Eastup Feb 2020

“To God be the glory, great things He hath done. So loved He the world that He gave us His son.” — Fanny Crosby

Heri ya Mwaka Mpya! I am filled with awe and thankfulness as I look back over 2019. I can hardly believe that an entire school year is complete, and we are starting school year 2020. Here are a few of the events I would like to share from the end of the year.

Field trips are truly where students get to see that all their studies are intertwined—reading, writing, speaking, listening, math, science, history, and Bible all come together and come to life. Knowing the value of these experiences, we were so thankful to be able to arrange two field trips in the final term.

On the first field trip, we took our Standard V and Standard VII students to Kilimanjaro International Airport. Students first visited the weather station to learn about the various weather instruments used to capture data that is then shared around the world. The weather station was at the end of the runway, so the added attraction was getting to watch airplanes land and takeoff. Then, thanks to a generous parent who works at the airport, students were invited up into the control tower, where the staff explained their procedures, purpose, and importance. After this trip, you can imagine that we now have many students who want to be a pilot or an air traffic controller.

For the second field trip, we took the Standard IV and Standard VI students to the Kiliflora rose farm, which also has a hydro-electric power supply. Both of these aspects connected very nicely with their science units about plants and electricity. On top of that, students got to learn about the processes of packing and shipping internationally since all of the roses are exported to Europe for sale. In the greenhouse, students learned about how the company tests out many different varieties to see if they are viable for business by studying the needs of each variety and studying their susceptibility to diseases and pests. The highlight for many was getting to see the hydro-electric power supply. It was something these classes had studied in the classroom but just could not quite grasp until they saw it in real life. Now they will never forget. Is not that the wonderful thing about field trips? Students were also quite pleased to come back to school with their very own rose as a souvenir.

One of the highlights of my year came in November when I was able to go to Rafiki’s first classical Christian education conference, in Nairobi, Kenya. Missionaries, teachers, and church partners from all ten Rafiki Villages across Africa gathered together to learn from some of the prominent leaders in classical Christian education in the United States. I came back from the conference so inspired and even more committed to the importance of the work we are doing in our schools. What a blessing to also get to take two of my teachers, the Education Secretary of our partner denomination, and the head teacher from one of our church partner schools. Now we all have a more robust and exciting vision of what education should be and can work together to spread the vision as we continue to grow in our understanding and implementation. Plus, I got to reconnect with one of the teachers from Malawi who has been teaching there since I served as a Short-term missionary in 2008.

Our Form 2 students completed their national exams at the secondary school three weeks before the end of the term, so we were eager to bring them back into Rafiki for some tutoring and enrichment classes. It was a sweet few weeks to have our oldest students back on campus and see how much they have grown and matured. They especially liked being the first ones to try out our recently received laptops on which they could practice typing and explore how to research through our intranet. It made us desire the secondary school registration even more, so that these precious students can be under our care again. Please continue praying with us that our registration would be approved soon.

As I celebrated the completion of the school year with my wonderful teachers, I was reminded yet again how much I love getting to be part of this work. God has blessed me abundantly and fills me with joy daily. Thank you for being part of this work too. From all of us in Tanzania, we pray that you see God’s abundant blessings and are filled with joy as you begin the new year.

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