JUST FOR FUN

We saw this the other day and I wanted to share it just for fun. I wish I had taken a picture as we passed them so you could see just how small the truck was carrying this massive load (a very common sight in Africa). Now, read what is written on the mud flap! 

GOING IN FOR THE KILL

Last year I went on a safari, my first. We spent a significant part of one afternoon following a cheetah who seemed to be on the prowl. Hair raised, slouched low in the tall grass of the African plain, he crept around slowly.  We never did see him make a kill, and part of me was glad. Though I’ve heard it’s intense to watch a cheetah lunge and destroy it’s prey I’m not sure I was up for watching the death of an innocent animal, even if it is natural.

Last week we went to Nakuru and drove around the national game park for a day. It was hot, dry and very dusty around most of the park, except for Lake Nakuru, a beautiful oasis from the heat and brown. I wondered out loud why we weren’t seeing more animals hovered around the water. Brock ever so wisely mentioned how vulnerable to attack it makes the animals, being out in the open like that.  Yes, it makes sense to travel in herds and steer clear of vulnerable spots.

We are thankful that we were never meant to go it alone to vulnerable places. We need you! The Body of Christ is an amazing thing and we are so thankful that you have “herded” around us in prayer for we need the company and protection!

I am not sure there is a place on Earth more prayed for than RVA! Between the hundreds of national believers on staff, the RVA staff, the over 500 students, each of their parents as well as all the supporting churches and individuals represented through these families around the world, we are so blessed to be a part of this place!

And yet, how the Enemy of our souls loathes what is accomplished here in little Kijabe. We feel the battle sometimes, as staff or as a student body, the Evil One attacks... hard. We sense him “crouching at the door” (Gen. 4:7).  And yet we sense your prayers stronger, and we are eternally grateful for our safety rests in it.

I have been reading a book by Dick Brogden called, “Loving Muslims”.  Dick and his family have served in some of the hardest places in the world for a long time. When he wrote this book they had been serving in Sudan for 17 years. He will be our speaker for our Spiritual Emphasis Week in September. I am amazed at the testimonies throughout his book about the battle which rages: the beatings and killings of Christians, the visions and dreams experienced by Muslims, and his love for serving his Maker by serving the least of these! Dick’s oldest son will come to RVA this fall for the first time.

Pray for our students as they transition and grow. Pray for our families as they serve the King. Pray for those of us entrusted with these precious students! Kingdom work is being done around the world and it is amazing!

Thank you for protecting us in prayer from the enemy on the prowl.

Thank you for sending us here! Thank you for keeping us here!

THE BUBBLE I LIVE IN... OR DO I?

I often hear the statement: “she is so sheltered”. Or similarly, I hear: “he lives in such a bubble!”.

I confess I’ve used these terms. Attending a  public high school in NY, I admit it, I judged my peers who were in a private school who didn’t see or experience what I did on a daily basis. “Christian School Bubble”. “CIU Bubble”. And most recently, “the RVA Bubble”. 

But what exactly does this mean? Really? Who lives in “a bubble” and who lives outside this imaginary bubble we talk about?

Our seniors recently attended something called “Re-entry”. This 2-day conference intends to prepare the students to return to their passport countries for university.  The Monday night after they returned we had a group of students in our home discussing some of what they were ‘enlightened to’ and had learned, everything from what a date rape drug is to current trends and expectations regarding sexual activity on US college campuses. At 18 years old they had to attend a conference to learn about these things.

But I can’t help but think...does this make them “sheltered” or in some kind of bubble? And how much knowledge and experience must one have and of what kind to be considered outside “the bubble”? And don’t we all live in some kind of “bubble”, considering we have knowledge and experience in some things due to our culture and up-bringing and ignorance in other things? Even the smartest human on earth does not have knowledge and experience in all things. Surely experiencing American culture can’t make us outside this “bubble” when Americans constitute a mere 5% of the world’s population, but is that what is usually meant by this statement?


Third Culture Kids may not have been exposed to some of the ins and outs of American culture (yet).  Kids who have grown up steeped in American youth culture, in particular, may look at our kids and wonder what kind of “sheltered, bubble” they grew up in when a guy doesn’t understand what it means when a girl asks him to “hook-up”.  But why does this make the kid who doesn’t understand this the sheltered one?

Come have a cup of coffee and join us in our home on a Monday night when a dozen juniors and seniors are in our home. Join our discussion on spiritual warfare and some of their life experiences.  Enter CB Room 23 at 10:45am and take a seat in Brock’s classroom as he has a discussion on worldviews with a room full of 18 year olds who have not experienced the latest college party, but who have seen the horrors of a world torn by poverty and war; who know diseases and the effects of famine all too closely and personally. Have a discussion on the origin of Western Ethics and non-Western Ethics, realizing most of the students are more familiar with the ins and outs of the non-western cultures your discussing than the western...and consider that 85% of our world is considered 'developing' or 'under-developed', most of these being non-western. 85%!

