving life in Africa.

Ruthie and Gracie found a butterfly!

Tomorrow, as we get up, the school year at RVA will begin.  Thank you for your partnership with us in this ministry.  Pray we will be effective in sharing the love of Christ with the students here at Rift Valley Academy.  Pray for the staff as we seek to know and serve Christ by serving these students. Pray the students will grow in their knowledge of Christ and in their desire to serve him. 

In the love of the Savior we serve,

John, Becky, Ruthie and Gracie

Our family received gifts from the church we visited in Nakuru during ABO.