Life and Death

It is not very often that we receive very good news and very bad news in the same day.  For us Saturday was one of those days that we had the privilege of hearing of the birth of two new additions to our family and the loss of a father of one of our students.  The first one many of us had been anticipated for several months.  After finding out that Carrie, Kylie’s sister, was expecting twins we had been speculating about who they were and whether it was to be girls or boys or a combination of both.  Now we found out that two little boys, five pounds and 17 inches each, were added to the Knysh family.  Our children have new cousins that they have to wait a couple of years to meet them – just in time for the age that all children can test the patience of their parents.  Cassidy just cannot believe that it has taken twelve years to “finally get other children in our family”.  She was pointing out that she will be in college when they start kindergarten.  We reassured her that she will be the “cool college cousin” who the boys will go visit.  Uncle and aunt also have to wait to see what these guys are made of.  The good thing is that they have already picked nicknames of Peter and Nathan so that should be a pretty telling dynamic duo.

The second news we received was not so happy.  The Gennaro famliy, missionaries with AIM for just two years in Lesotho, had been dealing with a very difficult and serious situation for several weeks.  The father went through a very sudden, unexplained, change of health.  The doctors could not figure out what was wrong and he quickly deteriorated.  He was put him into a coma to stabilize him but each time they tried to bring him back things quickly went bad.  There was a glimmer of hope however but the family was brought together in South Africa to go through this journey together.  We have only met this family once but the pain is very real.  This is such a fear of many here.  The students especially are impacted by this event as they realize it could be their mom or dad affected by something like this.  Titus was one who recognized the good and the bad news but pointed out that as one comes in to spend a little time on earth that we meet and enjoy and the other gets to be completely healed and spend the rest of eternity in heaven.  What a great picture and we are glad that Titus sees the significance of life and death.

If you get a chance please pray for both of these families.  There are challenges that they will both be facing.   The Knysh family has doubled in size and looking forward to parenting two little boys which can bring its own joys and challenges.  The Gennaro family has lost a family member and now needs to face the process of grieving and trusting in God even when it does not feel good.  We know that God is in control and trusting in His complete plan for our lives.

Where is “HOME”

Home can be such a difficult thing to describe.  Recently we have been talking with the senior class here about the transition they are coming to and many of the things they will go through.  When we get to this question though it is difficult for some and it causes a lot of wrestling.  If we ask Cassidy she says which home do you mean?  “I do not really have a home but there are special things about each place – Kenya and Canada – that make it home for me”.  Titus would say that home is fun and seeing his family in one spot.  Ella says that home is playing with toys and colouring.  Todd would say that home is where he feels comfortable being himself.  If you were to ask Kylie she would say that home is where her husband and children are – and maybe furniture.  To add to the difficulty of describing home we live in a different country on a different continent.  Is where we are now “home” or are we denying our “birthright” by calling Kenya home even though we are Canadian?

” I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death, I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside, I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others do the same.”  – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

This quote that I recently read really reminded me of what I, and every Christian, should be aiming for.  Home is such a temporal place here on earth.  What does it hold for me?  In thinking more about this after a relative of ours lost everything when their house was completely gutted by fire it can be gone in a matter of minutes.  Are my possessions and earthly things that important to me or define what “home” is.  Should I be looking forward to something else?  We think so.

One of the most difficult questions that our children face is the “where are you from?” or “where is home?” questions.  It has a lot of underlying meanings for them and they have to decipher what they think is really wanted or even how interested the person asking is in knowing.  I think that if we are truly honest with ourselves as Christians we should probably also struggle with these types of questions.  If we answered like C.S. Lewis would answer in the previous quote what kind of response would we get?

“By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”  – Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham probably faced this same dilemma when asked “Where are you from?” when he left and made his home in the promised land.  I am sure that the people around him were wondering what in the world this guys was thinking when he left a good place.  He was looking forward to the city that was designed by God.  Sounds exciting doesn’t it?

Maybe the next time you think about home you can think about us and the difficulty in answering that here on earth but also that it will be easy to think of something bigger and better.

Is blogging worth it?

OK, I have to admit that I was, maybe still am, skeptical about blogging and keeping people up to date this way.  Blogging was just one of those things that people did before the invention of Facebook to let people know what they were doing and thinking every minute of the day.  It was not a real appealing thing to jump into especially since we are very much not the “hanging sentence” type people.  However, over the past two years that we have kept this blog/website going we have felt that it is a great way for people to drop in on their own time and leisure to catch up with the Dubbers.

