One World Run

It started out being a fun little run that we were going to hold on a Sunday afternoon.  We did not expect it to turn into a major event with about one hundred staff and students participating.  With torrential rains threatening the weather held off long enough for us to complete the run which was a huge blessing.  What a great turn out for an event that is totally voluntary and in support of an important cause – AIDS orphans here in Kenya.  The One World Run is an international awareness/ fundraiser for Project AIDS Orphan with a 5K run taking place on all seven continents.  It was a challenge to find a flat enough area that we could hold a 5K run here but for the most part we have found a route that even a fourth grader could finish.  It was also important to be able to have support staff like marshalls and a piki (motorbike) rider to be able to be along the course.  Then of course there are the fans cheering participants as they cross the finish line.  It was a fun community building event that I hope also helped to bring to light some of the issues that we know all too well that devastates families here in Kenya.  The scourge of AIDS has created a very young population who have no parents to provide love, nuturing, and guidance to become the next leaders of this country.

Runs like this also provide a great picture for me of finishing the race here on earth and crossing into heaven with those already there cheering us on.  Some finished faster than others but all finished and received the same enthusiasm for running well.  Looking forward to next year already.  Hopefully we will have more participants and can have such a great time again.   

Project AIDS Orphan is a non-profit organization supporting children who have been orphaned by the AIDS crisis in East Africa.  Funding goes directly towards Mission House of Hope, which provides food, clothing, health care and education to AIDS orphans in Kenya.  Stateside, the goal is to create an awareness of the African AIDS crisis, educate individuals about how they can help and raise funds for these children. 

If you want to know more about One World Run please feel free to visit their website http://projectaidsorphan.org/one-world-run.php.

Pinewood Derby

 What does a block of wood and four wheels have in common?  About 150 kids (and a few adults) all trying to get theirs traveling down the track fastest or judged for best workmanship.  Seven hours of heats, semifinals, and finals.  Grade four students to adults get their racing fixes watching these cars zoom down the track in about 4 seconds.  What a great thing it is to see the excitement and joy that students have when their car finishes first.  A total of 57 awards are given by the end of the day.   This year we had 56 of the of awards go to different students which goes to show that many of the cars were both well made and fast down the track.  The students put a lot of work into their little blocks of wood.  Some have a lot of “science” that they try to employ to make their car the fastest.  This year the fastest time clocked for a car was 3.747 secs to cover the 65 foot track.  It takes a lot of attention to detail to get a small car to do that.  

Kylie and Titus’ “Ice Cream Truck” won for best engineered in the womans category.  It is probably one of the toughest categories to win an award in since all of the entrants are very creative and detailed.  They had a great time putting their car together.

Todd got ambitious and whittled down his piece of wood which meant that he had to add a lot of metal to bring the car up to the legal weight.  It was not a very successful car this year as the field was both fast and well made.  It was very neat to see what the other participants were able to come up with. 

The "Ice Cream Truck"

 

"Night Fury"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
“The Car Chase” by Lee Rosevere (http://members.shaw.ca/happypuppyrecords/index.html)

What is the Essential Question?

I have to admit that I have been thinking about this question for the last few years.  In fact, I have a sign on my office wall with this question on it.  I guess it is particularly because of being a P.E. teacher I get a lot of flak for being able to play games all of the time.  Now I have over simplified what I actually do but I do get to do something that I really enjoy – watching others discover different ways of moving their bodies to achieve a result.   But I did have to start asking this question as I continue to teach.  Am I just here to enjoy playing and teaching others how to successfully shoot a free throw or spike a volleyball?  I feel like I have come a long way in my approach to being a physical education teacher and missionary and would like to share that with you.

Over the course of the last few years I guess the most important question, besides asking if a person has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal saviour, I have been asking is, “How does (fill in the blank with what you are doing) contribute to eternity?“.  When I ask students this question about how physical education contributes to eternity they may answer with “being physically fit helps us be healthier”, or “we get to enjoy our bodies for longer”.  As you may notice a lot of times their answers are relevant for being here on earth in our mortal bodies.  But we are talking about eternity.  I really have come to view my job as a physical educator as not only helping others live healthy lives but to really use physical activity as the means by which we can lead others to Christ.  That is my answer to how it contributes to eternity.  If there are more people believing in Christ as their personal saviour because of me or my students being able to lead them to Him through activity then I feel that we are answering the “essential question”. 

