Rift Valley Academy

So one thing that I was really looking forward to before coming to Kenya was RVA. RVA, if I have not mentioned before, is a boarding school for kids of missionaries who work all over Africa and the Middle East. Since being in college and having some time to step away from my own mission field life I have thought a lot about MK’s and really feel a tug to invest in them. I really have enjoyed my time at RVA. It has been slow going at making friends there, but I so understand because I remember how many visitors came in and out just like that. We have joined them at chai (tea) breaks and walked around their campus, but on Tuesday evening we were able to join different dorms for their dorm meeting. I was able to share a bit of my story with them and from that evening I made some friends with the sophomore girls. Last night, the few of us not on safari went to a movie night they were having and it was lots of fun (can I get a shout out for popcorn!). I plan to visit them this weekend and hangout with them some more and we have talked about going to their church this weekend while we don’t have a team. My hope is to really invest in them and find ways I can encourage the kids at RVA. It is relationships like this that I am glad I have the opportunity to stay all summer instead of just a few short days.

But I have really been thinking the past couple days about being here in Kijabe and all the ways it feels so much like my PNG home. Today I just felt so grateful that the Lord allowed me to leave the US this summer because I think being in the States has been so good and growing and a needed step back. However, being away has allowed me to remember where I came from, and grow/be challenged in new ways. It feels so natural to be here that at times I stop and think, “wow, like I really am in Kenya right now”. I remember hearing about Kenya when I was little and I felt like all the missionaries went there. Of all the African counties it was the one that intrigued me, and all these years later I find myself here.

Back to RVA- it is so fun to see how this school does things and to walk down memory lane, however it also is bittersweet at nostalgia sets in. I crave my high school days and hanging with my MK friends after classes. I miss traditions and sports tournaments and Soul Purpose (our youth group). We joined the kids on Sunday night for Sunday Night Live (SNL) and the songs we sang were some I have not heard since Soul Purpose. My heart was almost undone worshiping in that setting with kids that I could identify with so well. At dorm meeting the other night I watched some faces of girls as they found out that their friend was leaving for furlough for a year, and my heart broke with theirs as I remember many a times of hearing the same news and being so sad. These are my people, and just because we grew up different countries we carry so many of the same burdens and joys. Some of them don’t even know the impact that being an MK means and most don’t know what is in front of them as they will one day have to leave. I thank the Lord for being my peace in such a hard transition and I feel that I have done a pretty good job moving back to the US. It is not always easy but I trust God in every season and every place, and that is my prayer for these kids.