S.E.W.

It’s Spiritual Emphasis Week at RVA! Actually, it’s the last day of S.E.W. but true to form, it’s taken me this long to write anything about it. That does not diminish the fact that God has been working on this campus. Our speaker, Bay Forrest, is an interesting character – 6’10 former Phoenix Suns player, former RVA dorm dad, and now works with his wife at Focus Ministries. He’s connected very well with the students and God has used him to touch hearts.

On the third day of sessions, Bay spoke frankly about living a Christian life without actually being a Christian. He challenged the students to search their hearts and after praying, invited those who had accepted Christ for the first time to stand up. As I sat and listened, I thought about how I would feel, going to a Christian school with a whole bunch of Christian students and teachers and missionary parents and Christian everywhere. Who was going to stand up? I thought maybe one or two brave souls. And in the next instant, students around me stood up all at the same time, popped out of their chairs to stand before their peers and the school. It was an incredible moment.

I’m not sure how many kids stood up, but it seemed like a lot, around 50. And the more I thought about it, the less surprising it was and the more thankful I became that God reached these kids now, at this time. Bay quoted the passage from Mark 7:21-23.

21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

The kids here face the same challenges as any other high school, and even more . . . consider those ripped from their comfortable lives in the States or wherever else to become a dorm kid where ‘home’ is now a village in Uganda. If they didn’t know Christ as Savior before, the temptation is to blame Him as the one who upturned their lives and took their parents away. Or even the kid who grew up here at RVA . . . it’s possible to not be a Christian at a Christian school with Christian parents and a Christian ministry. Accepting Christ is a personal decision, and for a good many students here, that decision wasn't made until this past weekend.

Today is the last day of S.E.W. and Bay will be boarding a plane soon. We know he is not credited for the changes here, God is. Please pray for students as they continue to search out truth and for staff as they attempt to guide and mentor these kids.

Mombasa

Last weekend was our Midterm break - already halfway through our first term, which ends on Thanksgiving Day. Wow! I decided to live our 4 days off to the fullest, and head for Mombasa with some other RVA staff and short-termers. So Friday we headed to the bus station, got on an overnight bus at 10pm, and woke up in Mombasa. Or rather, I REALLY woke up around lunch time on Saturday . . . thanks to Dramamine, the wonder drug.

The beach was gorgeous . . . white sands, Indian Ocean, framed by a reef.



We had a lot of interesting encounters with the locals. This is Dennis, who owned a shop on the beach and was eager for conversation. He appreciated my halting efforts in Swahili and the fact that my missionary occupation afforded a meager budget.



My absolute favorite part was snorkeling. We tried to swim out to the reef and were astounded by the multitude of sea urchins - it was like a minefield! Made me nervous to play in the waves later, but during high tide we were far away from them. The next day we opted for the glass-bottom boat, captained by Ali and Adam. We puttered out to a sand bar and dropped anchor amongst a fleet of sunburned tourists. I was dubious about the quality of snorkeling, given the laarge amount of neon snorkels bobbing around the area - but I was pleasantly surprised!



Ali started the entertainment by feeding the fish underneath the glass of the boat. When it was time to jump in I donned my rented snorkel gear but was surprised by a small crustacean in the tube . . . "Ali, there's an animal in my snorkel!" Ali also thought it was fun to throw pieces of bread at my face so that the fish would swarm me and dart at my eyeballs . . . but the snorkeling was good! Besides a host of regular tropical fish and starfish and urchins, we saw two lion fish, a family of clown fish, an eel or snake, and a giant dying fish that I was quite impressed by. And I got a picture under the boat:


The hotel provided some night entertainment, including traditional dancing that of course included audience participation. Contrary to what the picture might convey, I was not the only white person up there . . .


And they had a giant chess set. Here I am with Amber, modeling the African carvings . . .



And of course, camels on the beach.



Here we all are, the beach gang, happy and tan!

Run, Forest!

The Nairobi Half Marathon is coming up in a couple weeks. I’ve been training semi-faithfully for the past month and a half. It’s been an interesting experience, a little different from training in Charlotte. For one, my trail shoes - I’m obsessed with them. There’s no pavement in sight so they have been my best friend. My routes are kind of creative – during the week I run around the two fields on campus. This sounds tedious but sometimes it’s during intramural soccer, which keeps me actively engaged dodging balls. Once some kids were doing target practice with a bow and arrow on the field . . . so it’s not that boring. On the weekend we try to get in a long run. Since 25 laps around the field is about all anyone in their right mind can handle, anything over 5 miles means a route outside the gates.

