Greetings from RVA,

 We returned safely and without any travel issues. The following day, Janine went to a faculty meeting while I went to work to wade through weeks of paperwork awaiting my return. The next two days were filled by all day staff meetings. Throughout these days we struggled with adjusting back to Kenya’s time zone and fighting off jet lag. Thursday was an off-day which allowed us to travel into Nairobi to get supplies for our house as well as Janine’s cooking classes. We left very early to beat the crowds and so that we could return early enough to decorate the dorm for the girls. Friday all new students to RVA arrived with their parents for a day of orientation. We have 5 girls in our dorm who are new to RVA and to boarding school as well. On Saturday, their parents left and all the returning students arrived on campus. All together, we have 12 girls living in our dorm ranging in age from 11 to 13 years-old.

 

We have now been back in school for 1 week. Our week has been filled with teaching classes (Janine), town trips for me (3 in one week) and Julia diving into her classes.






The girls have not yet settled into a routine and we still have many things to work out. It seems hard to believe that these 7^th grade girls seem so much younger than the eighth grade girls we cared for last year, but they really are. In many ways, that works to our advantage. Janine is trying really hard to establish a bedtime routine that allows her to visit with each room, review the day and talk about what is on their minds, and pray with them before they go to sleep. We have been able to establish phone parameters from day one that took us most of the year last year to establish. We are praying that their access to technology is managed so that they truly benefit from what is available. We realize that we will need to be much more hands on this year and we are looking forward to investing in the girls lives and teaching them to live in a Christ-like manner.

 

This weekend was filled with welcome back events for the students. Friday night we had our first dorm night, which is a chance for us to just be with the girls and learn a little about them. We had a fairly extensive menu planned but circumstances prevented all our prep work from being completed. Our inside worker, Margaret was injured in an auto accident that required her to be hospitalized and have surgery to repair injuries she received. She was discharged late Friday evening and is home with her family. Please join us in praying for her complete healing from the injuries she received.

 


 Janine worked diligently to prepare all afternoon and the girls had a great time and were very grateful. I helped Janine a little but had to leave to go coach basketball for the 7^th and 8^th grade girls. I will use my Upwards experience to coach while connecting on a new level with all the junior high girls. 

 

 Saturday brought us to our first big event, “Splash Day”. This is a day designed for all junior high students to travel together for a day of swimming and fun at a school in Nairobi that allows us to rent their swimming facilities for this event. The drive in was a bit difficult as we drove through clouds and rain, navigated many broken-down vehicles and generally dealt with heavy traffic. We prayed for the sun to show and later in the day it did! The girls all had fun and Janine and I enjoyed the trip as well.

 

 

Sunday the entire campus went to church in Kijabe at the local Africa Inland Church( AIC) located directly across the street from our service gate. This allows us to fellowship with the local community and support the many ministries they are involved with. Because this service is early in the morning, it allows us time to recharge and prepare for the coming week.

We hope you enjoyed our update. We miss all of you !

 

All our love,

Steve, Janine Julia and Lizzy too!