Maggio November 2024

“And David said, ‘Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake’” (2 Samuel 9:1).

As we enter the season for Thanksgiving and Christmas, may our reflections be centered on God’s mercy and kindness to undeserving sinners.

At Rafiki we have been going through the Books of 1 and 2 Samuel. It has been insightful to see how the gospel message is woven through the Old Testament. We have been particularly struck with how David showed kindness to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, after David had been made king in the place of Saul. Mephibosheth was lame, vulnerable, and poor, but David sought him and brought him to his home, raised his status, and restored his wealth. Mephibosheth did not deserve it, nor could he earn it, but simply received it. Similarly, Jesus offers to sinners forgiveness and eternal life. We do not deserve it, nor can we earn it, but we receive Him by faith. Jesus brings us to His table and provides for us. This Old Testament event clearly points to Christ and gives us a glimpse of the gospel which dispels any sentiments that some hold onto that they do not see the mercy of God or learn about the gospel from the Old Testament.

In Zambia we are thanking the Lord for the first rains this season after a severe drought which led to the failure of crops and necessitated the rationing of power from the nation’s hydroelectric dams. The power outages lasted for as long as three to five days in some areas. We are thankful that most areas are now getting at least some hours of power every day.

At the Rafiki Institute of Classical Education (RICE), we are thankful for the fourteen students who completed a class in Research Methodology culminating in a presentation of their research topics and proposals to all the students. The topics were interesting, ranging from The Case for Independence of the Western Province of Zambia to Differences Among School Children’s Ability to Read.

Tom with RICE graduates

Research Class with proposals 2024

In December ten of our students will be completing their studies and receiving their teaching diplomas. This is another group that Tom enrolled in 2021 and supervised their training. Their last term is divided between student teaching in the primary school and their final classes in Language Arts, Science, and Creating Classical Classroom Environments.

At RICE we are also busy interviewing for a new class to begin in January. We are praying for the Lord to send the people He wants to transform into classical Christian teachers.

We are also thankful for the huge boost that Dr. William Zulu (our new Outreach supporting staff) has provided to the Outreach Program. He is currently on a trip to present the Rafiki Bible Study and Sunday School Lessons to teachers and trainers in the Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ) Eastern Presbytery congregations and RCZ Mission Schools. Many of the Mission Schools have no formal Bible study program. He is expecting a good response, and we are praying the words of Isaiah, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Dr. William Zulu

We thank you for your continued support and pray you will have a joyful Thanksgiving and blessed Christmas season.

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