So, I have been posting blogs and thinking that all was good.  Then I came across this blog cartoon.blogging-cartoonSay it ain’t so.  I was sure that the things we would post would be of such importance that at least there would be a few more zeros to that number.  Alas, looking at the tracking number of how many people have viewed our blog/website over this past year this might be more true that I wanted to acknowledge.  So, after doing some research on what people are looking for it appears that video game screen shots and videos about animals are the most sought after things that people want.

However, as a result of this conclusive research we will not be adding more of what people end up finding on the internet – useless noise.  Hopefully we are posting meaningful information about how you can pray for us and partner with us in practical ways.  We are constantly reminded about how important to equip these students for life in Christ as they leave here to live in a very dark world.  If there is anything you remember to pray for is our own walk with Christ so that nothing can get in the way of pointing others to Christ.  Please keep up with what we are doing because we really cannot do it without you.

Oh, by the way.  Thanks to the ten of you who have read our blog.

Insure your house against political violence

Ok, for most of us – actually all of us who live in Canada and the U.S. – this is such a bizarre statement.  We could conceivably want to insure against maybe, lets say, a tornado that may or may not hit in our lifetimes but I would venture to guess that none of us have considered insuring for political violence.  The unfortunate thing is that it may very well be true here in Kenya.  Every five years there is supposed to be an election.  That fact is pretty blurred as campaigning here pretty much runs from election to election.  So for the past four years all politicians have jockeyed their way from one party to the other to hopefully be a presidential candidate.

The unusual thing is that virtually all Kenyans aspire to be a politician.  Why is that?  Well, they are the highest paid and most consistently paid people in the country.  They can pass their own laws increasing their pay any time they want.  And up to this point in time are virtually above the law.  There is a sign that we pass on our way to Nairobi saying “Can I get away with a crime if I am rich?”  Every time we have passed that sign the answer seems to be more and more on the side that people can if they are rich even though we know it cannot be that way.  Case in point, right now there are two politicians who are facing criminal charges from the last election violence in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague and both are still running for president.  They are ousted from the parties that they had been in for quite some time.  Instead of realizing that they are in a real problem they go ahead and create their own party.  One of the politicians is hugely popular among the Kikuyu people and instead of seeing that a person under trial really should not be running for president this whole group of people shrug off the ICC and go on with life as usual.  Sometimes things here are unexplainable.

We are reading that the two most googled topics last year were Hurricane Sandy and the U.S. elections.  I can guarantee you that the Kenyan election will not be the most googled event in 2013 but the problem is that most likely it will be a news headline of some sort. Like the crazy violence in 2007 that led to thousands of people displaced within their own country to be left to live in tents for four or five years, people losing their property and separated from family, and even people being locked in a church and burned to death.

We would really like to ask that you join us in praying for the elections in Kenya starting now.  We are praying that the people who live here will experience what we as Canadians and Americans take for granted – free, safe, and orderly elections.  We are also praying that the people will choose the best candidate for president and not just someone that has the most exposure in the papers.

Oh by the way, remember the next time elections come up in Canada – contact your insurance provider and ask to be covered for political violence.

Climbing Mount Kenya

One of Cassidy’s twelve tasks was to climb Mount Kenya.  We are not sure if she knew what she as getting into but Todd and her set off early one morning to meet up with the guide and porters who were taking them up this incredible mountain.  If you do not know much about Mt. Kenya let us fill you in.  It is the second highest mountain in Africa topping out at 17,057ft.  We hiked to point Lenana which is 16,355ft (4,985 m) in height.  The round trip walking distance is about 54Km starting at 2,650m.  So there is a 2,335m altitude gain in 27Km.  We started walking and about an hour into it Cassidy had thought we had gone a long way since that was the longest she had ever walked before.  Little did she realize that we had a lot more walking to do.

This trip was more than just walking up the mountain though.  Cassidy learned a lot about herself.  The ability to set out on a goal and accomplish it was a huge hurdle that she tackled well.  God was speaking to her through the experience as well and a lot of thoughts were becoming more focused.  She also met a totally different group of people from all over the world as well who were hiking and climbing the mountain.  The stories that she heard and saw unfold were things that money could not buy.

This could be a very long blog if we were to give a run down on each of the five days we were on the mountain.  Maybe we will let the pictures tell their own story.  We would love to give more detail if you would like.  Just email us with your mountain story and we can share ours with you as well.