And though some of these kids will enter a university culture where they will be made to feel as if they are the ignorant minority who have grown up in some strange “bubble” on the side of a mountain in Kenya, the reality is that they have experienced as the majority of the world is, which can hardly constitute as a bubble in my mind! Reality is, that only about 15% of the world’s population belong to the wealthy, secular, humanistic, non-religious world they will enter at university.

All this thought has brought me to one simple conclusion: We are responsible for whatever lot the Lord gives us, no more and no less. No one lives inside or outside a bubble. No one’s experience is superior to another, in and of itself. In Matthew 25:14-30 we read a story about a man who entrusts his workers with different amounts of talents.  Each man was held accountable for whatever amount of talents he was given and what he did with it. 

This is not intended to be about the experiences of the American youth versus TCK’s. Neither is better than the other or superior to the other, per se. The point is:

You are responsible for whatever gifts, experiences and opportunities the Lord has given you and what you do with those. This is your lot (or maybe your bubble?); use it to His glory and to the fullest.

New family photo

                                                              Our latest family photo

Worlds Apart: From Tin Walls to Baby Food

The longer I live here the more I feel like Africa is a world of contrasts. Not long ago we had chai with our Kenyan friends Sarah and Joseph and their two kids in their home. They had the most amazing view of the Rift Valley from their home that I think I’ve seen yet. It was spectacular beauty, I could only stand and stare. And yet as I walked through her gate made of a collection of sticks, I just soaked in all the displays of poverty- the sheets of metal that made up the walls to her home, the kids clothes soaking in the basin so she could hand wash them later, the shoes by the door that I would have tossed long ago, the small and dim lit livingroom lined with couches. Yet she was so excited and proud to have us in her home and to serve us chai, no small sacrifice for someone who makes less in an 8 hour work day than I have ever made in an hour at any job I’ve held.

Saturday I will get a ride to Nairobi to buy some groceries. We will drive past homes that are amazingly large and beautiful, more so than I’ve ever seen. We’ll arrive at a fancy shopping center geared toward ex-pats. I will walk past more nationalities than I can count. I will fill my carts with good food, eat out for lunch, treat myself to some yogurt and drive back to our ‘city on a hill’ we call home. On my way back I will pass tin shacks, children with swelled up bellies, piles of burning trash...worlds of contrasts miles apart.

We recently returned from the states and for Christmas my mom got me something called the Baby Bullet- a food processor and storage containers for making baby food. A national friend of mine was amazed. For someone who doesn’t have refrigeration the fact that I was making so much baby food at once and freezing it in ice cube trays amazed her, nevertheless that in that one afternoon I was most likely making a greater variety of mushed up food for my 7 month old than her middle school kids dream of, or maybe even more than she dreams of. I remember her telling me once, when I asked about her packing lunches for her kids for school, that Kenyan children learn from a young age not to eat but to just take chai and to be okay with that. Opps, ignorant question, as I feed my 7 month old for the third time that day, apples this time.

One other ‘contrast’ I’ve been thinking about. We live right above Kijabe Hospital, a place were many doctors and specialists serve. Doctors. I was never smart enough to be a doctor but when I think of doctors I confess that I think of BMW’s, amazing houses, and expensive family vacations. They are people who are smarter than I’ll ever be, have worked harder than I can imagine to get where they are and who deserve a certain respect. So why in the world are there so many of them here, among the poorest of the poor, working with the uneducated and a forgotten people? I was talking to the wife of one of the doctors here the other day whose daughter is in Brock’s class. She was talking about the years they served in the bush in Zambia and how she loved it. I can only imagine what their life-style was like. They are trained professionals, both holding doctorate degrees...living where?! exposing themselves to sickness and who knows what else, giving up comforts and safety!? Do they realize the luxuries they could enjoy in the States with their training and experience!? They are now here in Kijabe and two of the most amazing people I know. There are few people in life who you walk away from and you just feel...Jesus.

Yes, isn’t that it?! Who did Jesus hang out with? The Almighty, worthy of respect and smarter than...well, everyone, and yet he ate with tax collectors, he chose fisherman as his followers and let women (who were disregarded in that day) have a place of such status in his life and ministry. He did all the the wrong things for a world-changer! Everything was so... NOT politically correct! Or business smart! Bad strategic planning!

And yet, I think, this is where Jesus is. Such beauty!

Well, I have nothing insightful or exciting to share, but I did want to update you on our term thus far. We returned from the States and hit the ground running! Early this week I looked at the calendar to count down our days until mid-term (a break!) only to realize we were only 2 weeks into term! Surely it had been at least 5! Nope.

Needless to say, I (Nicole) spent the first week back getting teachers set up and organizing Sunday School classes for this coming term. Brock jumped back into teaching (and has already expressed his excitement over this class and teaching them Ethics this term! It's an intense class with some great lively discussion!) and he has already preached his first sermon in this term's series on 1st, 2nd and 3rd John. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to load them onto our blog.