Now there are obvious pitfalls to using activity as a means to open up a conversation.  Competition does not necessarily bring out the best in others but that is where I get the privilege of working with youth in this area as a teacher and a coach.  I am far from perfect in this area but I am more concerned about my own, the students, and the players character than I am about winning.  It is a hard lesson but it opens up a huge opportunity to talk to young people about reflecting Christ-like attitude and maintaining their Christian witness and testimony.  It is a very hard thing to do in the heat of the game and it is why I want to lead an activity outreach each term I can so that students can practice what they learn.  I am so glad for a place like RVA to be able to put these things into practice.

I thought that I would include a couple of examples of banners that we would like to put up in our gym.  We would like to see a banner for each extracuricular sport that we do here that shows the type of character we are trying to instill through our sports program.  If you, or maybe your business, would like to “sponsor” one of these banners please let us know and we can give you some more information.

 

 

Let it Rain!

We have been experiencing a lot of rain lately.  So much so that we think that rubber boots are standard wear for all occasions.  It has pretty much rained every day for the past few weeks.  It has been a while since we have seen rain like this at this time of year but the people in the area are so very happy to have good rains that have really gone deep in the ground.  We are praying that the seeds that have been planted will not whither and fail in the next few months.  

The rain is also playing havoc with our P.E. program as we plan to do outside activities during this term and each day is an adventure to see if it is going to be raining or not.   Nothing like playing lacrosse out in the rain slipping and sliding all over.  We still have a good time and the students end up laughing.

We were doing dorm cover one night and heard this tremendous cracking noise.  It was a little unnerving as it was raining really hard and it seemed to be very close to the house.  It was really dark out and in the morning we could see that part of a tree had came crashing down with the weight of the water and the wind.  Thankfully there were no kids on the merry go round that it came down on.  There is always something new happening here at RVA. 

We thought that we would take a little video to show just how hard it can rain here.

Multicultural Day

Multicultural day is an event held each year here at RVA.  It is a Kenyan holiday called Mashujaa Day.  This year the theme was “Of the Kingdom of God”.  We were excited to see all of the different nationalities that are represented here at RVA.  What a great picture it is to see so many people from all over the world being excited about being together.  We are sure that it does not happen this way in many other places.  The morning is filled with an assembly where we have songs in different languages, skits, and a flag ceremony.  Carrying the flag for their passport country is a great honour.  Usually a flag is carried by the student that has been at the school the longest.  It is hard to distinguish which country everyone comes from because the students cheer loudly for their home country as well as their host country. 

  We then go into different games from different parts of the world.  It is a fun time.  This year Todd introduced the game of tchoukball to the students.  It is a fun, fast paced game that was invented by a Swiss Doctor to focus on fairplay and sportsmanship.  Players are not allowed to guard opponents or intercept passes but to try catch the ball that has been thrown against a rebound net.  They are to not let the ball hit the ground which would result in a point for the other team.  It was a lot of fun. 

We then get together for a large school picture in the gym.  We really like that time as we all get together to have our picture taken.  We are all standing close together and having a good time.  The day ends with a staff vs. student flag football game and a firework display that always turns out interesting.  Here are some other pictures for you to see of the fun things that we get to do.

 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.  Rev. 7:9

More Than Meets the Eye

No, this post is not about the “Transformers” movie even though it makes us want to break out singing the theme song – I guess that dates us back to the original cartoon.  This was the phrase that was used at this years Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) here at RVA.  The speaker encouraged the students to realize that each individual has a much deeper life story about them than most people realize.  Maybe God is working in their lives in ways that we could never imagine.  Maybe they had suffered loss or had a great achievement sometime in their life.  We would never know by just looking at the surface of a person.  People around us could look like they have it all together but yet struggling with the most difficult things of their life.

