Okoth December 2024

As we close 2024, a year full of surprises and answered prayer, we look forward to, and anticipate, the joys and new challenges of 2025. So, let’s first recap 2024 and then share with you the anticipatory joys of 2025.

2024 Surprises and Answered Prayers

• This year, the Rafiki School hired a music teacher who was a former Rafiki Day Student who fell in love with the Lord and hymns through the Rafiki Bible Study and singing of the hymns daily. He loved seeing the joy on Missionary Patty Lafage’s face at assemblies each week when she would teach them the hymn. Teacher Edward is now teaching primary music classes (including recorder), RICE music courses, primary choir, and after-school piano lessons. Students are learning to read music and use their voices to glorify the Lord with beauty and skill.

Primary class performing at the first Christmas Cantata organized by our new music teacher

• Teachers’ training this year has been full of engaging discussions about the development of the child’s heart and mind. Teachers have studied well, read, asked questions, and begun applying various strategies of Classical Christian Teaching Pedagogy into their practice. Though they have much more work to do in their practice, their growth this year has been commendable and an answer to prayers.

EC1 Rafiki students on cultural day

• Bible study continues to transform the hearts of teachers. Several have requested Rafiki Bible Studies to go and teach in their churches, homes, or communities. Others have shared how the Bible study has prepared them to teach Bible in their churches, homes, and communities and how it has transformed the way they parent and live. Through the study of the Rafiki Bible Study this year, many teachers learned to share the full gospel after realizing that there were gaps in their ability to communicate their faith. We just love how the Lord is at work in them.
• Outreach teachers continue to come for training and each time they are surprised when they see what the early childhood students are capable of. The Lord is literally using Rafiki to show teachers from all over Uganda how unique, wonderful, and capable the mind of a child is. Many teachers from outreach schools have a very limited perspective on the 3- to 6-year-old child’s mind and it is amazing to watch God work in their minds and hearts when they come for training.

Outreach schools

• After years of partnering with The Church of Uganda, they committed to send teachers to be trained to use the Rafiki Educational System and Rafiki Bible Study. Let's keep praying that they commit and stay committed to Classical Christian Education and the Rafiki Bible Study as they are most influential in church schools throughout Uganda.
• Praise the Lord for the years of perseverance by the Rafiki Administration Uganda in pursuit of the Rafiki Primary Curriculum government approval. The Rafiki Classical Christian Primary Education System was approved for use in schools across Uganda.
• The head teachers and administrative team here in Uganda are an eager, dedicated, and passionate group who will go the extra mile for the students and their teachers. We have been amazed by the long hours, the commitment to go out and find students who have not showed up at school, and their eagerness to learn more each day about classical Christian education. They work tirelessly for the Lord’s work and continue to grow in their ability to lead parents, students, and teachers in their understanding and implementation of God's Word in the classroom and classical Christian education.

Rafiki students after chess competition

• On the home front, the Lord has answered our prayers and is currently knitting little Anaiah Alice together in the womb. Many have prayed with us for her health and development. We are so grateful for what the Lord is doing. The Lord has been gracious to us as we have worked on trusting Him with the work, with the life of Anaiah, and His decision for us to become parents.
• The Lord has continued to provide even as we have struggled to reach our support raising goals over the last couple of years. We continue to be in need of more financial support for the work we do here with Rafiki Foundation.
• We have been able to engage more at our local church. Our work and study of God’s Word with Rafiki has prepared and equipped us to teach Bible study in our church. Paul’s additional study of God’s Word, through Reformation Bible College has also equipped him to teach the congregation at church on Sundays, at children’s ministry events, and a church history class with church members on Friday evenings. The Lord continues to have more planned for us than we know. Looking back, we could never have anticipated the reach we would have for the Lord.

Looking forward to 2025

• The arrival of Anaiah Alice. Though we have struggled with anxious thoughts about her arrival, we have also rejoiced in the Lord and what He is doing. We have been challenged to trust in the Lord, to relinquish our perceived control and let Him be the great I AM in our lives. He has invited us sinners to be ambassadors of Christ to this little one. Pray with us that we will be faithful to His Word along the way.
• With the arrival of baby Anaiah, we will need to do more support raising as our household size grows. Also, with the increased demand of travel for Paul with Outreach we are praying to raise more funds for a more reliable vehicle. Please pray with us for more financial supporters, especially for churches to partner with us.
• Continued service in our local church and building stronger community through the fellowship and teaching of God's Word.
• Teacher training opportunities with The Church of Uganda and the Lutheran Church to further their understanding of Classical Christian Education, Bible Study use, and biblical worldview integration.
• Kathy Johnson coming to substitute for Amber while she is on maternity leave. We are looking forward to the training that she will do with the teachers in Classical Christian Pedagogy.
• Rafiki Classical Christian School Uganda is pursuing Association of Classical Christian Schools accreditation. We look forward to taking the initial steps in this process. The school will also be working towards the implementation of a new school information management system as well. Both of these endeavors will come with challenges but in the long run will help us to operate in a way that continues to glorify our Lord.
• Lastly, we anticipate the distribution of Bibles to church partners, to children in our Outreach schools who may not have a Bible in their home, and the many more that the Lord will provide His Word to go to.

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