Pederson July 2026

It seems like only yesterday that I stepped onto a plane to come back home to Liberia, but it is already been two months! My, how time flies. As soon as I arrived, I stepped back into my role as dean of our Rafiki Teachers College. I was grateful to see how my staff had taken care of the college in my absence.

I also stepped into the role of Village Administrator temporarily, while my fellow missionary Julie McKeighan has been in the States taking care of her father. Should all go according to plan, she will be back with us for a few months before retiring. I have been grateful for the time to try out being in charge while still having her hands on the steering wheel! Another missionary change has been the welcome addition of Trinity Gozé to our small team. Trinity recently graduated from college with a degree in Christian Classical Education and will lend her expertise to the school and the Rafiki Teachers College for the year that she is here.

By the time you read this, school will be back in session in Liberia. We have enjoyed a three week break in-between school terms. When I say “enjoyed,” I mean that the maintenance team has been furiously scrambling to convert one of the cottages previously used for resident orphan children into a kindergarten classroom, Christie Tokpah and her administrative staff in the primary school have been interviewing three-year-olds (who wouldn’t love that job?) for the new preschool class, and I have been running around paying bills and having lots of meetings. Ah, the glamorous life of a missionary.

Before...

… and after

In this newsletter, I want to highlight two stories: Benjamin and Moses. I did not have the pleasure of meeting these two young men when they lived here. Both had finished their time as residents of the Village and had just entered tertiary schooling by the time I arrived. Ben went to a one-year vocational school for mechanics, and Moses is in his last year of schooling for IT. After Ben finished his schooling, he was at a “job” in which his boss was taking advantage of his skill set. We were able to offer him a job on the maintenance team at Rafiki where he has been for the last two months. He is a joy to see on the Village every day. His soft-spoken willing attitude are a great addition to the team, and it is very difficult to not find him smiling! The other day at staff Bible study, I asked for recommendations for a hymn to sing, Ben quickly said, “number forty-five! Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine.”

Ben smiles as he works

I was having difficulty with some computers at the Rafiki Teachers College recently and gave Moses a call, wondering if he could stop by and check them out to see if we could sell any for parts. He is currently on school break and was happy to make the visit. It seemed that I only looked away for a moment before Moses had his computer tools in hand, multiple computers open on a table, and tinkering away. He came up to me at regular intervals to tell me that the computers work, they just needed their fans cleaned, or have something adjusted. I was ready to give them up for parts! Now he is down at the school helping with other IT jobs and general administrative tasks. Sometimes we have paid our college students a small amount for doing some tasks for us around the Village during their breaks. Moses has not once asked for anything, and when I tell him to keep track of the days that he has worked, he just gives me a shrug and a smile. In both young men is the fruit of their years being soaked in Scripture and the love of God. Their love for this Village and their excellent work ethics are a testament to foremost, their love for God.

Moses always a dapper gentleman

Afternoon at the dining hall

Thank you for your prayers and support for the work which God has called me.

Praises

The addition of Trinity Gozé to our team
Faithful staff who love God and each other
Thankful for a new term/school year

Prayer Requests

Wisdom and diligence as I seek to understand all the tasks set before me.
Prudence to know what tasks to prioritize first.
A strong start to the term.
At least ten new students for our Rafiki Teachers College intake in October.
Twenty new long-term missionaries to join Rafiki.

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.