Jonathan's Journey

It was a long and busy week, but we finally came to the end of the first week of school. There were a few glitches the first few days of school as students and teachers worked out their schedules. I feel like we are finally getting back into the routine of things and it is starting to slow down to a more manageable pace. I appreciate all those who thought and prayed for me this last week, it was needed and felt. 


The classes started off well. I teach an assortment of social studies classes. This week we dealt with the topic of creation in my world history class. It was a good discussion and laid the foundation for the rest of the year. Model United Nations looked at the charter of the UN and evaluated their strengths and weaknesses. We also watched a segment of Binyamin Netanyahu's speech to the UN last September. In Comparative governments we looked at a few key terms and tried to establish basic roles of government and what they are supposed to do. Middle School Bible we just focused on introducing the course and getting a feel for the students in the class. And in AP US History we've already planted the colony of Jamestown and looked at their initial struggles. 


It was a great first week, glad it is the weekend, and look forward to preparing for next week. 

We appear to be safe as the results continue to come in. It seems pretty clear that the Yes campaign was successful. Things around town are calm and quiet. Tomorrow I'll probably go back into school and get back to work. Today we stayed low except for lunch. I met with a few friends of mine from the last two years who are moving to the States to start a new job next week. It was a great opportunity to catch up on our breaks and say goodbye as they move on from Kenya.
Yesterday was a bit chilly, but today it is warming up!  

Well it looks like Kenya will get a new constitution. Not all the votes are in, but it looks like the "yes" campaign will win the referendum. So far things have been quiet and calm. Tomorrow we are advised to keep a low profile and not go out much. I'll probably spend most of the time working on lessons preparing for school next week. Just pray for peace over the next few days. 

Thanks to everyone who prayed for my safe travels this summer. I"m now safely back in Nairobi and am looking forward to catching up on some sleep and getting prepared for the school year. Thank the Lord for safe and good flights and for the arrival of all my luggage :) If you have a chance, pray for Kenya as they vote this week on their new constitution.

It is Sunday night here and I'm just sitting in my room working on some school work and listening to the 'cuse - Gonzaga game. I'm putting together a new unit for my government class as we study economics. We are studying the effects of economic growth (through capitalism) on the poor. This week we are discussing the capitalistic institution of property rights. So that's the background when my roommate Joel walks in and lets me know the neighbors from the compound are having a meeting outside. 


I went outside on our balcony - well the open aired hallway that leads to our apartment on the 3rd floor (2nd floor if you are from anywhere except the US). For the most part they are speaking in English and loud enough so that we can understand what they are saying. Mainly, a few of the members of the meeting were upset over a party or event that took place on Friday night. I wasn't here because I was with my basketball team having an end of the season celebration at one of the player's houses. Apparently the party on our compound was too loud. While they discussed different issues, it struck me as weird considering that things like HOAs don't exist here. One man went off about how the kids in the compound have no manners. The rest of the group quieted him, after all he had come late. 


The end of the meeting was the best. We learned that it was an impromptu meeting and throughout the meeting they had selected a chair,  to whom everyone -  even the disgruntled individual concerned with the youth - referred to as "Mr. Chairperson" and apparently even selected a secretary to write down the items discussed. At the end of the meeting the chairperson calmed the crowd and suggested that they close the meeting with a word of prayer. A word of prayer! With no objections, the group bowed together in prayer and prayed for the group as they sought to deal with these different issues and live in the same compound as each other. 


I just couldn't help but take a min to think about what this scenario might have been like in the States. Just imagine it in your mind. Kenya is obviously not as advanced or organized as the States... but they got one thing right - prayer. 


Alright, well MSU and MD are now on tap and I've still got some work to do. Thanks for reading and please continue to pray.  

It's been a while since my last update and a  lot has happened. It was a great basketball season, although we lost every game. I guess there is more to playing sports than winning. I really enjoyed the group of guys I coached and they did improve a lot. I will admit though, as much as I love basketball and coaching, it is nice to have some extra downtime and it could not have come at a better time. 


