As
we are emerging from our rainy season and heading into our Winter, everywhere
you look you see GROWTH. The growth in our yard is beautiful with flowers and
the gardens for each cottage are teaming with produce for eating in our
kitchen. The children have worked hard in their gardens andWe have preprimary up through standard 6 or sixth grade in
session now. We are educating 184 students consisting of 60 residents (orphans)
and 124 day students. Every day the children are learning new things and
reviewing old things. They are growing physically, mentally, and spiritually.
We are currently in our study of the Gospel of John and the children are
learning the great “I AM’s”…
I am the
bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, I am the
Way, the Truth, and the Light. They
are memorizing many of these scriptures and taking them to their hearts.
are proud of the
produce and eating more vegetables than ever before. The children themselves
are also growing. One little girl has grown 5 inches this year alone!! It seems
they are always in need of larger clothing and bigger shoes.
We have preprimary up through standard 6 or sixth grade in
session now. We are educating 184 students consisting of 60 residents (orphans)
and 124 day students. Every day the children are learning new things and
reviewing old things. They are growing physically, mentally, and spiritually.
We are currently in our study of the Gospel of John and the children are
learning the great “I AM’s”… I am the
bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the good shepherd, I am the
Way, the Truth, and the Light. They
are memorizing many of these scriptures and taking them to their hearts.
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| Construction on new RICE Building |
RICE (Rafiki Institue of Classical Education) or our
teacher’s training program is also growing. Some of the students have come to
learn classical education and learned how to have a personal relationship with
Christ. Many are growing into capable teachers for employment here at our
Rafiki school or in other partner church schools. This term Kent has 19
students in five different levels of the program. We are praying that the
number of students continues to increase as we add another term in July. The
new RICE building is under construction with plans to be completed by January
of 2017. This major construction project will enable over a hundred students to
take part in the Classical Education training.
We are studying John 13 this week as I teach the student
teachers in the RICE program. Last week we completed John 12 the highlight of
which is Mary, Lazarus’ sister, anointing Jesus in the village of Bethany at
the home of Simon the leper (there is much here which we are not told). Mark
tells us that the anointing included Jesus’ head as well as His feet and it was
“a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard”. “The house was filled with the
fragrance of the perfume” (Jn 12:3). There is a lot of information on the
internet about this wonderful fragrance. It comes from a plant which grows
between 10,000 and 16,000 feet in Himalayas of China, India and Nepal called Nardostachys jatamansi. The rhizomes of
the plant are collected from under the soil and crushed, then they are
distilled. The result is an amber colored, intensely aromatic fragrance which
in NT times was kept in calcite containers. It is easy to appreciate from this
information why the spikenard was so expensive. It would have been an
absolutely astounding sight to have witnessed this event! But it challenges us
to ask ourselves if our affection for Christ results in the same estimate of
His worth.
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| Black winged red bishop |
As we grow in the
Christian life most of us also at least appreciate more what an amazing thing
it was for Jesus to humble Himself before the bitter hatred of Jewish
leadership and the final say of Caesar’s procurator Pontius Pilate in
condemning Him to the cross. Isaiah tells us prophetically that He was “so
disfigured from men in His appearance and His form from the sons of men”,
referring to the preparation for His death in the beating which Pilate ordered.
Then there are all the technical details of what happens when a person is
crucified with the intense pain and suffering as a person lingers with life
slowly, slowly draining away. What is His worth? What could He ask us to do
that it would not be His right to perfectly expect, considering what He has
done for us? As we grow in our faith it sooner or later dawns on us that a life
completely surrendered to Him, dramatized in the exotic incident of Mary’s
anointing, is what Jesus calls us to as those who love Him. It is why He
clearly points out to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2, written by John
towards the end of the first century, that the true motive for all service and
worship had been lost--first love. The plant N. jatamansi still grows
at high altitude in the Himalayas symbolizing that first love is still
attainable but costly. Let us all pray and aspire to Mary’s devotion and it
will be like a fragrance which fills a whole house.
As we think about growth we wonder if indeed God is calling
any of you to “grow” in your service to Him. We are anxious to have you come
for a few weeks, a few months, or even years to share in the wonderful growth
of God’s Kingdom here in Africa. If you are interested in this type of service
check out the website
www.rafikifoundation.org
or drop us an email.
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| Chameleon |
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| Scarlet chested sun bird with passion flower |
As we think about growth we wonder if indeed God is calling
any of you to “grow” in your service to Him. We are anxious to have you come
for a few weeks, a few months, or even years to share in the wonderful growth
of God’s Kingdom here in Africa. If you are interested in this type of service
check out the website www.rafikifoundation.org
or drop us an email.
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