Rift Valley Academy -- RVA

Rift Valley Academy is now our new home. It is up the hill about 500 ft higher elevation than lower Kijabe station where we were living with Ruth and Richard. RVA is a K-12 boarding school for 500 missionaries children, whose parents are doing mission work all over Kenya and other parts of East Africa. We are staying with Chuck Baker, a friend from our church in Glendora, who came to RVA five years ago and is teaching industrial arts in the high school. His large two-bedroom apartment here on the campus is very roomy, and we are enjoying his kindness and friendship. We've inserted a picture showing the front of his apartment, along with a picture of part of the RVA campus, and one of Gene and me standing near the entrance to the campus.


Known as "the school in the clouds," RVA is quite a happening place. Though I've heard about RVA for many years, I never dreamed I'd ever have the privilege of visiting here, much less actually living on-campus for a while. We are enjoying being among the students and experiencing their enthusiasm. Yes, teens here are lively and loud and rambunctious, just like in the States. They are normal teenagers, talented, fun and full of energy.

Last Saturday night, the students presented "The Sound of Music," which was an amazing undertaking, but they did a wonderful job, both musically and production wise.

RVA will hold its Centennial Celebration, July 7-9. I'll be helping with registration as the alums arrive, which will be fun for me since I love being in the middle of things, and, a number of my classmates from Moody will be here -- classmates I have not seen since graduation in 1961.

What has impressed me about RVA is the love and care given to these kids by the staff, dorm parents and faculty -- providing them with a homey, secure environment while they are away from their parents. (The kids live here three months, and then spend a month with their parents; then back to RVA for another three months, etc.) As I've listened to some of the students share their testimonies about being at RVA, I realize that the far-reaching scope of ministry from this school is beyond measurement. God has richly blessed this work, and I'm privileged to see it first hand.