November 2012

"O Lord, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known. . ." (Habakkuk 3:2). Dear family and friends, After years of praying from a distance and working from the periphery, we are pleased to have opportunity to serve with the Rafiki Foundation in a new way. With God’s grace and the support of family and friends, we hope to be in East Africa by late spring or early summer. Gehrig has been asked to oversee the plant and Village operations of the Rafiki Village Zambia. Ronda will be working with the Rafiki Bible Study training and also with the ChildCare program. For those less familiar with the Rafiki Foundation, we should start at the beginning. The Rafiki Foundation has been serving in Africa for twenty-five years. The mission of the Foundation is to help Africans know God and help them raise their standard of living. To accomplish this mission, Rafiki has established ten Rafiki Training Villages, one in each of the following: Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. These Villages provide living, educational, and medical facilities through Rafiki’s four programs: Childcare, Education, Training, and Widows. We are welcomed guests who have been invited by governments and church denominational heads to aid in the training of nationals to educate and serve their own as we assist them in raising the next generation of leaders for their countries. As an example of the great need, in Zambia, a population of 14.3 million people includes 1.3 million orphans. The Rafiki Village Zambia is currently home to fifty-eight of these children, educates ten additional day students, and employs a national staff of thirty-one. What an honor it will be to aid in this and report back to you the work the Lord is doing to grow the Village numerically and spiritually. What a help Rafiki has been to these countries over the past quarter century by living out the mandate of James 1:27 — “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Over the years we have been allowed to help, too. We started a Rafiki Prayer Group in our home, sponsored a little girl in Ghana, served on a short-term MiniMission trip, supported others on the field, purchased handcrafts through the Rafiki Exchange, and worked on various regional Rafiki projects or conferences. What a delight! For the past four years, Ronda has been privileged to serve as a level writer for the Rafiki Bible Study and has tinkered a bit in the language arts curriculum. All of those tiny things sparked an interest, which kindled the mission flame into an absolute inferno! Yes, we “have heard the report of you, and your work, O Lord” and are eager to share such good news. Now “in the midst of the years revive it.” In this season of life we ask the Lord to renew our vision—and perhaps yours as well. As someone who has been an important part of our lives, we send this report to encourage and thank you. We are currently garnering prayer and financial support for a two-year term. If you would like to partner with us through prayer, monetarily, or both, please respond via the enclosed mailer. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please let us know that as well. If you, your organization, or church group would be interested in learning more about God’s call on our lives or the Rafiki Foundation in general, please contact us to schedule a presentation. We would love to share with you the wonders He has wrought through the Rafiki Foundation, as well as the grace He has extended to us. God bless you,