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.