Pederson December 2024

Christmas Greetings 2024!

We reached December and found ourselves reflecting on all God enabled us to participate in the past eleven months. It was another year of growth in trusting God and blessings.

In November, ten more residents graduated from high school and took their national exams. We are eagerly awaiting results which will determine options for tertiary education. They have moved in with extended family and started their transition to independence. One of our 2023 graduates was baptized in November.

Julie has taken over our growing Outreach Program. She and her team hosted two groups from Outreach schools. The first week had sixty-five teachers who were greatly inspired. The second group was preceded by an administrative team who came for an introduction day. This Anglican diocese of seven churches decided to adopt the Rafiki Education System (RES) for their existing and new schools for the 2025 school year. The teachers came not knowing anything, but assured Julie by the end of the week they were well informed and prepared for the “new and better way to teach!” For most of them, doing the Rafiki Bible Study for adults gave them a chance to discuss the Bible and learn to a depth they did not know was possible. We urged them to talk to their school leadership about how essential this is.

As Outreach continues to grow, we are adding another staff person. Teacher Peter, like Teacher Serah (see Serah’s story below), attended RICE, and then taught preschool and then grade three here at Rafiki Kenya. They are both great teachers and enthusiastic about training teachers, sharing the curriculum, and seeing how God uses it to grow His kingdom.

We are also working to print more and more materials in country in addition to receiving materials from the Home Office on a container. December is a busy month packing materials for schools to start the new school year with the RES materials! We are also selling high quality Bible commentaries at a special price for the month of December. We pray many pastors will be blessed and in turn share that blessing in their sermons for many years to come.

RICE is once again a lively place

January and April Diploma intakes grew us to twenty-six diploma students. An additional eleven certified teachers joined a special Post Graduate Studies (PGS) Program which is for certified teachers who spend mornings in the school observing and assisting, and then study RICE courses in the afternoons. Thankfully, it was a very lively building.

We have a new web page to help with sharing information and recruiting students. Check us out at https://rtc.rafikifoundation.org/rtc-kenya

Nine more students graduated from the Diploma course in December. Five of them currently teach at the Rafiki School. One is an assistant in our Outreach Program and the other three hold positions in Outreach schools.

One of the goals of Rafiki is to help the people of Africa to know God and raise their standard of living. The story of brothers Elijah (far left) and Sam (far right) give that testimony.

Sam, like his brother, had completed high school and qualified for university. In his second year, Elijah had to drop out because of lack of funds. He started working in a carpentry shop to support his parents who were surviving on casual labor. Sam was literally stuck at home. The family was loosely involved in a local church. One of our RICE staff who attended a reformed church in their area, noticed the brothers hanging around and started engaging them in conversation about Christianity. After attending her church, they were told about a tuition free teacher’s college which included lunch! They jumped at the opportunity and took full advantage of learning art, music, history, and by reading many books, they sharpened their writing and math skills. The brothers then dove deeply into reformed theology through the Rafiki Bible Study. In 2024, both Sam and Elijah were hired in Outreach schools. Sam taught after-school music lessons and Elijah started an after-school reading club at his school. Since being employed, Sam and Elijah have not only lived on their own for the first time, but both contributed to improving the family home and giving back to their parents. Sam will continue at his school teaching grade two and Elijah will join the staff at RICE as the Level Two assistant.

Serah’s mom was seriously sick when she was in grade eight and passed away two years later. She moved to live with her sister in Nairobi at age fourteen. At the local public school, she was introduced to our Administrative Assistant who heard her story and recommended her to Rafiki School. Serah spoke broken English and had limited reading ability. When her class started reading The Hobbit aloud, she really struggled. Motivated by her teachers, encouraged by her classmates, and determined to move forward, she took full advantage of the opportunity before her. Learning to read enabled Serah to read the Bible for herself for the first time. Along with the Rafiki Bible Study she decided to leave her family church and find a Bible teaching church. Through this, God drew Serah to himself and to saving faith.

After two years, working as a preschool assistant, Serah heard God calling her to teaching and gave her a desire to go to college. She remembered RICE and begged for admission. She got a bike and rode 10km each way for a whole year. She completed the course and earned her government teacher certification. Rafiki School employed her to teach kindergarten. Mentored by another RICE graduate for three years, Serah took over as mentor for another RICE graduate for two years. After five years, she was asked to join the Outreach Team and has proven to be a valuable trainer of teachers with much passion for the gift God has given her.

Along the way Serah, as a single parent, has raised her son who has benefited from a Rafiki classical education and qualified for the National Music Festival as a soloist.

We look forward to a quiet Christmas season in Kenya. We pray your Christmas will be one that brings a fuller knowledge of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer Requests

• Pray for a full January cohort of 18 Diploma students and 12 PGS students.
• Pray for the schools using the Bible study and curriculum to thrive and bear fruit.
• Pray for our own Rafiki school to have a strong start in January, growing in grace.

Merry Christmas!

Please click here for a printer friendly version of this newsletter.