Harbick December 2023

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;…Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Greetings from Nigeria!

Where has the year gone?

The Rafiki School year came to an end with many students pleased to be moving on to the next grade. We had our first ever graduation from Early Childhood classes!

EC3 graduation

They marched in their new caps and gowns very orderly and proper. Each of the two classes did presentations for recitation and—not that I am prejudiced—knocked it out of the ballpark. They knew their material, could be heard in the back of the gym, and they had fun.

Our maintenance and ground crews have been very busy as well. With several major projects including enlarging the generator room to accommodate a new generator to cut down on the cost of fueling our old one. They have also enlarged the northside guard house to give our security guards better storage facilities plus a toilet and shower!

They also finished the remodel of our former preprimary building and primary building. With the extra cottages being emptied by the graduation of our orphans, we have converted those cottages into school rooms and have doubled our classes from our three-year-old class to the second grade. The new school year began October 9 with our second third-grade class! It is exciting to see.

On November 25, the Rafiki Institute of Classical Education (RICE) hosted its first formal graduation for all who have completed the three-year diploma program! We had thirty-seven of the thirty-eight graduates participating. These graduates were from 2018 to 2023 and included most of the those for whom you have prayed who completed the research paper. Their diplomas are from the University of Mkar, Mkar-Benue. Mkar sent two representatives to participate and to present the diplomas.

Fellow missionary Shakiyla, myself, and MKAR representatives

Dr. Ibrhim Bakari was our keynote speaker, and he challenged the students to not only be “Ambassadors for Christ but for Christian Classical Education” wherever God took them in service. They are currently serving here at the Rafiki School, our partner schools and as well as private schools in the area.

One of the “goodwill” addresses was given by one of the directors for the Ministry of Education for Plateau State. In it he appreciated all that Rafiki was doing in Plateau State to help those who had limited sources of income and who might not ever have afforded to go to school (especially the quality of a Rafiki School).

Praises

• God’s continued provision for the needs of the Rafiki employees and Village during this time of economic instability.
• Thirty-eight graduates from the RICE Program to date

New graduates

Prayer Requests

• Continue to pray for the University of Mkar, to hear that the government has approved a degree program in classical Christian education.
• God’s guidance for how we can help our staff and students to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of living.
• Discernment of God’s plan for all of our students/graduates and for us to follow.

Thank you for your prayers! They have been felt and so appreciated. Safety here is found in the center of His will.

Thank you!

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P.S. From the Home Office: Susy only has 56% of her funding needed for 2023.