Wrapping Up

In 5 short weeks I will be headed back to Canada for Home Assignment. Can you believe it's been almost three years since I boarded a plan for Africa? The past three years have been filled so many highs and lows and learning to trust God as he takes be beyond my comfort zone. 

It's been amazing to see how God has used me here at RVA - in my main role of child safety and in the other areas I've been blessed to be involved (mentoring, teaching, sponsoring a class etc.). I love these kids, my home, the friends I've made, and my ministry. It's been a wild ride and I'm so thankful for all your support and prayers which have sustained me. 

I leave Nairobi July 28th and will be home in Canada till December 28th. I'll be sharing more details about Home Assignment in the weeks to come. 

As I wrap up and prepare for home assignment there's lots I need to do here. From packing up my house, to finishing Child Safety paperwork, to marking assignments, to training my replacement - the next few weeks are going to be HECTIC. Some ways you can pray are below. 

Snippets of This Term

TEACHING: This term I have had the pleasure of teaching Creative Writing and Canadian Studies. In my Canadian Studies class we've been covering Human Rights, French-English relations, and different wars/conflicts we've been in. Not only is this class important for Canadian Missionary Kids (MK) so that they can understand what it means to be Canadian, but it also provides them a necessary Canadian History/Geography credit so they can have a Canadian high school diploma. Preparing for life after high school when they will return to Canada for university or work feels like a vital task for MKs. 

One of the biggest highlights for this year though, has been teaching Creative Writing. We started our unit with Poetry and held the first ever Rift Valley Academy Poetry Slam. I was so proud of the kids sharing their hearts through prose. I love seeing how the kids grow in their writing and creative ability. We just finished a memoir unit where the kids spoke about their unique third culture experiences from adoption, to transition and mental health challenges. Up next, we're working on children's books. Can't wait for them to read them up at the elementary school. 

DRAMA: This term I've also had the pleasure of helping co-direct the drama. The play we're doing this term is Behold There's Poison. The kids have been working so hard in practice. We practice daily after school.

CRAZY HAIR DAY: I turned my hair into a birds nest for crazy hair day. Of course my hair worked for class... but showing up to the Child Safety office with twigs and a wooden bird in your hair might be a bit too crazy. Thankfully, I pulled it out before a zoom call with a parent. Life is pretty crazy when you go from crazy hair day to child safety meetings. 

CHILD SAFETY ASSEMBLY: This past week some members from the Child Safety Advisory team and I did an assembly for the high school to talk about consent and sexting. Obviously sharing about sensitive topics like that can be really challenging and awkward but also essential. I started the assembly by letting them know that I decided to avoid doing a rap or puppet show and just talk about the essential information. After sharing the content with the students they broken into small groups, with students in the same grade and gender as them, to continue the conversation. I was anxious leading up to the assembly but I'm so thankful for the opportunity to talk about these important topics. Afterwards, many of the students came up and thanked the team  - especially for not making the assembly as awkward that they thought it would be. 

A 9th grade boy came up to me the next day and shared, "Hey miss I never got a chance to say you guys did a good job at the assembly. Thank you very much. It's an important topic and even though it's uncomfortable I'm glad you did it. Oh and thank you for not doing a puppet show.

BANQUET: As a grade 11 class sponsor one of the things I've been helping with this year is banquet. Banquet is a formal event, like prom, that the junior class plans and organizes for the senior class. The grade 11s put together the whole event from the theme, to the decorations, to the entertainment and food. The kids all dress up and enjoy an evening to celebrate the 12th graders. We did a 1940s-1950s Hollywood Murder Mystery. I even had the joy of getting all dressed up to dance the night away with the students. 

With so much going on in the next few weeks, here are some ways to pray:

• Before I can leave I have to pack up my house  - please pray for intentional time to finish all the details. 
• Dan Vacarro, a member of the Child Safety Advisory and Response teams, will be taking over the Child Safety role while I'm on Home Assignment. Please pray for this transition and as I train him.
• Finalizing all of the details for Home Assignment, while trying to teach and wrap up Child Safety has been overwhelming at times. Please pray for wisdom as things come together. 

Thank you for praying with me this week.