A Praise and a Concern

This week has been both a week of concern and also a week of praise.  Praise God that He watches over His own. It is well known that though Kenya is a beautiful country it has many of the same problems with crime that many of the western countries but probably in higher numbers.  The people of Kenya are some of the most friendly people I have ever met, but  because of poverty and drugs, people become desperate and turn to theft and other crimes. RVA campus is completely surround by a high security fence with all but a small portion of it covered by razor wire. Three nights ago a thief who had escaped from a previous arrest and was addicted to drugs managed to get over the portion of the fence without the razor wire and break into the the tenth grade boys dorm around midnight. He was discovered by one of the boys as he tried to escape and was captured and turned over to the local authorities. This could have been much worse than it turned out for reasons that I won't go into, but I want to post this on the blog for two reasons.  The first reason is that it has caused some fear in one of the students for which he is getting some counseling.  The second reason is that the young man who broke into campus has many problems, but the most important one is that he does not know the Lord as his savior. Please pray for safety of our students and that God will bring peace to the student who is having emotion difficulty. Also pray that God will reveal himself to the desperate man who has to steal to support his drug habit, and that God will be glorified in it all.

October 20, 2012,

The last two weeks have been busy as we have been involved in Outreach programs, participating in a national church program, monitoring SAT exams and simply attending many campus events. I thought I might try to attach some pictures to the blog this week.

Just prior to Midtern at RVA both Debbie and I were involved with the Outreach programs.  Outreach is an opportunity for some of the students to minister and get involved with nationals in off campus settings. As mentioned in the previous blog, I helped lead several students to an IDP camp.  We were able to visit with the people in their homes, pray with them,and play and interact with the children in the camp. These people have nothing and struggle to meet the necessities of daily existence, but always have a smile on their face and welcome you to their tent or house. Please pray for peace during the Kenyan elections this March.

Debbie, along with another couple helped lead a group of students to a nearby orphanage.

 This week was Kenyatta Day in Kenya, which is a national holiday. Classes are canceled and many activities are planned on campus. Since the students at RVA come from many different countries, many dress up in their native country costumes.  The oldest student from each of the 30 countries was  chosen to hold the flag of their country and march into chapel while a portion of their national anthem is played. The students cheer as each flag comes in and the noise is deafening. A picnic is then held afterwards, sports are played between the staff and students and the day ends with fireworks. It really is one of the highlights of the term.

Us with our dorm daughters

Our South Korean dorm daughters

Some of our Kenyan friends

Continue to uphold the school in prayer.  Debbie and I have been asked if we would stay another year beyond our one year commitment.  Please pray that we would be able to raise the support to stay. One of our students had to return home due to illness.  Please pray for healing so that she may be able to return next term in good health.