We have also had our first Outreach Day, where staff and students spend a Saturday in the community serving. Each term they send Brock to the prison. He is starting to wonder about this. But they let him out every time and he always has a full day of interacting with the prisoners and doing some work around the prison. Unfortunately, considering the nature of being in a prison, we have no fun photos to show for it.

I have found myself doing a little subbing in the classroom and I will be helping the Guidance Office with their upcoming College Day Event, using my experience in higher education in financial aid, which is exciting to me. Of course, 90% of my time is spent caring for Nathan, Gracie and Emma- cooking meals, cleaning house, correcting, redirecting, flat out disciplining, playing with and loving on each one of them. Some days I love it and other days I'm just...tired.

We also continue to oversee different student ministries. Our most exciting 'development' is that we have nailed down a speaker for our 2012 SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week) in September! An RVA graduate who works in some very difficult places in Africa will be coming to share. He has written a number of books and we are thrilled to have him come challenge us!

There are other committees that Brock serves on that aren't so exciting to write about. He also has a small part-time job of writing college references for students, so it seems. Our kids are doing well and glad to be home and playing with their friends here again.

One need I did want to share: We are discovering that it would be cost-effective for us to own a vehicle versus renting from the school continually. We have opened a vehicle fund and would ask that you pray about giving! We would like to purchase a car this summer if possible. It is easy to give online at: www.aimint.org/usa/ Just go to the tab titled 'Give' and then enter our name.

I've uploaded a few pictures. I know I need to be better about that and I apologize. Our internet is sometimes slow and it is a time commitment to get them up, if they will even load at all.

God Bless!





More monkeys. This monkey was sitting on the tree right outside our house.



We've had parrots everywhere lately! They are beautiful but they are LOUD! Again, this bird is sitting in the tree right outside our livingroom window.


Thank you to Papa and Mema Madden for getting the kids bikes for Christmas! They have provided hours of fun everyday!!




A beautiful Kijabe sunset

Christmas in the States

As many of you know by now we were so blessed and able to be in the States with our families for Christmas. We are thankful for the time to reconnect and make memories! We also enjoyed all the sight, sounds and smells of Christmas in America!

We returned to Kenya a few days ago and hit the ground running! Today began second term, the students have returned and classes have resumed. We are looking forward to what these next few months hold! Brock has begun his term teaching Ethics to this years seniors. He will also continue serving in various student ministries and preaching through 1 John, 2 John and 3 John this term. He will also help lead one of the teams on Interim this year. Interim is a week long trip the juniors and seniors take each year to various locations around East Africa. He will be leading a team which will hike Mt. Kenya (you can imagine how disappointed he is....jk!). Mt. Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa.

On a more personal note, I spent much time reflecting our calling to Africa over these past few months. I knew since I was young that I was called to something 'out of the box'. I knew that the two kids, picket fence and annual vacations to Disney World lifestyle was not for me. I was determined to live my life for something more no matter the hardship and pain that brought- my rest would come in eternity. For all my Lord has done for me, I felt I could do no less and His calling on me was strong and persistent.

What I never considered, however, was the hardship and pain my calling would force on others who never sensed that call. Though our families love and support what we do...it is still very painful to have your only grandchildren, son, nieces and nephew live a world away. Despite the advancement in technology such as skype, it's not the same as watching the children grow and being involved on a face to face level. And that can hurt. And there is legitimate grieving that needs to be had, especially every time the goodbyes are said once again, wondering how long it will be before we hug again.

I knew my choice of obedience in this life He was calling me to would require hardships. I knew that. (Phil 3:10 "-that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowships of His SUFFERINGS, being conformed to His DEATH..."). And yet sometimes I find myself asking the LORD to undo the call. Take us 'home' to the States and give us peace to serve there, buy a house, enjoy certain comforts and freedoms and be near family. So many people are called to serve in the States, and Lord knows the need there is great. Yet, there is no peace, even in the asking, only a reassurance of a calling "far away" and the realization of the pain it causes at times.

On another note, it did feel so amazing to sit here on my couch this morning, drinking my coffee in the quiet still morning as the sun rose, soaking in another beautiful day in Africa! It must have been in the 80's yesterday afternoon in the sun!
Though there can be pain in the offering, the aroma of a burnt sacrifice can be sweet.
We have enjoyed being back home! As I tucked Gracie into bed the other night she smiled and quietly said to me: "Mom, home!". Yes baby girl, here, in Kenya, Africa, we are indeed home.

We are excited about the term to come, time with students, opportunities to learn and grow in the Lord, and serve the world around us here.

Rev. 15: 3-4

"Great and marvelous are Your works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
Kings of the nations!

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For Your alone are holy;
FOR ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU,
FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."