School's Just Around the Corner....

Well, we have had our fun, but our "summer" (really, winter, with the cold weather here!) break is almost done!

I am thankful we chose to stick close to home these past few weeks. We have been on-the-go so much int he last year, it felt good just to "be." Doing projects around the house, playing games with the kids, little day trips to Nairobi or Naivasha, welcoming new staff to RVA, etc.

For Megan's birthday, the ladies took her out for a real "coffee date" at Brackenhurst.

Our kids, plus a few neighbor kids, organized a little Moto-Cross race one day. They had a blast... and stayed safe -(my favorite part!)

We took the kids to an Elephant Orphanage one day. It was cool to see how this organization rescues baby elephants who are orphaned or abandoned, and re-introduces them to the wild when they are old enough.

We joined another family for a rock-climbing day in the valley. Here are our girls, enjoying the outdoors. Megan found a baby rock hyrax. It was covered in fleas, so we took a quick pose and let it go!

Horseback Riding in the bush! The kids had so much fun...

Now that we are winding down our summer, we are gearing up for school. I am re-entering the world of full-time teaching again! I will be teaching 5th grade this year, and I am excited that I get to team - teach with another teacher. He will do the Math and Science and I will do the Language Arts and Social Studies. I spent a good chunk of time getting my classroom ready this break.

The new families arrive today (Aug. 29) for an orientation day. The returning students arrive tomorrow. And then classes begin on Monday (Sept. 1)  

Pray for a wonderful school year and that I would be able to shine Jesus to my students each day. 

Megan's 12 Tasks

There's a neat tradition that takes place in our community here. It was started by a family years ago and lives on. On a child's 12th birthday, they are presented with 12 Tasks - decided upon by the parents and child together. Those tasks are worked on and completed by the 13th birthday. It is kind of like a rite of passage, or a gateway into young adulthood. Megan has been talking about her 12 tasks for a months now. So, on her 12th birthday, we presented her with a journal. Here are her tasks for this next year:

                                            Megan’s 12 Tasks:

1.             Grow nails to end of fingertips.

2.             Save 5,000/=

3.             Provide 12 hours of free babysitting services

4.             Read through the New Testament in a year

5.             Run 15 miles with Mom (accumulated – not at once!)

6.             Plan and cook a supper meal for the family.

7.             Plan a friend event and invite 3 or 4 friends.

8.             Memorize James chapter 4.

9.             Climb Mt. Kenya with Dad.

10.         Change the oil and a tyre on the Landie with Dad.

11.         Plan and create a piece of artwork to be framed.

12.         Plan and record 12 random acts of kindness for those around you. Make sure you include your brother and sister.

She accepted the tasks with great excitement. We can't wait to see what a responsible young lady she will become this year! Here she is, working on task number 4:

A Celebration and a Graduation

At the end of this school year, we attended Megan's 6th grade "celebration" - not to be confused with a graduation. I am kind of glad they keep those separate! I am certainly not ready for that step yet! :)
Megan is a part of a wonderful class! As these kids leave "Titchie Swot" (our elementary school) behind and head to Junior High, this beautiful service sent them off with a blessing and a challenge to grow closer to the Lord.

A few days later, we attended graduation for our seniors. It was a wonderful, yet bittersweet day. We have known many of these students since they were young and we are so very proud of them, yet sad to see them leave! 

We are so blessed to work with these amazing kids!

6th Grade Safari

One of the big milestones that takes place here at RVA, as a student moves from elementary school to Jr High, is 6th grade safari. The students, along with several staff members, head out for 4 days of adventure and learning off site. Every year, our students head to William Holden Wildlife Foundation Education Center, in Nanyuki, Kenya. There is a wonderful program there that involves nature, animals, and conservation. Along with that, our teachers provide a curriculum that challenges our kids to think about what kind of class they want to be as they enter Jr. High.

Megan was so excited to go this year! She has been looking forward to 6th grade safari since she was in kindergarten. And I (Joyellen) was invited to go along as the camp cook. What a great privilege to hang out with these super kids!

I couldn't be more thrilled for Megan to be a part of this class. They were a wonderful bunch - helpful, kind, adventurous and spirited. I can't wait to see what the future holds for them!