Here is a little picture montage of what we saw on our trip.

39th Annual Pinewood Derby

It would not be another year without the Pinewood Derby.  This is a huge event which the students (and a surprising amount of dedicated adults) make cars out of wood.  It takes a lot of staff and a fair amount of technology to make things run smoothly.  This is the second year that Todd managed the race which meant overseeing everything from the track set up to end of race.  It is a really big job but it is a blessing to work with the experienced RVA staff.  Just to give an idea of what goes into it he put in about 24 hours of work over three days on top of the normal teaching responsibilities.  This does not count the amount of hours put in by so many other staff to make the day a success.  It makes for a full day of racing.

One hundred and fifty two cars were entered into nine different categories this year vying for the six awards in each category.  Each student puts in several hours to make their cars just right.  It is an awesome event in which we see the creativity of many students come out.  A student took the fastest car award for the second year in a row.  He is graduating this year though so that will mean someone else will have to take his place next year – maybe it will be Titus.  We wish we could show all of the cars.  We think that the best part of the day is to see the community come out and cheer for the participants even though they have no control of their car once it is on the track.  Enjoy the pictures of the fun times.

End of Term One 2012

We have begun to reflect on the past three months.  It is amazing just how fast time goes when we are busy.  No sooner have we started the term and all of the sudden it is over and almost Christmas.  Where did the time go?  Well let us tell you how we spent the last three months.

Todd – chasing balls.  OK, this may be a very oversimplification of what he does but it does describe the school term in a nutshell.  Tennis was added as part of his coaching repertoire and even though it was not what he was thinking would happen it turned out pretty good.  The tennis team made it to the semi finals in the league and won the sportsmanship award.  As a coach I was really proud of the players improvement but am looking forward to the regular coach coming back and taking that job over again next year.  Still being P.E. department head which basically boils down to telling kids to stop climbing on all of the things they are not to climb.  However, this role does allow him to plan units like floor hockey which he got to play with the students for a majority of the term.  What a great game.

Kylie – in the Dean of women’s office.  With the temporary Dean of men arriving late for the beginning of term and also being away at meetings Kylie has had the lion share of things to deal with.  She has been a trooper but surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the students do not let up on their shenanigans just because someone is away.  Meetings galore and meetings with students for both discipline and mentoring.  It is hard to believe but sweet Kylie gave out nine demerits in one day possibly setting a new record.  Anyway we look at it, it has been a very full schedule.  We are hoping that it does not take the entire year for the work load to reduce of doing both of the Deans jobs.

Cassidy – out of the house much of the time.  Junior high.  What else should we say?  This new phase brings a huge amount of social interaction and more homework.  She is doing well but having to find the balance in both of those areas.  Math is a struggle because there are so many other “better” things to do.  She played basketball as well so Todd got to drive bus for her team and watch her play.  She has potential to be a good little player and her dad takes the opportunity when she leaves class to have her shot a few baskets – just creating a little pressure.

Titus – is it recess/lunch yet?  The big thing at this age is to play soccer all of the time.  Kind of reminds me of the times we would always play street hockey as much as we could and maybe do our homework.  We barely see him during the school day.  He comes home for the thirty second lunch and then is off again.  Really fun to be that age and we hope that he does not lose the enthusiasm to be active.  Now we just need to channel that energy to learning and homework…

Ella – can I have a playdate?  Well if we thought that Cassidy had a social life then Ella is about 10 times that amount.  School is good but the real party happens in the afternoon.  We love Ella and she is full of character.  Definitely keeps us hopping.  The one down side is that Ella has been struggling with a UTI problem now for over a year (maybe almost two years now).  It is frustrating for us because we want the best for her but she is a real trooper through this whole thing.  She could use some real prayer in this area.  We are getting to the point of having to make some big decisions which may involve having to seek medical help back in Canada.

Anyway, you can see that we have had yet another full term.  There really is never a dull day.  If you think of us please pray that we will have the rest and refreshing that we need this coming break.  All of us are really dragging.  We also would like prayer for Ella and the decisions that we have to make.  Also continue to pray for the upcoming elections that Kenya will be holding at the end of March.  It may seem a long way away but already we are starting to hear things that are not encouraging.

We are so very thankful for your continued support and patience as we work on creating a more consistent communication with all of you.  We hope that the past three months have been great for you and your family.  We would not mind hearing from you as well if there have been things happening in your life.  It helps us feel connected with friends in Canada as well.