Another topic was that we are messy people.  We leave messes and create messes all of the time.  Most times though we ignore our problems and look at others and compare ourselves.  Either we are better than those people who are obviously messy or we are worse than those people who “have it all together”.  No matter what we are all messy.  Sin is in all of us and we need help cleaning up. 

Another session was about where we get our strength.  The speaker used Elijah as an example of a person who had every opportunity to see just how amazing God is (I Kings 19).  Did he not just witness God strike the alter with the offering on it with lightning that the prophets of Baal had been trying to get their gods to consume?  Almost immediately after that event Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah and Elijah sets off running saying that it was to much for him.  Wouldn’t Elijah just realize that if it were God’s will that he would not allow it to happen?  Elijah ends up in the desert waiting to die and God sustains him eventually leading him to meet Elisha.

It was good to take time to reflect on how God has purposed us to be here at this time.  Some staff that we have talked to have really expressed that they are feeling like Elijah under the broom tree in the desert saying to God “I am done, I cannot do any more”.  We have to admit that school is consuming.  The time to prepare and plan for all of the events that we are responsible does not leave much time for “down time”.  We really need to plan for those times as well.  Sometimes it means that we need to intentionally leave campus so that we can find that time as a family.  Not having a vehicle of our own creates a challenge that we need to be creative finding ways to do that.  We are praying that we can have times of rest and relaxation so that we can meet the demands of school.

We are also interested to know more about our supporters.  There is more than meets the eye and we would like to know more about you.  Feel free to leave a comment telling us about the significant events in your life – past, present or future.  It would be great to have those stories documented. 

We thought that we would include the song “Way Beyond Myself” sung by the Newboys.  It is amazing how it wraps up just what we heard during this SEW time.  Thanks for supporting us and we would like to give praise for all of the things God has done for each and every one of us.

Newsboys – Way Beyond Myself

Vocabulary of Jobs

As we were helping our kids learn their vocabulary words, we thought – there are probably a lot of terms that we use when refering to jobs and activities here that we need to define better for all of you in Canada.  Here is a list of our vocabulary words.  If you read through, you will gain insight into all the different things that make up our ministry here at RVA.

PE Department Head and Teacher – Todd is the head of the physical education department.  That means that he is in charge of curriculum, purchasing equipment, and the other teachers in the department.  He is also teaching four classes of PE to grade 9 – 12 students.

Canadian Studies – Todd is also teaching one period of Canadian Studies.  RVA is an American school and does not teach Canadian History, etc in their social studies curriculum.  In grade 11 or 12 all of the Canadian students need to take a year of Canadian history, government, etc in order to meet requirements for going to a Canadian university. 

Dean of Women – Kylie is in charge of all of the girls who are boarding at RVA as well as the girl’s dorm parents.  She also handles student discipline involving girls and is part of the administration.

Coaching – Todd coaches varsity volleyball May – July.  Kylie coaches varsity field hockey January – March.  Our teams are part of an international school league that involves both international and Kenyan schools.  We have a lot of great competition and very full seasons. 

Volleyball Outreach – Todd takes groups of students who volunteer their time to go to refugee camps, slums, local villages, and the nearby prison to play volleyball and share a devotional.  Todd built a portable volleyball system that he is able to easily put up and lay out lines. 

Sunday School – Todd is teaching a grade 5 Sunday School class and Kylie is teaching a grade 10 girls Sunday School class.

Caring Community – Three times a term we meet with a small group of students to eat, play games, and visit.  The goal is to connect students with as many adults as possible so we know if a student is struggling.  This year we have a sweet group of six grade seven boys and girls that we meet with.

Sponsoring – Each class at RVA has a group of about 6 – 8 staff members that “sponsor” them.  We are sponsoring the grade 10 class with 3 other couples.  Several times a term we get together for fun class activities and food.  We also provide opportunities for work experience since most missionary kids do not have opportunities to have a job.  Their work experience also raises money for the class and in their grade 12 year the whole class goes to the coast for a few days.  This year we are selling snacks at the school movie nights, selling Valentines items in February(cards, roses, baloons, singing valentines, etc), and helping to serve tables and wash dishes at the Junior / Senior Banquet.

