Wilson June 2024

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2-3).

Greetings!

Did you know that other than people, trees are mentioned more than any other creation in the Bible? There is a tree on the first page of Genesis and on the last page of Revelation. The first Psalm exhorts believers to “be like a tree” (Psalm 1:2-3). According to author Matthew Sleeth, “Trees remind us that life is much bigger than our present moment. Their deep roots and sprawling branches call us to look to heaven and eternity.”

Now that the heavy rains have stopped, the beautiful Acacia trees that once provided shade and high nesting branches for the birds have been re-purposed! Since they were uprooted during the storms and flooding, they were sawed into manageable pieces on site and then hauled away to a local lumber business to provide new gifts. The season of “Kipupwe” (second dry season of the year with colder temperatures) has commenced and the Village is now in full recovery.

As a means of celebrating the end of the heavy rains, the Kenyan government declared a national holiday, requiring the youth across the country to plant trees. To be in compliance, we enlisted our resident agriculture scholar, Teacher Henry, and our Life Skills Teacher, Christabel, to supervise our eighth graders in the School of Logic as they planted trees around the compound.

Tree-Planting Day in Kenya

Though schools across the U.S. are closed for the summer break, Rafiki Classical Christian School is currently in the fifth week of Term Two. Much has been accomplished since the Home Office visited on the first day of school. We are happy to report that Sibyl, one of our GL6 students advanced to the final round of the Global On-line Spelling Bee where she tied for eighth place in her age category! Additionally, our school received recognition when our newly-formed Chess Club captain, Jeshurun of GL6, placed in his first national chess competition.

Spelling and Chess standouts at RCCS

In the latter part of May, the first wave of short-term missionaries arrived from Colorado, to augment the missionary staff members here in the Village. They could not have come at a better time, since we had just bid farewell to the Aluvisias—fellow Rafiki Missionaries who were called to serve in Rafiki Village Rwanda. Initially, the Colorado crew had been scheduled to serve in Rafiki Village Zambia. However, they were redirected to our Village. Tabitha, Michael, Nancy, Jan, and Jack were well received by our students and our faculty. Their many helping hands were welcomed and needed during their brief time here. With years of experience as registered nurses, Tabitha and Nancy taught a First Aid course for our teaching staff and the students at RICE (the teachers college in the Village). Michael worked with our Imani Standard staff on collecting scoops for the school newspaper. Jan and Jack drew on their experiences to catalog hundreds of donated books in our Primary School library. Just hours after they departed, a dynamic duo from Liberty University—Lizzie and Victoria—landed to provide us with additional support. The “Liberty lasses” have connected quickly with both the community students and the residential students, as they serve in all levels of the school. With their presence, we were able to reinstate a tradition from the past, “Fanta Friday Floats!” This treat was delivered to the top students in each class, from grades 1-12. It was a blast!

Bidding farewell to Colorado missionaries

Rhetoric students enjoy Fanta Floats!

The executive leadership committee of our Parent-Teacher Fellowship had their first meeting and during their first order of business they listened to a presentation by Ambassadors Football Club-Kenya and unanimously voted to invite them to the next Parent Teacher Fellowship to present their proposal.

Leadership Committee of the Parent/Teacher Fellowship

Positive feedback about the Rafiki Education System (RES) continues to spread in the community. We added a few new students to our upper school rolls during this new term. We were also able to direct the parents of some younger students (applying for grades that were already full) to one of our twenty outreach schools in the area that have adopted the Rafiki classical Christian curriculum. There is a great hunger for the well-balanced ‘diet’ of biblically integrated subject content and comprehensive Bible study lessons—the first class of the school day “kilasiku” in every Rafiki Village school across the continent!

Eureka moments continue to occur within our new staff members, as they actively engage with the curriculum which not only trains the minds of their students for understanding but also trains their hearts for wisdom. As they diligently disciple, it is our teachers’ deep desire to leave “an imprint on their students’ lives that will never fade.”

As we bring this “episode” to a close, we are mindful and grateful that every step and breath we take is covered by the intercessory prayers of our “senders.” We know that God hears the prayers of the righteous!

Praise Reports

• Our close friend and strong prayer warrior, Anthony Davis, is recovering well from the stroke he suffered earlier this year.
• One of our supporting churches (Faith Baptist Fellowship) has made a generous donation, which made it possible for the school to purchase audio-visual equipment. This will enhance our teachers’ professional development and allow us to capture extraordinary events involving the students during the school year. Asante, FBF!
• Our new teachers are becoming more connected with the CCE curriculum and identifying more as classical Christian educators as this school year progresses.
• Members of the Village traveled to a town two hours outside of Nairobi to distribute Crossway Bibles to forty Africa Inland Churches. These churches have also acquired the Rafiki Sunday School lessons.

Prayer Requests

• I would deeply appreciate your prayers on behalf of my bride, Crystal, who has been coping with some health issues over the last few months.
• We also ask for prayers to continue covering the Rafiki residents and graduates, as they prepare for the challenges of life in “the real world.”
• Finally, please pray that we will receive the funding needed to continue sharing God’s Truth, through Bible study and Christ-centered education, with the people of Kenya.

If any of you have been inspired to come and serve short-term with Rafiki, please contact the Home Office to sign up and take the missions training course—now conveniently accessible online four times a year! More information can be found online at https://RafikiFoundation.org/opportunities-detail/short-term.

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