Koepke September 2023

The Book of Ecclesiastes says, “There is a time for everything under sun.”

Over the past few months, we have seen God’s provision, generosity, and faithfulness.

Another nine of our resident children graduated from high school in August. It seems amazing that we now have only eleven resident kids living on-site. At church, this means a greatly reduced choir size, but the remaining children are stepping up to fill roles. Their time has finally come.

Rafiki graduating class of 2023

Thankfully, we are past the time of building new schools and houses here in the Nigeria Village, but plenty of renovations of existing buildings are underway. These renovations remind us of the ways God is continuing to make changes in each of our lives as well.

For us, an opportunity to travel to Malawi arose in August, and is changing the way we serve in Rafiki. The Malawi Village had several projects that required extra help, so we spent three weeks there to oversee them. We will continue to serve in Nigeria, but as needs arise, we will also be allowed to help out, short-term, at other Rafiki Villages. 

Malawi cold room renovation

One of the joys in Malawi was getting to spend time with the missionary team—Jay and Maureen Richards and Anna Liebing. They were gracious hosts and even took us on a Saturday outing to Lake Malawi. 

Fellowship with the Malawi team

C.O.R.E.
C.O.R.E. stands for the Curriculum Orientation of the Rafiki Education Program. For Rafiki schools, the time has come to give training to teachers from local classical Christian schools. Up to twenty-five teachers at a time spend a week here on-site where they observe classes and receive assistance from our teachers. The response has been very positive all around. Currently, five other schools in Jos have started (or continued) the implementation of the Rafiki Education System. 

C.O.R.E. trainees

According to Shakiyla Ishaku, our Education Director, “This week has been a busy one! We took this week to encourage, teach, and support. We had eighteen educators on campus. Their mornings consisted of assembly, classroom observations, and conversations with our teachers. Their afternoons were filled with training, modeling, and curricular clusters. These small group discussions allowed them to ask all the content-based questions they had and get recommendations from staff who have been doing this for years. Our school is so much more than a school, it is slowly transforming into a hub for educational communities to unite, flourish, and reflect the beauty of the Body of Christ.” After observing a Rafiki classroom, one participant shared, “The teacher clearly loves her job, her students, and her leadership. I loved everything about her class!”

Praises

• Good health for the children and us.
• Teamwork on our missionary team.

Prayer Requests

• Graduates will make godly decisions in their adult lives.
• Upcoming Classical Christian Education conferences in Uganda and Kenya in October.
• Wisdom in finding solutions to building foundation problems in Rafiki’s Ethiopia Village.

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