Mentoring – Kylie meets weekly with a senior girl to talk about what is going on in her life and study God’s Word.

Life in Kenya, plus ten thoughts

Since the first “plus ten thoughts” post that we did was such a popular idea we thought that we would do another one about living here in Kenya.  There are many things that are the same and many that are different.  There is certainly a sense that over the past year Kenyans have desired not to talk about what tribe they come from.  Inflation has hit the country hard and since we have come back there has been no sugar on the store shelves.   Even the roads are changing.  China has been investing millions of dollars into the infrastructure.  This has benefited the movement of goods around the country but it causes concern for just what the Chinese are getting out of the deal.   It still takes a long time to get things done.  It took an hour one day at the police station to get one piece of paper.  Even then we had to photocopy it ourselves and bring back the original. 

1.  We are so thankful to have Peter and Attah working with us.  Peter has worked for six years with us.  He and his family are dear friends to us and we are constantly impressed with Peter’s willingness to work hard and try new things.  Attah is new to us but has quickly fit into our family.  We are looking forward to this relationship developing over the next several years.  Pray that as we work together we will be able to develop deep relationship.  We have helped their families a lot with school fees and clothing.  May it not just be a relationship of convenience for both of us.

2.  Things rarely seem as they appear.  Like when animals on the side of the road have a rope tied to their leg it does not necessarily mean they are tied to something on the other end.  Right now there are four or five high profile politicians on trial at the Hague for their actions during the post election violence that happened after the 2007 presidential election.  Things really do not appear as they seem but what is happening is that they are unable to bribe and persuade their way out of their day in court.  Pray that the truth will be found and those that are responsible will be held to account. 

3.  Famine.  Some would say that all famines are man made.  In the case of the famine experienced in the Horn of African region it is very true.  The social structure is broken and large powerful groups are controlling what people get.  It is hard and relief agencies have to be very creative in their distribution of aid.  Otherwise, the controlling group gets their hands on it and it never reaches the people.  Pray that Satan will be thwarted.  He is very pleased with the chaos and destruction which has plunged that region and people into darkness.  Pray that the people will not only get the physical food that they need but also that they will hear and believe the Gospel as well.

4.  Many of you know that we had purchased a vehicle only to lose it to a careless engine rebuild that left it seized beyond repair.  We have lived in Kenya now without a vehicle for many years.  God and those around us have been gracious and allowed us to borrow vehicles but it is not easy not being able to make our own plans, to go for special family times, or to even help others.  Pray that we will be able to purchase a vehicle soon.  They are not cheap here in the country and we want to be very wise with the money that God supplies.  If you are interested in doing a special project in this area we would be very thankful.

5.  Monkeys, baboons, and snakes – oh my!.  We are reminded almost daily of the wildlife that we live with here in Kenya.  Since it is loquat season we have had a constant stream of monkeys and baboons through the trees eating as much of the fruit as they can.  We do not mind sharing but sometimes it is a little unnerving to see quite a large baboon saunter across the yard.  Cassidy also seems to be the “snake whisperer” of the family.  She has seen more snakes than any of us during our time here.  Just the other day she saw a snake down at the school.  We are hoping that she keeps a good eye out for those around our house as well.  Pray for safety with the wildlife.  We want to be sensitive to nature but also do not want them to be too comfortable around us. 

6.  We arrived to our new house on campus finding that they had just been finished enough for it to be inhabited.  Details like a fireplace chimney, telephone line, and hot water solar panels were still needing to be done which took a couple more weeks to complete.  The yard was also one big mud pit which was fun for the kids but a nightmare to keep things clean in the house.  We are so thankful for the house.  It has been great to start with a “blank slate”  and we have had Peter busy planting grass and flowers.  There are a lot of other little details that need to be taken care of but we are comfortable and have had many students over already which is the main reason we are here.  Pray that we will be able to use and take care of this house to the best of our abiities. 

