Week Two/Three in Kenya

As the school year approaches (almost one week away), the many responsibilities of teaching are becoming much more intimidating. Not only must I prepare lesson plans, unit plans and other assignments to satisfy the requirements for SAU, I also am starting to think about the duties of coaching. I am incredibly excited about the opportunity to coach the varsity tennis team here at RVA. Coaching and teaching have been my two dream occupations for as long as I can remember and these next twelve weeks will be packed with both coaching and teaching responsibilities. Although I am nervous about the term in regards to both of these, God has placed me at RVA for a reason and I look to continue to trust in Him for peace and comfort during the busiest, most stressful times this semester.

My second week at RVA was filled with new staff training, one lone hike to paradise falls, a trip to the town of Mai Mahiu for the purpose of discovering outreach possibilities during the school year, and a tour of the Kijabe hospital located just below the RVA campus.

It has been weird thinking of myself as a teacher and part of the staff of a school. For the last sixteen years of my life, I have been a student and I have always been called by my first name. Just thinking of the students here at RVA calling me "Mr. Scholten" makes me feel old.

Our hike to paradise falls was definitely an experience. We began by exiting one of the RVA gates and walked almost two miles down a small dirt road. On the road we made multiple sitings of the incredible colobus monkey. These animals are extremely beautiful, with large white beards and thick, wispy white tails. I could not get close enough to take a picture of my own, but here is what they look like...

After progressing down a dried up river and climbing over decently-sized rocks, we finally made it to a plateau overlooking the valley below. It is truly hard to put into words the vastness of the Rift Valley. On a clear day, which there has not been many in the last two weeks due to the uncharacteristically cold weather, one can see for miles. Once we had spent a considerable amount of time admiring the beauty of the valley, we slowly and very carefully made our way down the side of a steep hill in order to reach the falls. Huge boulders littered the area, and I did my fair-share of climbing and exploring. The water from the top of the ravine would trickle down and form large pools around many of the boulders. Many of the students on the hike went swimming and enjoyed the shade under the trees/rocks. At one point we noticed there were around six or seven Kenyan children watching our group from the top of the hill we had just descended. Unfortunately, they thought it would be amusing to start hurling rocks down the hillside haha and one of the boys from RVA got hit in the head. It wasn't bad, but we constantly had to stay attentive and out of the paths of the falling rocks. After lunch and some more climbing, we continued lower and lower down the ravine, until we reached the valley floor. The rural housing utilized by most Kenyans in the valley consists of small huts made with mud, stone and wire.

Last week I completed a LAMP (Language Acquisition Made Practical) course with a focus on Swahili. It was very enjoyable and I got to know my language helper, Naphtali, pretty well. He lives down near the Dukas and we will continue to keep in touch during the school year. I have learned some very useful phrases and hope to continue my use of Swahili as much as possible. I will need to make it a priority to use Swahili in normal conversations with people, as this will greatly help in my acquisition of the language.

I am hoping to do some rock climbing at Hell's Gate and also hike Mt. Longonot, which is a volcano, at some point during the term. However, with teaching and coaching tennis, I will be extremely pressed for time.

This post was more of an update on all of the things I have been doing at RVA since my last post. I hope to, as early as Wednesday of next week, post more on what God has been revealing to me in my own life. I am so grateful for the people I have met so far at RVA. They are truly God-loving people, and continue to be great models for me in my own walk with Christ.

First Week at RVA

One week has passed at RVA and I already have so many things I could write about. After two long plane rides and a good amount of time spent in London, the Varlands and I finally made it to RVA in Kijabe, Kenya. London was an incredible city, full of interesting people, cool little shops, and the obvious tourist spots. Honestly, my favorite part of London was having the opportunity to listen in on conversations. Something about people with a British accent makes them sound extremely intellectual, even though the topic of the conversation could have easily revolved around something as unimpressive as tea.

Proceeding through customs in Nairobi was a pretty easy task, however when I attempted to pay for my Visa, the year of the bill I handed to the attendant was supposedly too old. It was 1997, and customs in the Nairobi airport only accepts bills made in the year 2007 or later. I should have known...Luckily the Varlands were there to break my bill and give me change so I could buy my visa in order to enter the country. We continued through immigration, grabbing our 15 pieces of luggage (50 pounds each) and made our way to the parking lot.

(Side note: just 2 days after our arrival in the Nairobi airport, a fire destroyed the very building which we had walked through to leave the terminal. Here is an interesting article about the current state of efficiency in regards to emergency response time in Kenya: Nairobi Airport Fire.)

Leaving the Nairobi Airport gave me a feeling of deja vu, as the area outside of the city reminded me much of the landscape of Cambodia around Phnom Penh. The poverty was eerily similar, with shacks/huts selling fruits, vegetables and other odds and ends. Buildings were extremely rugged, if you would call the mangled structures buildings. I remember the air being very thick, which smelled heavily of petrol. As we progressed further from the city, climbing in elevation, the air became much clearer.

