On Tuesdays, instead of chapel, there is an optional praise chapel run by the kids. I try never to miss it; nothing is better for what ails you than singing to the Lord with a bunch of enthusiastic students. We sang several songs, and then it happened.

They started to sing the melody to the song “I’m a Believer” but they had changed the lyrics to reflect Christian lyrics. But there was no denying that we were SINGING A NEIL DIAMOND SONG IN WORSHIP.

I can cross something else off the bucket list.

I (Nancy) recently had the opportunity to travel to Bamako, Mali, as a part of an accreditation team. It was an amazing experience on many levels – Mali, though still on the continent of Africa, is a six and a half hour flight from Nairobi; although it was the cool season, the temps climbed into the upper 90’s every day that I was there (I felt like I was back in Texas – well sort of). It’s a French speaking country, and it was very fun to be using French every day; I joined with a team of 4 other educators from international schools in Africa (Morocco, Burkina Faso, Togo and Mozambique) to come alongside a school and help them assess their educational program. Wow! It was a tremendous professional experience as I had to view the entirety of a school from educational program to extra-curricular activities, from cafeteria to school nurse, from school board to parents to students. It gave me an entirely new perspective on my niche as a teacher, which I hope will impact what I do here at RVA for the better. I also felt like I made 4 new friends and was able to share my testimony with two of them. Oh the places God takes you …

I went down to Munyu school recently. We have a SHORT (less than 2 minutes!) video about our visit:

It is a poor school in an area that has been devastated by AIDS. Because of the food that you have provided, they have added over 200 students to their ranks. The computer lessons were lively, with our only Masai teacher adding something special to the lessons. The school had always been the lowest in the national tests in their zone. They have been first for several years now.

It all seemed well, but with a raging inflation rate, money has been so tight for so many here. I was making conversation with the kids, and I asked a young boy how he was doing. He told me that his father was dead, his mother had AIDS, and he lived in his older brother’s backyard. There was no food for him except for what he ate at school for lunch. During the weekends, he went out and begged for food.

He later told me that he was lucky, because he had a brother and he didn’t have to live on the streets; he could live in his brother’s backyard. He told me that he was grateful to learn computers and so happy for the food at lunch.

I drove home and prayed. I wish I had a wise homily to end this with, but I just prayed.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Your pal,
Steve