Bronke November 2022

“For great books, there must be great readers” – Victor Hugo.

A new school year has begun, and the Rafiki Classical Christian school is focusing its efforts on intentionally joyful learning. Around the school, from early childhood to junior high, the words of this little ditty can be heard:

Because joy starts with the teacher, we began the school year with a training exercise for teachers to practice reading aloud with expression, drama, and joy. After modeling what not to do and what to do, I had the fun job of searching the library and Rafiki curriculum for passages for teachers to read. Joy sure did abound in our training sessions! Teachers of every level got up and practiced reading to inspire wonder, awe, and laughter in their students. We learned about pride in The Rainbow Fish and leaned in close to hear the inspiring tale of St. Augustine’s conversion: “pick it up and read.”

Please pray with me that joyful learning would be the hallmark of every Rafiki Ghana classroom.

In the fifth-and-sixth-grade language arts classes I teach, I pray to kindle a love for reading. In grade six, we have a daily dictation exercise. Students listen to a quote repeated and try to copy it down in their best penmanship. Not only does this train their ears and hands but also their hearts, for the words we hear hold great wisdom. The quote by Victor Hugo was used just this past week, and I brought in Victor Hugo’s great book Les Misérables to show the students its one-thousand-plus pages. I told them, “Surely! This is a great book in size, but what makes a book great?” After pondering over this question a bit and hearing their responses, I got to speak about books which inspire us to think about “ …whatever is just, whatever is pure…” (Philippians 4:8). I pray as my students read great books their minds are drawn upward to the Great Author.

A second-grade student joyfully reading God’s Word

Some books are so great that they speak for themselves, and all I must do is read them to my students. Grade six has been enjoying C.S. Lewis’ The Horse and His Boy. One of the day students in the class visibly shuddered as we read about Shasta all alone in the dark tombs at night, hearing strange noises, as I whispered the words on the page. I knew then that he was immersed in the book! I also had the joy of overhearing one of my students summarize her library book, The Secret Garden, to our librarian this week. There is also a waiting list for those wanting to borrow my copy of Lord of the Rings! What a privilege it is to share great books with these children!

A junior high resident student with the amazing artwork of Aslan he did for the sixth grade classroom

Will you pray with me that every Rafiki student and staff member will be a great reader of The Great Book and that God’s Word would be written on their hearts?

This Thanksgiving, I am thanking God once again for you for joining me in prayer and support in the work of the Rafiki Foundation. If you would like to continue supporting me for another year, here is how you can:

• 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.

Please also pray that the Lord will provide more Rafiki Missionaries and more day student sponsors so that we can bring Bible study and classical Christian education to more needy children . Perhaps He is calling you to be the answer to one of those prayers? Visit www.RafikiFoundation.org to learn more.

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