We are just entering the final  weeks of the semester and I'm just six weeks out from the AP US History exam. We have a lot of material to cover. Throw into all this that we have a week off for Easter break too. 


The biggest news here is that the local coffee chain (well one of two, but the one I prefer) stopped selling their double house coffee. I've been away from the States too long to remember what it was called there, plus half those places put it in a different language. Basically they had two sizes - single and double and every Sunday morning I swing by and purchase a double house coffee, white, take away (AKA in American English: Medium size with milk to go) and then head off to church. This last Sunday I came and found out that they now only have one size - single! I don't think they realize  that American's need a bit more coffee than a single. Now each time I visit the shop (where I am now) I fill out a comments card and suggest they bring back the double house coffee.

We've started the final semester this year and it is an exciting and busy time. This will be the school's first graduating class in almost a decade! Everything is new and the seniors are trying to make the best of their last few months with their normality. I've been working closely with them to apply to schools and helping them with applications and scholarships. It can be a bit much at times. 

We just got back from our annual staff development retreat. This year we went to Lake Naivasha which is about two hours outside of Nairobi. We stayed at the Holiday Inn there on the lake. It isn't a real Holiday Inn, it just shares the name. The lake is known for the hippos that live in and around the lake. We did get to see some of those, although they were the only animals we really caught sight of on our short trip there. On Saturday we had the option of going to Crescent Island (you can review pics from last year) or climbing Mt Longonot. Since I had already been to the island, I decided to climb the mountain. Mt. Longonot is a dormant volcanic crater that last erupted sometime in the 1800s. It is about 8-9000ft high. It is located in the Great Rift Valley.
The hike up the mountain is fairly swift. There aren't a lot of cut backs, it is pretty much straight up. It took just over an hour to get to the rim, about 4 hours to walk around the rim, and then another hour or so to get back down. It was a cloudy morning and while we were walking up we walked through several clouds. Honestly, the hike was tough, but I was hiking with one of the other staff's family and they had a younger child. I just kept telling myself that if she could make it, I could. After about three hours we stopped and ate our sack lunches at the peak. It was also around this time it began to clear up and the sun came out. It was also around this time I realized I am basically on the equator, 9000 feet up, and I don't have any sunscreen. I survived though, and got some great shots of the valley and the crater once the weather cleared up. I'll get those posted soon.
On the way back down the mountain, one of my students and I tried to take a "shortcut" down the side. We checked with a more experienced hiker who assured us the small path we were on was indeed a short cut. Unfortunately, we were wrong. Never completely fearing because we could always see the end of the path at the base of the mountain, the two of us trudged along. We soon realized that the reason there were only two of us on this particular path was because it went through several ravines. At one point, I began sliding down the side of one of these ravines, only to be saved by a thorn bush grabbing hold of my leg. About seven ravines later we had made our way back to the correct path...about a half hour behind the rest of the group. Moral of the story: don't take the short cut.

Over all, it was a great weekend to relax and see the sights outside of town. We are beginning our 5th week of school and it is going quick. Thanks for reading the updates. Please continue your prayers and support.

Today was the first day of school. Though only a half day, it was full of work and excitement. God reminded me once again of why he has called me here: the students. I’ve been going into school every day for the last week, but having the students back was a great blessing.

We have many new students and lots of returning students. The last few weeks have been focusing on getting prepared for today, the first day. It had its glitches, but for the most part it went well. We have some things to correct for tomorrow, and then we can focus on the next goals for the school year.

As many of you know my role at the school changed a bit. That change has been challenging, especially these last few days. Evaluating transcripts, creating schedules, and preparing for class has provided more than enough to do. Through this busy time, God has provided strength and energy to get much accomplished.

