Dear Praying Friends,

It sure has been an extremely busy month for our family! We arrived back at RVA on Tuesday, August 3^rd and have been busy settling into our new home ever since. Thankfully, we are nearing completion of that huge process, having had to unpack all our household belongings that we had stored and find new places for everything because of moving into a different house. It has been a lot of fun renewing friendships and meeting new staff. Our kids have plugged right back in to life in Kijabe…playing outside with friends from morning until night. What a blessing it has been to watch them transition so well back to our home in Kenya. Thanks for your prayers through this month!

THANK YOU for praying during Kenya’s constitutional election held on August 4^th. We are praising the Lord for a very peaceful election and an acceptance of the results by the people. Things remain calm and peaceful throughout the country and we have traveled into the capital city of Nairobi several times without incident.

Now that our house is almost settled, we are switching gears and preparing for school to begin! Our staff in-service meetings will be on Monday and Tuesday, followed by our New Parent Orientation on Thursday. Friday will be Arrival Day with 500 kids transforming this quiet campus to a flurry of activity! Classes will begin on Monday, August 30^th – Rachel’s 15^th birthday! As it stands today, Brian will be teaching three classes of Algebra 2 and two classes of AP Calculus. (Rachel is still getting used to the idea of having her Dad as her Alg. 2 teacher!) He will be continuing in his role as Head of the Math Department, as well as the coordinator for RVA’s Accreditation Process. Missy will be in charge of the ESL (English as a Second Language) support at Titchie Swot (our elementary school) and will be coordinating Titchie Admissions (contacting parents of prospective students and doing any necessary pre-admission testing). She will also be in charge of the Bible Memory Program at Titchie this year. Together, we will be part of the sponsoring team for the 10^th grade class, helping to plan and implement weekend activities throughout the year. As a school, we are thankful to be starting the year with a full staff, which hasn’t happened for the last few years! Please be praying for our parents, students and staff this week as we transition into another year of school.

Here are some things that have been reminding us that we are BACK IN KENYA:

1. Seeing Ziploc bags drying on wash lines around RVA.
2. Watching a man pick stones out of uncooked rice while out to eat at Mama Chiku’s.
3. Spotting monkeys in trees around RVA.
4. Passing someone riding a camel down a main street in Nairobi (Ngong Road).
5. Having our kids out with friends from morning until night.
6. Warming up by a fire and using flannel sheets in August.
7. Driving on the side of the road with the least number of potholes.
8. Buying fresh fruit and vegetables from our local Kenyan friends.
9. Having homemade bagels, tortillas, English muffins, bread and pizza sauce in our freezer.
10. Enjoying mangos, passion fruit, and sweet pineapples for breakfast.
11. Avoiding sheep, goats, donkey carts, and people while driving.
12. Watching the car in front of us pull over because its bumper fell off.
13. Dealing with daily power outages.
14. Using a bottle opener to open soda.
15. Passing matatus (public transportation) filled with people and roofs piled high with household goods and chickens.
16. Bleaching fresh fruit and vegetables before eating them.
17. Buying a dozen roses for 100/= (about $1.50).
18. Breaking for chai time at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
19. Carrying clean water and choo paper (toilet paper) with us when leaving campus.
20. Using our television for watching DVDs and playing the Wii only (no local cable available).
21. Looking out over the Great Rift Valley while visiting with friends on our front porch.

It sure is good to be HOME!!!

Praising God for His Faithfulness,

Brian, Missy, Rachel, Hannah and Micah

Dear Prayer Warriors,

With concerns regarding the upcoming constitutional vote in Kenya on August 4^th, we checked into changing our departure date. Today, we found out that we are able to change our departure to THIS SUNDAY, August 1^st, arriving in Kenya the night of Monday, August 2^nd (three days earlier than previously planned and two days before the vote). The fact that there were 5 open seats available this late is truly amazing. But it is miraculous that these seats come with NO extra charge if we fly on Sunday! God is certainly paving the way and making it clear that we should fly early.

We would covet your prayers for:

• clear thinking in what needs to happen this week.
• good organization in last minute shopping and packing our remaining 5 pieces of luggage.
• our good friends (The Kings) who will be re-arranging our pick-up in Kenya and getting our house ready.
• peace in our final goodbyes with family and friends.
• a fair voting process and favorable outcome on August 4^th.

Thank you for praying for our family this week!

Brian, Missy, Rachel, Hannah and Micah