Nealey December 2023

I am so pleased to announce that I arrived in Africa on November 27. I am temporarily at the Rafiki Village in Monrovia, Liberia and I will be moving on to Malawi in April. In the meantime, I am learning all about the workings of a Rafiki Village here. I was very warmly welcomed by the Village Administrator Julie McKeighen and RICE Dean Christie VanKuiken. They have kindly taken me by the hand and are walking me through the day-to-day procedures of administering a Rafiki Village. Emma, the ChildCare Administrator Assistant, has graciously agreed to let me mirror her in her duties. I am so grateful to her because I will be the ChildCare Administrator in Malawi.

My send-off lunch held at the Rafiki Home Office in Florida just before my departure for Africa

Julie is giving me an excellent opportunity to spend some time with all the people involved in the smooth running of the Village. Christie is training me in how to implement the curriculum in the RICE Program. (RICE stands for Rafiki Institute of Classical Education—Rafiki’s teachers’ college.) I will be able to actually work with the students in RICE, learning to guide them on their way to becoming classical Christian education teachers. They will learn to use Rafiki’s classical Christian education curriculum which is used in Rafiki schools in Africa, and also now in America. Rafiki Classical Academy started this year in Eustis, Florida, the location of the Rafiki Foundation Home Office.

The day after my arrival was a national holiday in Liberia so school was out. As a result, I got a chance to meet the young ladies of the Village right away. They were having a merry time putting up Christmas decorations and I got a chance to join them and get involved. They were so welcoming, and I felt so blessed to be a part of the group. The Rafiki Mothers were there as well, and graciously invited me into their homes to share devotions with them and to join them for lunch and dinner. I got to meet a few of the young men at lunch as well. They were all off somewhere else during the decorating. I had dinner and evening devotions with Mama Roseta and her family.

Me with Mama Roseta and Mama Alice

Mama Alice and her girls

St. Augustine cottage just after the family devotions they shared with me

On Thursday, Emma let me join her as she met with all the mamas for devotions and parent meetings. She is helping me get acclimated, as observing devotions and leading parent meetings will be part of my duties in Malawi. Then there was a really special treat for me! As I was going into the dining hall, I met a preschool class. They made me feel so special. Every one of them wanted to greet me and shake my hand. They solemnly stood there and waited for their chance to greet me like this was what they had been waiting for all day. It certainly made my day! I am still smiling!

My second week has been spent mostly at RICE where Christie is kindly giving me some insight on administering the program. I enjoyed working with a student cohort who I am sure taught me more than I taught them! I also have been doing some student teaching observations and learning how to evaluate the work of the RICE students in several different areas, all skills I will need in Malawi. I have also been enjoying daily visits with the Rafiki Mamas and children. I am so blessed to be here! I have been thinking of Psalms 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Please pray that I develop relationships with my team members, national staff, and children that promote fellowship which evolves into unity and trust. Also pray that I trust the Lord to give me the wisdom and courage I need to manage the ministry He has given me with excellence and integrity.

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