Bronke June 2020

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

I remember my wise older sister paraphrasing the above verse to me a few years ago after I said to her, “I wish the Lord would show me what He wants me to do.” The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” While I spent considerable time wondering what God’s will was for my life, trying to peer down the corridors of time, He lovingly reminded me that His will for me was simpler than I had made it out to be: it was and is my sanctification. He will guide and direct me. All I have to do is endeavor to glorify Him and rest knowing I will enjoy Him forever.

I know that my going to Africa as a missionary is of the Lord because I could not have dreamed this up! I did not spend my days as a young girl dreaming of being a missionary in a far-off place, but events in the last few years have confirmed God’s will for this time of my life. He showed me in a small West African country that my passion for books and critical reading could be used to glorify Him, and He gave me a new passion—as only He can do—for the continent of Africa. He led me to the Rafiki Foundation (I didn’t have to do any searching!), and I continue to be grateful.

I want to thank you again for continuing to support me, and I want to assure you: I will be going to Africa! Of course, this process has not looked like how I might have planned it; who could have guessed that a global pandemic would hit? Yet, God willed this to happen, and He knows the right time for my departure. He knows which country I will end up in and which job I will assume. As I write this, I am reminding myself of that truth.

I have enjoyed keeping you updated about the things that continue to happen throughout the Rafiki Villages in Africa despite lockdown and social-distancing measures. Students continue to learn and be fed physically and spiritually. Rafiki national teachers continue to receive their salaries. Thanks to the ubiquity of technology, many students living outside of the Village are receiving academic lessons and lectures straight to their phones while the schools are closed. There is one story I was especially excited about recently. In Kenya, when the mother of a Rafiki day student had trouble helping her daughter with her reading assignment because she had not read the text herself, the Rafiki teachers created their own audio-book reading of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. Imagine as you read this letter—the words of those timeless tales being heard in the homes of students surrounding the Rafiki Village in Kenya.

“Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

When I get a little anxious waiting, I remind myself that Africa will be there waiting for me. Plus, there is much work to do here at the Rafiki Home Office in Florida in the meantime! Thank you for remembering me in your prayers, for there is much to pray about right now. I look forward to sharing more with you, and I am praying for you and your family. I pray we all trust the Lord’s will and remember that it is always for our good. Thanks for waiting with me.

The sweet faces I pass by every morning on my way to my desk.

To donate online:

• Go to www.rafikifoundation.org.

• Select “Support a Missionary” from the drop-down menu in the upper right.

• Find my photo and enter the amount that you would like to give. (You can make a one-time donation or a recurring donation.) Thank you!

To donate by check:

• Send your check to the Rafiki Home Office at PO Box 1988, Eustis, FL 32727 with my name and missionary number (#249) in the memo line.

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