Wilson January 2024

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom… Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! ” (Psalm 90:12, 17).

Greetings and Happy New Year, friends and family!

The verses from Psalm 90 perfectly express the desire of our hearts for the Rafiki Classical Christian School (RCCS) students—as well as ourselves—in this new year.

After a brief but beautiful visit to the U.S. to celebrate Thanksgiving and the wonderful wedding of our daughter, Jaya-Naomi, we arrived safely back in the Rafiki Village. Our touchdown and turnover meeting the next day marked our first anniversary as long-term missionaries in Africa! Both the Pedersons and the Aluvisias were patiently awaiting our return so that they could begin their own furloughs with family for Christmas. But before they could take-off, we needed to be prepared to assume their Village duties.

Because all systems seem to run so smoothly when our fellow missionaries are in the Village, we had no real understanding of how things would run without them, until they were gone... During their Christmastide absence, we got to learn first-hand how valuable and integral each missionary’s role is to the thriving of the Village!

An “international mission” accomplished!

The Idea: The Dean of RICE. (the teacher training college that is housed in the Village) wanted to display the flags of all ten countries where Rafiki is serving in Africa. This would help students and visitors to see the scope and the unity of Rafiki’s mission across the continent—while adding a bit of color to the plain gymnasium walls. A simple goal, right?

The Challenge: Mailing anything, including a flag, from one country to another can be risky, due to corruption and inspections by government agencies.

The Solution: A colleague at the Rafiki Village Nigeria (missionary Doug Koepke) caught the Dean’s vision and also heard that we were returning to the U.S. for our daughter’s wedding near the end of the year. While he made the arrangements to travel back to the U.S. on furlough, he also purchased a national flag in Nigeria. He flew to the U.S. with it packed in his suitcase and then proceeded to mail it from Texas to Ohio, where members of our family live. When we arrived, we found a package waiting for us. The flag completed its transcontinental journey when we returned to Kenya with it!

During the school break, we:

• interviewed several new student families and teacher candidates to fill openings in the school.

Risper family

Hilda’s family

• received and cataloged the contents of a shipping container filled with school and Village supplies, as well as 100s of donated Bibles. We got to pass those on to several local church representatives to distribute to their members, Bible students, and neighbors—what a privilege!

PMG workers help with container

The long-awaited container with curriculum and Bibles for the community arrives!

Cataloging the container

• and planned new sessions for training our teaching staff.

Week one of the school year completed and we:

• welcomed new teachers and students to RCCS.

First day of the new school year

Choir students lead national anthem during week one

• marveled at the variety of God’s creatures we get to encounter on a daily basis.

Village birds

Brenda’s beautiful and colorful butterfly

Cows in the streets of Mwiki

• encouraged fourth graders as they memorized the structure of the Psalms:

Book 1-the King’s confidence in God’s care

Book 2-Commitment to God’s kingdom

Book 3-Crisis over God’s promises

Book 4-Comfort in God’s faithfulness

Book 5-Celebration of God’s salvation!

Other updates

RCCS is growing! Over the years the unique, Bible-based Rafiki curriculum and ‘word of mouth’ within the community have led families to seek out the school for their children’s education. Unfortunately for some, it has also led to a waiting list at most of the grade levels. We thank God that we are able to provide a second stream up to grade six for the coming school year and that we could welcome a few new students in the upper school grades as well.

Prayer Requests

• That more local schools adopt the Rafiki Education System and Bible Study, so that parents have additional Christ-centered institutions as options for their children (rather than remaining on Rafiki’s waiting list year after year).
• That the Lord will continue His work in the hearts of the residents and the day students alike through the daily Rafiki Bible Study lessons; and that they will grow to love Him more as they learn about His love for them.
• That the nationals would find hope and strength in God the provider in the face of employment challenges and skyrocketing prices.
• That we will be able to share the joys of partnering in this ministry with more friends and churches on our next trip to the States. Please send us a message if you would be willing to host a local gathering where we could share more about Rafiki!

Thank you for remembering us in your prayers, as we serve our faithful Father here in Kenya.

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