A few of you I updated on the water situation here in Kenya. It is bad. Since most of Kenya’s power is generated from hyrdo-electric plants, the lack of water has finally forced the country to ration their power. The power company has adopted a country-wide rationing system. Three days a week (either m,w,f or t,th, sat) the power is shut off from 6am to 6pm, although yesterday our power didn’t come back on till 8:30 pm. Pray for the rain, the people here, and their animals. Just today a parent told me their house smells because of the dying cattle from the area. Kenya is in need of prayers!

Living as a white missionary over here, it is difficult to know how to feel. I get frustrated by losing power, and then I feel guilt when I remember that many of the locals here deal with this everyday of their life in addition to so many more inconveniences and problems. Through our church and the school, we do community work and try to be a blessing and provide, but it seems to be doing too little. Just continue to remember your prayers for Kenya and the Kenyan people. It has been a rough two years for this country. Pray they will turn to God.

Also, be in prayer for Ryan William’s family. I posted in my last blog about his plane accident. Friday morning Ryan passed away from complications from his injuries caused by the wreck. He leaves behind his wife, Dawn, and their four children. Ryan and Frank (the pilot who died on the day of the accident) were both African Inland Mission pilots and the AIM and other missionary community is struggling with their deaths. Several of our students and faculty were good friends of the Williams and it has made the start of the year a little more difficult.

Through the frustrations of business at school, loss of power, and thinking about the passing of two missionary pilots, God led me to 1 Cor 1:9. It simply starts out: “God is faithful.” That’s enough right? Paul’s referring to God’s faithfulness to save his children from eternity in hell and provide salvation through Jesus Christ. In the grade scheme of things, that’s what matters, God’s faithfulness. Even when we get busy, don’t understand, or even question Him, He is faithful until the end. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Well I have safely arrived back in Kenya after 48 hours of travel. I arrived with all my bags with little hassle, I even got to spend a few hours walking around London during my layover there.  As a history person, I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the city and seeing much of its history.

I got in around 6:30 am on the 30th and spent most of the day getting reacquainted with the city. I had to buy a new phone, pick up the car, and find some internet to let my parents know I was there. When I got to the school to get the car, I realized it had very little gas, water, and oil. In addition to that it had a flat tire. Fortunately some of the workers at the school were able to help out and get it back in running condition without frustration. Later in the day I went back to the airport to pick up my roommate.

We moved out of our apartment at the end of last year because it had no security and the water was not consistent. As a result we stayed at another teacher’s house while we look for another apartment. Finding an apartment is more difficult here because it is hard to get straight answers, they more tell you what you want to hear. Fortunately after two days of searching we are very close to signing a lease and hope to do so on Monday. It has a good water supply and tank for emergencies as well as increased security (securely gated compound with guard, both missing from our first apartment). It is an older apartment, but it has been recently redone. It is very nice. If we get it I’ll take some pictures and get those posted. Keep that in your prayers.

Tomorrow starts the rigmarole of school again. We are working on nailing down the master calendar and I’ll be reviewing some transcripts for our new students. Also, I’ll be lesson planning for the two classes I’m teaching. I’m excited for my new role in the school and am looking forward to starting. My workspace there at the school isn’t finished yet, but hopefully will be by mid week.

A prayer request that you can keep in mind is for a family here at my church. Yesterday a missionary plane crashed during its landing and the co-pilot was a member of our church. His name is Ryan Williams. There were four people on board the plane. The crash killed the pilot and Ryan sustained lacerations, breaks, and burns. He has been in and out of surgery at Nairobi Hospital since the wreck. The other two members received minor injuries and were fortunate to help get Ryan out of the plane before the fire grew too big. Please pray for the entire mission’s team in the area (African Inland Missions), Ryan’s family (wife and three kids), Frank’s (pilot) family, and Ryan’s recovery.  

That is the main updates for now. I’ll update on the apartment this week. It is good to be back and getting more into a routine. It’ll be great once we land an apartment. God bless.