I sound as though the landscape is unattractive. This is not the case. The area surrounding Nairobi, heading towards RVA, is amazingly beautiful. As we ascended, huge tents covered fields of both tea and coffee. Donkeys, goats, chickens could be constantly seen near the edge of the road looking for food. Flowers, which in Michigan would be annuals, were large perennials in this climate and brightened the landscape. Everything was incredibly lush and healthy. The roads, on the other hand, would make even the pothole, crack-infested lanes in Michigan seem incredibly smooth. There were rocks everywhere, and I had to make sure I was completely attentive because one slip in my focus would probably mean my head would hit something in the van. This happened a couple of times. Once we got to the top of the mountain, we slowly began our descent towards RVA. It is hard to describe RVA without pictures, but it is basically on the side of a mountain, overlooking the Great Rift Valley. Mount Longonot is in the background, usually surrounded by clouds.

The one thing that has surprised me most about RVA, and has been such a blessing to me as someone who is completely new to this area/school, is the welcoming/loving nature of the staff. These people here truly live out the servant lifestyle modeled by Jesus. It is crazy because all of the teachers and other staff members are not paid and must raise support to cover their time here at RVA. I have felt completely at ease talking with the other teachers/administrators/families and I believe it is because God is so obviously present and the humility of these individuals truly allows God to mold/shape the culture here at RVA.

I am going to end this extremely long post with something that I feel God has placed on my heart while have been here for the last week. Although it is not the happiest of subjects, it is something that truly shows God's sovereignty, and this topic is death. It is something that I tend to avoid and never think about, as I believe death is something far off in the future. Here is one quote that has really stuck in my mind over the past few days:

"The present is very precious, these are the days of salvation; now is the acceptable time. How sad that you do not spend the time in which you might purchase everlasting life in a better way. The time will come when you will want just one day, just one hour in which to make amends, and do you know whether you will obtain it?"

"See, then, dearly beloved, the great danger from which you can free yourself and the great fear from which you can be saved, if you only you will always be wary and mindful of death. Try to live now in such a manner that at the moment of death you may be glad rather than fearful. Learn to die to the world now, that then you may begin to live with Christ. Learn to spurn all things now, that then you may freely go to Him. Chastise your body in penance now, that then you may have the confidence born of certainty."

-Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ 

When we were coming back from Nairobi two days ago after a grocery run in the city, we drove up to an accident. As we got closer, it was obvious the scene was bad. It looked as though a man had been trying to cross the road and had not seen the oncoming truck in his vision. Unfortunately, the truck had not seen the man walking as well, and hit him, taking the man's life. The image and scene has not left my mind.

We do not know the day, the hour, the minute that God decides our time here on earth is complete. The walking man had no idea crossing the road, an act he had probably accomplished hundreds of times in his life, would be the last thing he ever did. However, God knows.

"your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." 

 -Psalm 139:16

It has become obvious that I take the days I have been given for granted. I just assume one day will pass and the next will begin, without ever thinking about the possibility of death. God has predetermined our time here on this earth and desires for us to use it to glorify him, to build relationships with a foundation in Christ, to spread the Gospel, to love others, to rid ourselves of worldly desires...How often I use this precious time to gossip, to judge, to envy, to worry, to argue, to boast, to put my interests before others...

My days have been counted. I truly want to avoid the sin in my life rather than to fear this possibility of death. I want to spend my time, however long, in a better way. My prayer revolves around this...

"Blessed is he who keeps the moment of death ever before his eyes and prepares for it every day."

.oj.

Preparing for an unfamiliar trip.

Having to remind myself that student teaching in Kenya is not a short trip, a three-week cross cultural experience, or a familiar getaway with my family has become a frequent occurrence over the last couple of weeks. This stay at Rift Valley Academy is a four month semester in the middle of Kenya, a country and continent incredibly different than anything I have ever known. Am I nervous? Absolutely. Am I excited? Incredibly. I know not what to expect or how to entirely prepare for this experience. One thing I do know: I will be teaching, and for now this is what I must cling to for security. It is teaching that is my one true passion and I am extremely blessed to have the opportunity to finally begin this occupation at RVA. I know that God has planned this trip and I know it is exactly where I should be for the fall. Realizing this plan has lessened my nervousness significantly.

I hope I truly begin to take to heart the importance of this trip not only on my teaching career in the future, but on my growth spiritually as a follower of Christ. There will definitely be times in the next four months where I will attempt to turn away from God, seeking to solve issues of loneliness, frustration, culture shock, and pride on my own. My prayer is I relish the times of adversity, as if I am completely understanding these times to be stepping stones towards becoming stronger in my faith. It is always easy to make these statements before the periods of struggle are thrust in your face at the most inconvenient times in life.

"Little by little, in patience and long-suffering you will overcome them, by the help of God rather than by severity and your own rash ways." 

 -Thomas A Kempis, The Imitation of Christ 

The word 'long-suffering' is a fascinating word as it means to patiently endure lasting offense or hardship. Enduring hardships is tough enough in itself, but we are asked to endure these hardships patiently.

I cannot wait to see what God has planned for the next four months. I have been blessed with an incredibly family to both travel and reside with while at this wonderful school. Prayers would be much appreciated for safe travels. However, I pray most sincerely that my own selfishness and pride does not deter me from seeing God's true purpose for this experience in Kenya. Earthly desires will pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever, as it states in 1 John. How cool it would be to shed all of these earthly desires of mine while at RVA and focus exclusively on the will of God...

Growing in relationship with God, with students, and with fellow teachers...I have the opportunity to engage in all three in the next four months.

I leave in three days.

.oj.