Multicultural Day and One World Run 2012

Multicultural day is a much anticipated event here at RVA.  The theme this year was “GO“.  After a very good Spiritual Emphasis Week in which the students were challenged about taking the Gospel to all peoples we thought it would be fitting to make the theme a simple reminder that we are called to go.  It is also a time where all of the students get to “wear their colours” and show patriotism for their home, or at least passport, country.  There is an hour long program in which students do presentations and then present the different flags of the countries that are represented here at RVA.  Typically there are 20-25 countries that students come from which makes this place really unique.  It is so good to be here and seeing all of the students cheering for every nationality.  Makes us proud to be a part of what is going on here.

 

Three hundred and thirty runners/walkers on a beautiful day.

We hosted the One World Run again for the third year as well on this day.  It is becoming an annual event.  This year we decided to tie it together with our multicultural day activities.  After our flag program we had a short break and then got into a 5K run and 2.5K walk in support of Aids Orphans in Kenya and celebrating our diversity.  This year was a huge success with a beautiful day provided and about 330 participants (180 runners and 146 walkers).  It was awesome seeing a huge crowd of people at the start line just waiting to go and then the surge forward when time started.  There were the logistics of pulling this off but after doing it a couple of times before we had a good idea of what to anticipate.  Everyone had a great time as evidenced by the smiles on peoples faces.  Cassidy and Titus even got into the event and did the 5K run.  Cassidy is a pretty fast runner and really enjoyed it.  Titus finished the run  which was pretty much the longest run he has ever done.  We were so proud of them.  Kylie and Ella even got into the fun doing the 2.5K walk.  Ella was so very glad to be done but they had a good time participating.  Todd got to work with some more amazing staff members.  He and his brother in law, Peter, worked together which was a really good thing as they got to do something together in their really busy schedules.

We are so glad to be here and participate in the way the God is working in the lives of young people who have the potential to go out into the world and take the Gospel to the nations.

Here are a few pictures of the days events.

Multicultural Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One World Run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Interacting” Traffic

Thought that I would share an interesting observation that a matatu driver in Nairobi told me the other day.  I was driving the big bus in the city picking up a load of fifty students to bring back to RVA.  I chose to take a route that I knew would be either the best decision I could make or the worst decision because of traffic.  Well it turned out that this time was the worst decision and we ended up sitting in traffic for a very long time.  Since I was in the bus I could see what was happening ahead of us.  Cars and trucks of every size and description were in utter chaos pointing in every direction.  Some trying to turn around even in the melee.  Some trying to pass, other just as stalled vehicles as them, to gain an advantage.  Here I was in a sixty foot bus with no choice but to wait it out.  As we sat in the gridlock I decided to talk to a few fellow drivers.  Some drivers just shrugged their shoulders and said “This is Kenya”.  While I did not particularly agree that causing a huge traffic jam was just a Kenyan thing I asked one driver what was going on.  His response was that the drivers were “interacting” while making hand gestures going in many different directions.  This was the best response that I could ever think of and it actually made me think differently of my predicament.  What if we were just interacting?  How would my interaction be different than those around me.  Would I be selfish and cut in front of another car like many others were doing or would I be patient and wait for my turn?  I had to admit that I had been impatient and used the awesomely loud horn that is equipped on the bus a little too zealously to express my impatience with other drivers who were driving in ways that were against the rules of the road and put me in a position of having to avoid them.

Finally, after waiting a long time several guys saw that we were a big vehicle and they started directing traffic as best that they could so that we could make our way out of the mess of vehicles.  Sometimes it took having to barely get by cars with very little room to spare on both sides of the bus but they came out and helped us through.  God did provide a way for us not to have to sit there all night and it took a little prompting as well with a seemingly impossible traffic jam to show that he is still in control and I still had another lesson to learn..

Meet the new tennis coach

Well, this may sound interesting but really it is me.  I guess I am thinking that I would expand my repertoire of sports coached to include tennis.  The only problem is that besides teaching the basic skills in P.E. I have to admit that there is probably a lot more to the sport that I do not know.  So, I am putting myself out there to be a learner of the game.  Guess I need to get the TV schedule out to start tracking the latest tournaments.  If there are any suggestions I would be open to hearing about them.  I met with the “prospective” players today as there are more than we can carry on the team so that means making cuts as well.  Anyway, I am looking forward to doing something different and spending time with the students in a different setting.  Please pray that I learn quickly and that I do not make too many mistakes.