Mid-Term Update

We are on our short mid-term break right now. The students were able to leave campus on Friday at noon to enjoy a break from school with either family or friends. They arrive back today (Monday). We were able to do a few fun things during our long weekend. On Saturday, we joined a few families for rock climbing and a picnic in the valley below us. It was nice to get off campus and enjoy the beauty of God's creation!

We had a good first half of term. Here are a few highlights of our 6 weeks:

The elementary students participated in a "Fun Run" last week. The younger kids did a half mile and the older ones ran a full mile. I (Joyellen) helped to time the kids and encourage them!

Here is my (Joyellen's) fourth grade class that I help with each morning. They are a sweet bunch!

Ian and his friend Kelly at the elementary Field Day a few weeks ago.

The field day had all sorts of games and  here is Ian, taking aim at the principal!

Every Wednesday night we have the privilege of having the youngest dorm kids over to our house (to give their dormparents a night off). We do homework, devotions, snack time, and games with them before taking them back for bedtime. They jump into our family life that night!

A few weekends ago, we attended a big rugby tournament in Nairobi, called Black Rock Tournament. Every year, RVA plays and this year, we won! It was a fun day of cheering on our favorite team - 

Go Buffaloes! 

I see a future rugby star!

Lyndsey and her friend Torrie trying to find a shady spot to watch the game.

Thanks for praying for us! We have another 6 weeks to go and then we will finish our school year. We are thrilled to be here, working with "the best kids on earth!"

Purposeful Prayer

     At the beginning of each term the staff gather together, the night before all the students arrive, to have communion and to pray for the new term before us. This term, as we sat in the school chapel, with the communion bread in our hands, William - who was serving our communion- said, "Did everyone receive the bread?"
     At that moment, a voice came from the back of the chapel, "No, William, the Ndam people of Chad have not received the bread."
     Another voice rose, "No, the Gabbra people of Kenya have not heard the good news."
     And then, "No, the Didinga people of South Sudan have not received the bread of life. "
     Voice after voice. Tribe after tribe. Hundreds of thousands of people who do not know Christ. Many who have never even heard of Jesus before.
     Sure, it was cleverly scripted, but it hit home. As I participated in communion that night, I was struck by how blessed I am to know Jesus as my personal Savior, and how so many in this world do not know Him.
      Many of our students come from "CAN" countries - otherwise known as "Creative Access Nations." This means that their parents work in some of these countries where unreached people groups live. They are spreading the gospel to the people who have never heard the good news before.
     As a family, we have been praying for unreached people groups in our family devotions at night. Our mission cleverly printed off a deck of cards, with different names on each card, so we will pick one at a time to pray for.

Would you join us in praying for those who have not heard about Jesus yet?

Northern Kenya 2 Interim

Every March, the juniors and seniors at RVA scatter off in multiple directions for their interim trips. The students get to choose from a variety of trips: scuba diving, piki (motorcycle) safari, biking, reefecology, Zanzibar, Uganda, Aviation, etc.

We were privileged to lead a trip this year. It was called "Northern Kenya 2." There were two trips to the northern part of Kenya, so that is why we were the second group.

We had a great group of 13 students, and one other leader. We had a fabulous week of mountain climbing, viewing animals, seeing the local Samburu culture, playing football (soccer) with kids, white water rafting, rock climbing, kayaking, etc.

This year, I had to conquer some fears. Ever since a tragic (and fatal) accident with an RVA student and a crocodile in 1989, I have been afraid of something like that happening to me. I was in 6th grade when that accident happened, but things like that stay with you forever.

When we had to get in the river to whitewater raft, I was terrified! Even though our river guides assured us there were no crocodiles, it didn't help calm me. Thankfully, I was able to overcome that fear and jump in to the water (and jump back into the raft quickly, I might add!). But it was a good thing to not let fear rule.

I was really proud of our kids too. Some of them had to dig really deep to get to the top of the mountain, or to climb in that raft, or to slide down the hill into the river in a kayak, and they did it too!
It was a great week overall and we are so thankful to have been a part of it.

one of the best highways in Kenya...

Mt. Ololokwe - we climbed up to the top!

We were fortunate to see a lioness one evening, and a cheetah (but it was too fast for us to capture on film!)

conquering fears on the raft!

our amazing group of kids

hanging out with the kids at the village

our whole group