Happy New Year!

We hope that this new years day finds you well and blessed.  We are grateful for the opportunities that New Year's Eve and Day bring for us to reflect back and to look ahead.  

As we reflect back on the past year, we see God's abundant goodness in a variety of venues.  In January last year, we began the  transitioned through the loss of my Dad.  We started to take steps back into "normal life" with the help of so many friends.   The following months saw our schedule busy with visiting so many wonderful friends and being blessed with new friendships as well.  God's goodness was seen in our safety in travel, reliable cars, wonderful housing, special memories and the blessings of family and friends.  After seeing God's people meet our support shortage, we were able to head back to Kenya after what seemed to be a short time back.   We said our tearful goodbyes to family but again, we've seen God provide friends to come along side of us and my mom.   We weren't to sad to say goodbye to all the attractions of American food and the weight that we were gaining. 

Life back at RVA has been pretty much normal daily life of working with Missionary Kids, (MK's) and being involved in our Kenyan community.  Balancing these two is sometimes a source of serious tension as we always want to do more but we are grateful for God's provision of resources and strength.  As we get older, I think I feel the need for more strength and energy while living and working with so many school age kids.   We saw another group of students head out into the "real world" as of  Last July and were encouraged by this class was seeking God's glory and to be His ambassadors.   God's provision saw one of my music student's unexpected acceptance into a music school in Korea.   That story is a long one but it was exciting to see this young lady see God's hand and answered prayers. This May 2014, we saw 3 other students receive good scholarships for music. 

New years is also a chance to look forward.  We are looking forward to new relationships, new opportunities and new adventures.  For the sake of time, I'll write more on these later.    May your new year be full of all these but may they be centered in the goodness of God.   

Not taken for granted.

Well, it may be that you think we have been lost or have given up on web based updates but that's not true.  Honestly, I struggle to sit down and write a blog for several reasons.  Number one would be I know that my creativity in writing rivals only writers at say a Jr. High level on a Friday afternoon.  Secondly, the events that occur here seem so "everyday" to us and seem repetitious.   Thirdly, it isn't too often that I get a chunk of time to sit and type a note that is reflective and uninterrupted.    However, since it is a quiet Sunday (or was when I sat and tried to write this 3 weeks ago) evening and the kids have gotten to bed, perhaps I can write a small something worth reading and praying about in the days to come.

 I wrote the title for this blog with  a few events and circumstances in mind.   The most significant event of the term was held just last week.  It was our spiritual emphasis week, also known as SEW.  We had a guest speaker Bay Forest come speak for 5 nights to the students challenging them to think about their relationship with Jesus Christ.  His Theme was "SoUled Out".  The capital U was to emphasis that "U" need to be part of giving everything to Christ.    We saw many students stand up and make commitments to really giving their lives to Christ.   We never want to take for granted the gift that we have been given to work with Missionary kids nor do we want to assume that they are all in a right relationship with Christ.   Please pray that our students will take their relationship seriously and will seek ways to continue to grow now that the guest speaker has gone.  I am meeting with 4 guys each week.    Amanda is also meeting with one girl formally and others on a sporadic basis. We appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we interact with these students in a discipleship relationship.

The second event that makes me think about taking things for granted occurred as I spoke with our friend Steven.  His family has taken in 4 street children and hopes to someday get more.   He and I meet for prayer and encouragement once a week.   Steven thoughtfully shared with me about his youth group ( in Kenya, that's anyone in high school up to 25ish  that's not married.)   His students have  a desire to see more youth in their community learn about Christ.   They decided to use a volley ball net donated by RVA and set up a volley ball court.   What amazed me was to hear that the students would fast lunches at school so that they could same a few shillings, like 50 cents to a dollar in order to by the metal poles and concrete for polls.  They are still hoping to save money for  a  good ball.   Wow, I was challenged in how much I take for granted, but also how seriously these students take their roles in sharing Christ with their community.     In Africa,  it's easy to see things we westerners take for granted, however,  I never want to take the gift of salvation for granted.   Pray for us that we will seek ways to share our faith,  equip others to do the same, and for the parents of our students who share Christ on a daily basis through out this vast continent called Africa.

