Wilson July 2026

“And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Luke 10:2).

Hujambo, Rafiki (Hello, Friend)!

Wherever you live in the U.S., we hope you enjoyed a memorable fourth of July celebration in the steamy temperatures of July. Ironically, here in Kenya, it is the one month of the year that we are most likely to put on a heavy jacket! July is part of the East Africa’s dry season. It is characterized by clear skies, minimal rainfall, and cooler mornings and evenings. But it is also the main harvest month for crops such as maize (corn), sorghum and millet (cereal grains), potatoes, and coffee in the high altitude areas of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.

Missionaries missing America on the fourth of July, but grateful to labor on the continent of Africa.

Another July in Africa also means another “Saba Saba Day.” Although not an official holiday in Kenya, July 7 (seven-seven) has evolved into Kenya’s premier symbol of community activism, civil resistance, and demonstrations for the Gen Z population. It also has the propensity to devolve into destructive riots. Passionate chants against economic hardship, the high cost of living, and political corruption echo in the streets so parents are often reluctant to send their children to school. Erring on the side of caution, almost fifty percent of our students did not walk the roads or ride the matatus to the Village on that day. Thankfully, this year’s demonstrations turned out to be calm and uneventful.

After all the students were dismissed, we took a deep exhale and then commenced our recent July 7 tradition: the Daily Audio Bible “Long Walk.” We took time to appreciate the natural beauty of our surroundings as we traversed every path, trail, and running track within the Village’s twenty-nine acres. It was a peaceful, pensive, and prayerful re-set.

The entire school observed another form of “growth” this term when the Scouts paraded onto the assembly area to lead the Kenyan national anthem. It was no longer just patrols of Sungura Scouts (six- to eleven-year-olds) or Chipukizi Scouts (twelve- to fifteen-year-olds). But the troop has literally blossomed into the Mwamba Scout level (sixteen- to eighteen-years old) as well! The colorful neck scarves yellow, green, orange, and maroon served to identify their ranks, which now spans the grammar school through the rhetoric school years.

The Rafiki Classical Christian School (RCCS) Scout Troop was founded by Mr. Steve Kranz, Director of Facilities, Services, and Outreach at the Home Office in Florida. An Eagle Scout award recipient in his youth, he was the man and missionary who “planted the seeds” when he served in Kenya two decades ago. Now the harvest is plentiful, with six trained leaders and a total of eighty-four scouts who are learning to serve others, honor the Lord, and be good stewards of His creation. To God be the glory!

Upper school scouts

As former Scout parents in America, Crystal and I have been blessed to witness the increased interest and involvement in the Scouting movement (which originated in Kenya), and teaches boys and girls character, discipline, and practical skills. “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth ” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

Term two in Kenya’s academic calendar is also the season of many competitions! In 3 on 3 basketball, both our boys and girls U15 teams advanced to regional play. In our first year of chess competition, members of the chess club received 96 hours’ notice before their first tournament, yet they remained calm and disciplined to the end! As a result, eighteen pupils advanced from the local to the regional level, in the U8, U10, U12, U14 and U15 brackets, which made their journey extra special.

Our students’ first chess tournament!

Lastly, we celebrate the success of Rafiki’s choirs and soloists who performed in this year’s regional music festival. Two grammar school choirs (thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls) and two soloists from the School of Rhetoric performed with excellence and will advance to the national competition in August. The use of their musical gifts and their representation of RCCS manifest that our students are in the pursuit of excellence, for the glory of God.

In morning devotions, we just completed Praying the Attributes of God, authored by Rafiki’s founder, the late Rosemary Jensen.

We praise God for

• A bright student from a local family, who had to leave her previous school in January, due to lack of school fees. She was able to join RCCS through a combination of a bursary fund and the bartering of her father’s carpentry work here in the Village.
• The recent delivery of 20,000 Bibles from Ligonier Ministries (transported to Kenya via Rafiki’s shipping program). They will be distributed to pastors across Kenya and South Sudan, who have been hungry for a resource from which to share God’s truth.
• A successful Parent-Teacher Fellowship and Academic Clinic

Teacher Antony provides wise counsel at the Second Term Academic Clinic.

• A projector for our school (purchased through the generous donation of a supporting church.) This learning tool will be a blessing for classroom use and for us, as we continue training the teachers weekly.

Please join us in praying for

• Two school families mourning loved ones who were recently killed by motorists.
• Safe baby deliveries for Ruth (grade four teacher) and Angeline (school administrator) in the next two months.
• Our students would make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19).

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.

Listen to our podcast for current discussions on Rafiki’s work in Africa.

truenorth.fm/show/the-rafiki-foundation-podcast/

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