7.  Electricity.  Power outages and fluctuations are a fact of life here.  We have had our printer and kitchenaid mixer hammered by the power spikes.  We are really hoping that we do not have anything else fry as it is frustrating to have large paper weights that we can do nothing with.  The unfortunate joke in the community is that the company, called Kenya Power and Lighting, should be called Kenya Power and Darkness.  Electricity can be something we take for granted and such a precious commodity.  Even though it seems frivolous please pray that we do not have anything else zapped and become useless.

8.  Cassidy and Titus fit right back into life here.  They seem to be more at home interacting with their friends from many different cultures.  They both play soccer.  Titus comes back totally dirty while Cassidy comes back having played but not dirty at all.  Cassidy has a Canadian teacher so that is a neat connection for her.  Our house is right in the middle of the dorms in which the boarding students live that are in their classes.  So they have a constant supply of kids to play with and they take full advantage of that.  Titus even has “hockey clinics” for those who do not know about ice hockey.  Pray that they will continue to make good and lasting friendships.

9.  Ella is “miss pink”.  She is always dressed in pink which has become her tradmark around campus.  She is definitely the attention getters with her now even more blond hair from being out in the sun so much.  She is also the character of the family.  When it comes time for her to learn some Swahili from Attah she keeps referring to it as “languish”.  After a while it really does become a languish as she struggles with learning a new language.  Hopefully it sticks though and she gets more proficient.  Pray that she will be open to learning Swahili and that she enjoys it. 

10.  Recently there was a incident in a slum in Nairobi where a large gas line was compromised. It ended in tragedy as it was ingnited killing about one hundred people and injuring hundreds more. Life here in Kenya is different regarding these events. It is hard to believe that so many people could be involved in this event but in every situation that we have seen this happen in there is a choice that people make. In Canada, if something like was to happen people would make sure that others were evacuated and the emergency crews would be controlling the situation.  Here it seems that there is an opposite reaction to danger and hundreds of people are trying to syphon off whatever precious material they can get.  Please pray that the people of Kenya would have their needs met and not have to put their lives and the lives of others in danger to get what they need.

“I always do the right thing…

.. after I have tried everything else.”

This was the message on a refridgerator magnet that caught our attention.  How many times do we think that very thought “oh well I’ll do better next time” or justifying our actions because that is just the way it is.  Anyone who knows us, and if we are honest with ourselves, would attest to the exact opposite.  Agendas, expectations, pride all get in the way of even doing the right thing at all.  We wish we could say that we always do the right thing but most times it is tainted with selfish motivation.  We were reminded during one of our inservice meetings before school started that being a servant is the ultimate right thing.  Not only being a servant but doing it in such a way that in being a servant you do not mind being treated as one.  This is totally contrary to the message of the world.   It is the opposite to the reality that we create for ourselves. 

I recently read an article that challenged my motivation to do what we do.  The writer said,  “We must shatter the notion that our main motivation for global mission is generated by pity for those who have less than we do.  The main motivation for global mission should be that God deserves the worship of all people everywhere, whether they live in mud huts or in fine brick homes with a Mercedes-Benz in the garage.” – Charlie Davis, Servant Magazine, Issue 83, 2009 (emphasis added).

We are such a small part in the whole big picture of things.  However, we are an important part in getting the word out that God does deserve to be worshipped.  Being at RVA is an integral part of not only helping those who are church planting, those evangelizing, those providing clean water, and those helping with famine relief but to guide and mentor young people to be able to do those very things after their schooling.  We are so privileged to have alumni come back and tell us about what they have been doing since leaving school.  It is humbling and inspiring at the same time. 

 

 

 

 

For the Plant Lovers

We are so blessed to have such an amazing array of plants to enjoy here.  We arrived back just in time to see our Bird of Paradise plant blooming.  It never ceases to amaze us how intricate this flower is.  It is also loquat season.  Loquats are fruits that grow on trees that only bear fruit every other year.  We have four in our yard which help in supplement our kids diet.   Passion fruit vines also grow and give an amazing flower and fruit for us to enjoy as well.  Soon the Jackaranda trees will bloom and turn from green to purple.  God has such an amazing design and we get to enjoy His handiwork.  Hopefully these pictures do justice to what we get to see in real life.