We are now in day 3 of the terrorist event in Nairobi.  It is staggering to see photos of many places that I have stood in that mall.   The most recent posts express that a few more hostages have been rescued.  It is difficult to know how long this will carry on.   These words of the national anthem here seem to be  a good prayer for today.

"Oh God of All creation, bless this our land and nation.  Justice be our shield and defender.  May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty, plenty be found within our boarders.

Thanks for your prayers. 

Nairobi situation update.

Just to keep folks posted about the terrorist attach in Nairobi.   There have been at least 68 people killed and over 175 wounded.   There are no students from our school involved.  We know that there are still hostages being held and the Kenyan police are claiming they will finish the situation this evening.   There were large explosions heard this evening.

There are a lot of mission organizations based in Nairobi. Please pray for the wisdom of mission leaders from all over Nairobi as they seek ways to meet the needs of workers and ministries in this city.    Pray also for the families of those who have lost loved ones.


More to come...

"It was the Best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness"

Dear Friends,  I'm sorry I fail to update this page more often.  Considering the events in Nairobi yesterday, I felt the urgent need to communicate.  This will be brief as I'm headed off to teach Sunday School soon. 

Yesterday some long time friends came to visit us for the Titchie field day.  A day designed to give our elementary students, especially the boarding students, a fun and special day.  Our friends brought their little ones as well as a birthday cake to celebrate the start of another year of life for Amanda.   The games were great, the campus was jumping with life as our Sr. class presented it's Sr store with special burgers, salads and  doughnuts that people drive hours to enjoy.   Then in the after noon, a small party to celebrate with Amanda was to be had. 

However,  we received text message alerts of insecurity in Nairobi.   As many of you now now, it was a serious attach of terrorists aimed at a high end mall in the capital city Nairobi.   We were asked to pray as some of our students were there with their families.   We found that all the students and families were safe after several hours.  But all the news was certainly not good.  We know that one of our students who is from Nairobi lost at least 2 of his extended family.   We learned that 39 people so far have lost their lives.   Just like at RVA, the mall had promoted a family day with special children's events. 

This has severely shaken the residents of the capital.  As I sat to have  a quiet time this morning, Ps 64 was part of my reading.  It was certainly an encouraging reminder.   Please pray for the millions Blinded by Islam and those that seek to harm innocent people. 

In summary of this hastily written note, our students and faculty have remained protected, Praise the Lord for this, our families that were in Nairobi and had to hide need your prayers for wisdom and peace.  Our school needs your prayers for continued safety in travel and protection here.    We need to pray together for God's Spirit to move in Kenya as a result of this event.   Thanks for your partnership!!!! 

More to come!

Friends, countrymen, lend me your hand...:-)

Well, Tuesday's surgery on my  shoulder and hand went well according to the doctors.   The carpel tunnel surgery will take a while to see if completely effective but the doctor said  that the nerves were really tight in the tunnel.   The AC joint repair went well as well and I can already feel less pain in the shoulder even after the bone scraping and other cleanings. 

Meanwhile, our lives are exciting in other ways.  We are grateful that our house was put on the list to update and remodel.   Before the surgery, they began to replace the vinyl tiles with ceramic.  Now they are working on repainting the first floor.  Steve spends a fair amount of time supervising (single handedly you could say).   The tile is almost finished, the painting will really get underway on Monday.   Fortunately, our neighbors are in the States so we have been able to use their kitchen and dining rooms.  Their house is now referred to as the dinning hall.  We hope to be finished by Thursday, at least for most  part.

Amanda has taken on  a new role this month to organize the New Parent Orientation (NPO).   We will have around 200 parents, new students and siblings come for a 2 day orientation as part of welcoming them to RVA.   The goal of the weekend is that parents can get a grip on the school system and all the activities as well as get help in how to meet the needs of their children.  It is a lot to oversee and to organize but this is her strength to plan and organize.  

Evan went to Tanzania for 12 days to visit some friends, pray for a safe trip back and and an easy crossing of the border.   Nate got to go fly fishing for a 3 day trip and will help out painting this week.  Janel is helping out as Dad's nurse and thankful that so many of her friends are still around on campus.    So that is the update for now.  Check out the photos and prayer need pages as well. 

