Greetings from a WARM and sunny Kijabe! :) January is our summer here. So it is nice and hot during the days (around 80 degrees) then cools down each night since we are at 7,000ft+. Couldn’t ask for nicer weather…. If it sounds like I am bragging, I kind of am, except for really it is just a way to entice you in hopes that maybe you could come visit me! :)
I had a great time at home this December break. It was SO wonderful to be with my family and see many of my friends. I was busy as I traveled back and forth from SC to Indy on the bookends of my time in the States and flew out to CO for a week. The Lord really encouraged me by the many conversations I got to have with family members and just being near them really filled up my reserves emotionally. Thank you for praying for us! We were able to have a special trip at the end of the break as a family. We stayed in a big house on Hilton Head Island with 13 adults and 19 kids total. It was SO much fun. :)
Pictures of the Family
Hilton Head beach, Christmas Eve 
Christmas Steps :) (very sunny morning) 
typical Jarrett couch piles 
Happy New Year! we do nothing in small groups :) (I LOVE IT) 
Cousins :) (missing some!)
Christmas Steps :) (very sunny morning) typical Jarrett couch piles Happy New Year! we do nothing in small groups :) (I LOVE IT) Cousins :) (missing some!) Term 2 is off to a great start! I had 1 girl return from furlough so am now at 21 in the dorm. Each Tuesday night for our dorm meeting (devotion night) I have 29 girls total since some of the 11th grade station girls (parents live and work at RVA or Kijabe hospital) join us as well. It is a FULL living room on those nights! The big “thing” this term is, BANQUET! (our type of prom) Because the juniors put it on as a gift to the seniors, it is a big deal here in KUW. They transform a building into an entire “set” and create another world. This night of fun takes about 9 months of planning and preparation so you can imagine how it can lead to stress for everything to be pulled off just so. I would appreciate prayer for my girls and myself as I try to remind them of doing this well. We are trying to remain intentional in our words and actions to encourage our dorm sisters, the young men in our class, and the teachers involved in making this happen. We have been looking at how our words affect others and loving others before our own needs.
Because the ministry at RVA is a support branch of taking the gospel to the unreached, I wanted you to have a chance to hear directly from some of my girl’s parents occasionally. I will try to include a little something from them in some of my updates. :) Hope you enjoy hearing about them!! This is from Adam and Suzie Hailes. I have had both of their daughters in my dorm (one last year and 1 this year).
“We are planting churches among primarily animistic people, the Antandroy and Antanosy people of South and Southeast Madagascar. It is our goal to make disciples of Christ and see those that we disciple do the same. We have been on the field about 5 1/2 years, living in 3 different locations. We have been able to be a part of 10 new church plants with many preaching points getting close to church. As for our family, educational options are very limited. Our eldest was 12 when we came to Madagascar. The others were 11 and 7 and we've since had an addition. In our opinions, at their ages it would not have been most beneficial to enter a school in a foreign language. After a year of homeschooling it was clear that was not the best choice for us so we looked into Rift Valley Academy. We never anticipated being a "boarding school family" but it's been such a blessing in so many ways. Now we know our girls are being taken care of not only academically, but spiritually, physically, emotionally and socially! There is a unique unity and connection among the students and staff at RVA. We praise God for those with AIM who have faithfully followed God's calling on their lives!”
Thank you for praying for the Haile’s family in Madagascar!
Thank you for praying for the Haile’s family in Madagascar!
Last Thursday I experienced one of those days where you are reminded, oh yeah..I live in Africa! The Lord was protecting us in both situations but it was just a reminder. I rode to town with some friends to get groceries. We noticed the land rover (my friend’s car) was not working quite right, but there was nothing obvious. Well on the way back to school (about an hour drive, mostly uphill) we noticed after about 15 minutes that the engine was starting to overheat and we could only go about 20mph uphill. We called her husband for advice since you especially do not want a diesel engine to over-heat. He had us pull over at a gas station and we ended up waiting for him a little over an hour to “rescue” us. We were thankful it was not an urgent problem that caused us to be stranded on the side of the road, which can leave you vulnerable to all kinds of problems. We were able to make it back to school going very slow and sticking together. The second incident happened later that night, due to a security guard accidentally pushing the wrong button. We had a lockdown for about 15-20min. (it seemed like a lot longer than that!!) Because we didn’t know at the time that it was an accident, the whole campus locked down (picture a VERY LOUD tornado siren that wails for about 5 minutes) just how we are trained to do. (this is something we had actually practiced 2 days earlier ) The lockdown is for our safety from invasions or attacks on the campus, so you can imagine that when we have the siren go off and no one knew about it, we take it seriously and it can be a little scary to say the least! We were very relieved to finally hear the “all-clear” siren and get a call explaining the accidental push of the button. Weeeeewwh. It is always a good reminder that our security is ultimately from the Lord when these unplanned things go “wrong” in our day. I reminded several of my girls about the verse in Psalm 91:1 (my Mom always referred to this as our “911” )
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Thank you for praying for my support over the last few months. The Lord has provided and several people gave gifts over the Christmas season; which was such a blessing. Please continue to pray for provision of the 300$ monthly support still needed for the year. I am continually thankful for each and every one of you. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.
Serving with you,
Amy
Serving with you,
Amy