Living on the side of a mountain means that all roads go either up or down, there’s not many level options. There’s Kijabetown Road, which is so rutted I have no idea how cars actually drive up it. It’s not too bad going out but coming back to school is a killer, huffing up some serious incline. Lower Road is my favorite, which is about 5 miles out to the ‘tarmac,’ or the main road. It’s a slight decline all the way down and not such a big deal on the way back. Except right at the very end, when we are running through the shops, but I try to find someone I know so I can stop and talk. We’ve had some special moments out there, 5 miles from civilization, realizing that running in the heat of the day wasn’t such a good idea after all . . .

This weekend several people who are running in the half ran out to Mt. Longonot, a dormant volcano near RVA. The route involves climbing up Nature’s Trail to the railroad tracks above the school. (Ever seen Ghost in the Darkness? It’s that railroad.) Then we get to run along, or sometimes on, the tracks for 8-9 miles towards the mountain. I ran on the tracks one other time and twisted my ankle so I was a bit apprehensive about this run. To be honest, running on rocks is not my favorite and I spent a good amount of time high-stepping it or stumbling around, trying not to fall. Thus the "run, forest, run" title - my form . . . not so hot. But every so often the path would even out enough that I could look around and it is the most amazing view - 100% Africa. The tracks run midway up a ridge of hills stretching out toward Longonot so the view into the valley is amazing. It was surprising after an hour or so of running to look up and see the mountain filling my view; it looks so far away from RVA.

My favorite part of the run was being joined by Paul, a boy from a village somewhere along the route. He trotted along with me for the last 30 minutes of my run in hopes of seeing the doctor that was running with us, a friend of his, but running quite a bit faster than me! He sang me a song . . . “I am so happy to be running with you!” and demanded one from me . . . “I am so tired, so tired, because I’ve been running so far . . .” Only I did it in some rough Swahili: “Nimechoka sana . . . kwa sababu nilikimbia hivi hivi . . . Ninahitaji kumpumzika!” He thought I did a good job. My other favorite part was spotting the bright yellow land rover picking us up at the base of the mountain. Nothing like a ride home after a hard run!

I didn't take a camera out there but someday I will. So here's some views of Longonot from RVA . . .

Kind of hazy, so I tried to help you out . . .

At sunset

And you should probably check out our Mt. Longonot Webcam, which is overlooks upper field and the mountain. If you watch it around 5:30 during the week, you might catch me making loops around the field. =) Wouldn't that be lovely?

My Kids

Update on my class: they’re great! I just really love them! I just have the sweetest little group of kids and I feel so blessed to be their teacher. While it’s pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit, I’ve really enjoyed teaching Bible class. This is a new thing for me so I didn’t really know how to approach it – we ended up deciding to read through a Bible plan on the ministry of Jesus. Each student takes turns ‘leading’ the class and we’ve had some great conversations over the past week as we studied the Sermon on the Mount. I determined it was more authentic if we took our class outside . . .

I don’t do a ton of teaching outside, because my babes get a bit distracted by spiders and people walking by, but there is an outdoor chalkboard I plan to take full advantage! Our independent reading time is often done outside . . . which is great. The adventure is trying to get one kid through an online-based Accelerated Reader test during the 20 minute reading block. I am always leaving some behind during lunch or chai time or specials, as the test takes so long with our internet! But they are good sports.

Titchie Activities the past two weeks – last weekend was Staff Hunt. I found myself sitting in a tree house for the better part of an hour and throwing candy down to kids as they found me. This was actually kind of fun, as I came prepared with my ipod and a mug of hot chocolate . . .

In the tree house with Courtney, a 6th grade teacher.

This weekend we had Club Night. Staff and parents provided venues for the kids to sign up for. I was so thankful that I could combine with my friend Frances, the third grade teacher, to make cookies at her house! Friday night I’m a bit exhausted and I didn’t relish the idea of six kids in my tiny place. But the kids always have a great time! Next time I want to get creative on my own . . . any ideas?

It's Friday night, it's raining, and I'm in an apron!

Some teacher questions: does anyone have a good Bible curriculum/reading plan for kids? I also need book ideas for novels on the American Revolution and Europe in the Middle Ages. The sooner, the better, as I need to get books ordered.