Suite Notes,

Well it's been soooo ridiculously long since I posted anything I think I should put my thoughts into a collection or a suite of 3 parts.   The first part would be to write about Band tour.  The second part will be about the 2nd half of the term including graduation.  The "Finale" shall be about our upcoming activities of this coming break from classes.  

Band Tour Tweets

As you may recall our Band Tour's theme was Believing the Promises, Revealing the Lies.  The tour theme really challenged several students to look at what they believed about God, the Bible, and the world around them.  As we prepared for tour I asked for students to give testimonies.   7 students came forward and shared with me written examples of ways that they were learning to trust in God and ignore the lies of this world.  These Students' testimonies gripped me as they talked about how they misunderstood their self worth or had a faulty perceptions of who they were.  Through their digging into scripture they were able to find encouragement and offer real examples of hope to our audiences.   Throughout the tour of 6 concerts, our students were constantly surrounded by students at the schools where we performed.  Each student had the opportunity to speak about what God's promises meant to them.     The reflection and devotion time on Friday and Saturday night were the highlight of the tour for me this year.  The way that our students challenge each other to trust in God and to ignore Satan's lies were great to hear.   The other highlight would be the complete absence of accidents this year.    That would definitely be on the praise item list.  Nate was incredible as a leader on the loading crew this year.  

 We enjoyed a great audience at Precious Blood Girls Catholic school.  Our students loved the interaction with them. 
 The sections presented an educational Demo.   Here Nate and his buddies performed a brief portion of an arrangement of "Lassus Trombone"

Second Half Summary.  

Well, after band tour, the term really flew by.  We had lot's of students over for wonderful Wednesdays with Waffles.   Our sophomore class moved towards choosing a theme to present our banquet next year.  The theme is a secret but you'll be hearing  more than you'd want to know about this event in the months to come.  For now, let's just say,  we have  a lot of work to get done.   Amanda is on the logistics committee and Steve will head up entertainment.  A highlight for the year would certainly be the privilege of baptizing two of my students.  These students have met with me regularly this year. One of them was meeting with me in a discipleship group.  The girl took private lessons and played in most of the music groups here at RVA.  It was great to see them take this step of declaring their faith publically.


And as all school years, conclude, we concluded with graduation.  However, the day before was a fun little surprise as I fulfilled a promise and took a Senior boy fly fishing at a nearby lake.    We caught a few in the small river that feeds into the lake but nothing actually in the lake.  There were 3 other guys that I got to take and one father who stayed the extra night before taking his son home.    The highlight of that day was hearing one of these guys share how he has really gotten serious in his relationship with God.    Graduation went well, at least as well as can be expected as we say good byes to our students and realize, "I may never see so many of them again".   The father who spent the night with us said "this school is like no other place"  because we had kids in our car who's parents were working in Mozambique, Rwanda, Kenya,  from Canada, U.S.A, Japan and New Zealand.   Our students truly go all over the world.   It's our prayer for them to change it for God's glory.

Upcoming Events

Now that school is out, we are catching up on correspondence,  filing papers for work, planning next term, and trying to get healthier.  The health part is going to be the hard way for Amanda and I.  Amanda has had a real hassles with the return of plantar fasciitis.  She is limping around with a boot on her foot trying to let PT do the work.  Slowly it is seeming to get better but still rather uncomfortable.   On Tuesday the 30th, I'll be having surgery on my shoulder to repair my AC joint as well as have my carpel tunnel opened up in my wrist.  Thus the need to get this note sent off since  I won't be typing for a while.    Hopefully I'll be back to taking on the world two handedly in about 2 weeks.  We'll see.  Meanwhile the floor in our house is being tiled, the kitchen will get painted and we are getting other houses ready for new and returning staff.  Please pray especially for the Nielsen family, they have been trying to return but due to support shortages, they have been delayed almost 6 months.  We really need them back on staff as well as other families.   Drop us a note. We'd love to hear from you.  With eternity in mind... Steve for the tribe.