Serving in September

1 Peter 4:10-11

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

John and I believe we are using the gifts God gave us to serve at RVA.  Through our pictures of serving in September, you can see how we are using our gifts to teach and host students. 

Big and Little Night

The "Big" Junior High and High School students are matched with a "little" Titchie student.  Several times a term, the Bigs and Littles meet for games and fellowship.  Below you see Bigs and Littles playing games in the library.  

Gracie loves to spend time together with her Big and watch her play basketball.

Ruthie has had lunch with her Bigs several times this term.  She loves spending time with them!  One of her Bigs was in John's sixth grade class in 2018/19.

Open House

Titchie Swot, the elementary school, hosted an Open House.  Parents were invited to visit school at any time during the day.  In Third grade, John encouraged parents to come during reading and writing time so they could read the students' stories and listen to them read.  

Since Mom and Dad are Ruthie and Gracie's teachers, they invited family to the Open House. 

 Gracie invited Aunt Missy, a Titchie Dorm mom and our friend. 

Ruthie invited Aunt Shelly.  

We our blessed to have John's twin brother and his wife serving with us at RVA!

Titchie Field Day

The Elementary hosts a field day the third weekend of 1st term. This year the them was "Pirates".  Classes rotated around the field to various games.  

Becky ran the buried treasure game and John rang the bell to signal when students switched games.  Below you can see Ruthie and Gracie running to the pile of dirt to dig for buried gold.

Ruthie and Gracie loved the tug of war.  The last event of the morning was teachers vs. the sixth grade students. It was a fun morning with friends!

Titchie Sunday

The Elementary students lead worship on Titiche Sunday.  After they sang several songs, the Littles invited their Bigs up to sing "My Lighthouse" with them.  The Titchie's taught their Bigs the motions to the song.

High School Tournament Night- Bunco

Each weekend, staff host various activities and events for students.  On tournament night, we hosted Bunco.  We had six students sign up and with our two girls, we had two tables for Bunco.  It was a slow start, but once the students understood how to play, we had a lot of fun.  We served the high school students popcorn, brownies, and ice cream.  We had prizes for the most buncos, most wins, and most losses.  

Titchie Activity- Decorating Cookies

Each weekend, staff sign up to host various Titchie events.  On one of the venue nights, Shelly and Becky hosted ten students to decorate fall cookies.  John hosted 14 students and played street hockey.

                            Uncle James helped too!

6th Grade Reunion Pancake Dinner

When we were at RVA in 2018, John taught 6th grade and we invited his students to our home for pancake dinners each term.  His students are now Juniors and there are about 20 of his 34 6th grade students still at RVA.  In September, we hosted a reunion pancake dinner.  We used 16 cups of flour to make pancake batter to feed the hungry students.  

You can see that Ruthie and Gracie love chatting with the students when they visit.

Ruthie loved spending time with her Big!

In our August blog, we mentioned that last week was SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week).  The speaker was a former RVA student, who currently works for YWAM in the Middle East.  During SEW, a number of high  school students turned to Christ for the first time or rededicated themselves to Him.  John was able to share with the elementary students, and one of them also turned to Christ for the first time. Please pray that the students will continue to grow in their relationship with God and pray that the RVA staff will have wisdom as they help guide the students.

Our Elementary Principal, Katy, and her husband Peter, RVA Superintendent, shared some hard news with us on Friday.  Due to ongoing struggles, it has been recommended that Katy return to their home country for extensive care and rest for the remainder of the school year.  She and her husband will leave this December and plan to return the RVA in August 2024.  Please pray for Katy and Peter's hearts and minds as they complete this school term and prepare to return to Scotland. Their two high school sons will continue here as boarding students.  Please pray for the leadership team as they make decisions and move forward in the absence of the Superintendent and Elementary Principal.

Thank you for praying with us! Please let us know how we can be praying for you!

In the Name of the Savior We Serve,

John, Becky, Ruthie and Gracie