Gozé October 2026

On a recent phone call with my sister, I asked her what she wanted to hear about from my time in Africa. She said that I should write about my day-to-day.

My day-to-day schedule, while structured with consistent Bible studies and meetings, contains many free periods to allow for the completion of tasks that seem to reveal themselves last-minute. I am growing out of relying upon the comfort of plans and learning how to respond in the moment. There will always be a need that appears when I am not expecting it, and that is the beauty of Africa—it grows a person.

God's glory reflected in the evening sky

There is a long sidewalk that runs from the Rafiki Teachers College building through the upper school and ends at the primary school. Throughout a normal day, I will walk that walkway—which is the length of the Village—a good five to ten times. I start my day at the teachers college building attending the college-level Rafiki Bible Study. I enjoy participating in the deeper theological discussions and listening to how Liberians might apply a concept to their own culture. Not everyone has the same exact interpretation of the Bible passage we study, so friendly debate is welcomed and insightful.

Practicing funky hairstyles with a resident girl

After Bible study, I walk down the sidewalk to the upper school, where I have three teachers I am coaching on how to use the Rafiki Curriculum well. This next week, a new school term starts. For the three teachers, I will be model teaching in one of their classes: eighth grade History, tenth grade History, and eleventh grade Rhetoric. This will be one of my first times intentionally teaching these classes, so I am excited to be challenged in this way. Pray that the Lord might grant me the strength and clear thinking to plan for my lessons well, that I will understand the material well, and that I may encourage and motivate the teachers of the classes I will be teaching . Pray also for the students that I teach, that I may lovingly communicate the information of the lesson in a way that reminds them and myself of the wonder of Jesus Christ on the cross . After teaching, I will meet with teachers and discuss how the curriculum should be taught. Pray that the teachers will take the initiative to apply the techniques or truths learned into their own lessons.

Eating a Liberian lunch with a short-term missionary

After model teaching or meeting with teachers in the morning, I have space in my schedule to complete whatever supportive administration tasks that need to be addressed. Sponsor reports need to be written within the first half of the term. Sponsor reports consist of a short handwritten letter and prayer request that a student writes out to send to a sponsor who pays for their education. I often find myself walking from the upper school to the primary school, collecting sponsor reports, editing them, and then asking the student to rewrite them.

Decorating cupcakes for the high school graduation reception

Recitation practices happen near the end of the term. I am available as a public speaking coach for these practices. Four different grades present a small piece at the end of the term. Last term, third grade memorized a song about nouns, fifth grade shared a recitation about the plotline of a story, seventh grade presented a drama about prayer, and twelfth grade acted out a drama about money management.

Decorating a "Thank You!" cake for the kitchen staff.

Another project that I was able to complete was to set up a clock-in device for the Rafiki staff and faculty to use to sign in for the day. I help create profiles and register fingerprints on the device for the whole Rafiki staff. The task of scanning everyone’s forefinger on a device was actually a great way to learn faces and names, believe it or not. I am thankful for the chance to put so many names to faces so soon into my time here at Rafiki Liberia. I can confidently say that I know most of everyone’s names within the first three months of being here.

My day usually ends with a meal shared with other missionaries or rowdy teenagers who have been cooped up in classrooms all day. I then prepare to fall asleep around the time known as “missionary midnight,”—8:00 p.m.

Learn more about Rafiki’s expanding opportunities.

Visit our newly designed website RafikiFoundation.org to learn how to:

Purchase the Rafiki Bible Study for small groups for your church or neighborhood
Serve as a missionary with Rafiki
Sponsor a child with the Rafiki Foundation to bring God’s Word and the best education in the world to some of the neediest children in the world in Africa.

Explore the Rafiki Foundation YouTube channel.

Visit (youtube.com/@RafikiFoundation) for videos from Rafiki children, teaching at our annual Enrichment conferences, and the teaching at our African classical Christian conferences.