Can you believe we've been back in Kenya more than a year. I can't believe it has been so long to write an update. I will keep this short but share several bits of news.
I just posted a note that I actually wrote in January but realized I never published it. So there is some info in that message.
Let me share a few highlights.
February brought about the great event of Junior/Senior Banquet. The junior class that we sponsored did a great job of producing a play, live music, food for 182 people, and cleaning it all up and getting the hall back to normal all in the Month of February. We were grateful for the way that this event brought about leadership, teamwork, unity, confidence and maturity in our students.
March saw us conclude another term with concerts, ice cream and cake party for my 135 students in 7-12th grade. We had many a junior through our house for the prayer breakfasts. Amanda concluded the term with making sure that all the junior and seniors were healthy after their interim trips around Kenya and that they actually took all the meds and shots they needed. You can always pray for safe travel as students and their families come and go.
April was mostly time to get ahead for planning for the next term and for professional growth. We hosted a 4 day conference here for Christian educators from all around the continent. There were some great workshops and lectures that really helped us to be fired up for school beginning the end of this month. I personally was challenged to think how can I be as intentional as possible about building up my students and moving them towards Christ. I see 90-140 students depending on the day. I am meeting with 4 weekly for discipleship which is a blessing to me.
May has been all about Senior physicals for Amanda and arranging appointment's for students who needed to see a series of visiting doctors. Not to mention meeting with and encouraging girls in our junior class. I have been spending lots of time getting the arrangements for band tour all set up. We will be doing 6 concerts in 3 days during the weekend of May 30-June 1st. We will play for somewhere around 2,500 people and look forward to sharing our message of how God can use broken vessels and that God restores.
Please pray for us as this is a very busy weekend, and week leading up to it. See our prayer requests tab for more info. Check out our photos tab too for updates on our family activities.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, September 23, 2013
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.
"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.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
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...
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...
Saturday, September 21, 2013
"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!
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!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
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.
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.
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