19 December 2011

It is Christmas break and we are excited for some down time.  My mom is here visiting over Christmas and New Year’s and I can’t describe how excited we are to have her here to see our work and daily life.

We visited a local Fulani village recently.  Only 20 minutes outside of the city, this tribe lives a very simple, rural life; growing their own food, raising cattle as their livelihood, and only a few of the kids attend school if they are lucky.  They were very welcoming and excited to see us.  They wanted to touch Cypress’ and Isabell’s hair.  (pics on this blog update & last one too)

This semester I have been tutoring at a Nigerian school once a week.  It has been an eye opening, difficult, yet rewarding experience.  Many kids in Nigerian schools are advancing from grade to grade without learning the basics in reading and math.  This school was started and is overseen by an American missionary, yet the principal, teaching staff and children are all Nigerian.  Her goal is to make sure the kids are learning their basics and have a strong foundation in reading and math.  This school offers a good education to many needy children who would otherwise not go to school at all.  Many are orphaned or HIV positive.   I am tutoring middle and high school students with their basic math facts and it is slow going and hard work.  It is difficult for them to do homework with power issues, getting their basic food needs met, and fitting school into their work/chore load. Their life is so different from the life of our children; it is humbling.    At the end of the semester we were guests at the school closing ceremony where the kids sang, danced and demonstrated their math facts.   They were so animated and excited about showing their accomplishments.

Back at Hillcrest, we finished the semester with Christmas programs, band concerts, recitals and final exams. It has been a full semester as the Hillcrest board and community adjust to changes now and in the future.  Security is a constant issue and many steps have been taken to make our campus as safe as possible.   We have adjusted to school uniforms and the kids look sharp.   We are wanting to fill openings in our elementary teaching staff.  We also need a superintendent and elementary principal.  If you know anyone who might be interested, the Hillcrest website has the information (http://www.hillcrestschool.net/).

I never stop missing home, church, friends and family.  Checking in on the Rice family blog has been a  blessing.  It has helped me to know how to pray.  Jon’s words have touched me deeply as he walks a road that is hard to imagine, yet the Bible verses and lessons he is learning and sharing apply so much to other difficult experiences.  We continue to lift up Dianne and the Rice family to the Lord’s mighty hands.

We wish you all a peaceful and Merry Christmas.  May the truth of Jesus’ purpose in coming, humble us and inspire us to love and serve Him.

Love, Kimberly for Gary, Jordan, Cypress and Isabell

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27 November 2011

Nate and Heidi came from Germany for our Spiritual Emphasis Week, using break dancing, rap, and graffiti  to share the message of God’s love and encouraging the kids to “Shine like stars” (our theme this year from Philippians 2: 15-16). They ended up staying on campus and often hanging out at our house during the evenings after their busy days, so we enjoyed the opportunity to take them back out to visit our friends, Israel and Katharina.

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9 October 2011

We are excited to get opportunities to get out of the city for a while to enjoy the quiet(er) countryside. Our friends, Israel and Katarina (and their daughter, Jihra), recently invited us to come out to visit them. God has given them a passion for helping children, and for the past several years they have been working on finding property and building a big house that will be used to provide a home to orphans. Hillcrest students have gone out to help them work on the road into their property, and several other mission ministries have come along side them to help and encourage them as they are nearing the time when they will be ready to fill the house with children.

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5 October 2011

Last week was a time of celebration here: Along with  celebrating Nigeria’s 51^st year of independence (1 October) , we also celebrated a birth! On Monday (26^th), Kuwi, one of the young women who works for us, gave birth to a daughter. Her English name is Lois, after Timothy’s grandmother in the Bible. She also has a tribal name which I won’t attempt to spell here. Since this Monday was a public holiday in celebration of Nigerian Independence Day, we took the opportunity to go meet the new baby. Fortunately for me, the naming ceremony was held on Monday morning prior to our visit, so I was allowed to join Kimberly and the girls on their visit, rather than just being the driver! As you can see from the pictures, Lois was bundled up quite warmly in her beautiful handmade sweater, blanket and hat, even though it was about 80+ degrees outside. They believe that babies need to be kept warm while they are small, which is sometime hard to see when we are sweating in the heat!

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26 September 2011

Since we last posted, a lot has been going on here in Nigeria…unfortunately not all of it good and that is the part that tends to make it into US news. We are so thankful for more calm and quiet the past couple of weeks. There are days when living in Nigeria can be stressful and days where we are so thankful for the privilege. We have learned it is that way about many things in life!

Last spring, we began preparing for Hillcrest’s next school accreditation visit from ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International), which will occur this coming spring. We have needed to make several changes this year, increasing our # of school days since we miss days for all religious and national holidays,  so we have now shortened some of the school breaks for this year and lengthened our Monday school day to a “regular” day, rather than early release. Also our security is changing/increasing to help provide a safe environment for all of us. No longer is Hillcrest a place that anyone can come and visit, exercise and get some of the best suya (barbecued beef strips with a spicy and very flavorful coating…yum!) in Jos. Before coming through the Hillcrest gate the guards now have to know who you are and why you are here.

Soccer season is here and this is the first year we have spent time watching our players. Our Varsity boys team has incredible skill and is amazing to watch. They are playing teams in their 20’s and winning.

Jordan is also playing soccer for the first time this year and loves it. The JV and Varsity girls practice together and then some 9th graders play games for both teams and she is one of them. Makes for a busy week!

Discipleship started two weeks ago and I (Kimberly) am teaching the 6th grade girls this year. There are 9 Nigerian girls and Cypress. They are at such a great age to have fun learning about being a disciple of Christ. Jordan is part of the HS Praise Team for her discipleship group this year, singing and playing piano. The Praise Team leads worship for some of our Wednesday and Sunday chapels throughout the year.

Service in the community continues to be emphasized this year and the middle and high school students have had opportunities to visit orphanages in Jos. One of them is the same one our family spent time with last year. I am growing attached to some of these kids and it is hard not to be able to take them home!

Thank you for sending email updates, encouragement, prayer requests, etc. It really helps keep us connected. Even when we don’t get to respond know that we read, pray and love to hear from you.

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22 August 2011

It’s good to be back in the swing of things after tons of fun on Camano Island playing and visiting…  At times I wondered if our kids did more socializing than we did J.  When we arrived in Abuja, we were greeted by 75 degree weather at 5 am (warmer than we had been the entire 8 weeks in the U.S.) and the power going out while leaving baggage claim (it’s still dark here at 5am!).  The drive to Jos took 4-5 hours with traffic and security check points along the way.  It is good to be back even though the tug of leaving family and friends is still difficult.  It is the middle of rainy season so our house is damp, clothes are damp, and everything has a damp feel and a bit of a musty smell to it, but the temperature is still nice…high 60’s to low 80’s from morning to night.  More bugs invade during rainy season so we have to toughen up and not scream every time.  I only get wound up when they are bigger than 2 inches.

I (Kimberly) must admit, while playing and sleeping in during our break, my priorities shifted and my time with God became less and less, along with my perceived need for daily quiet time.  By the last week I was feeling selfish, having a ‘poor me’ attitude, and not wanting to fly back to Nigeria.  But now I am back to a routine that includes my prayer time and amazingly my gratitude and privileged feeling of serving here has returned.  God is so patient and merciful.

Our prayer request for finding a renter was answered.  The contract was signed one day before we left.  The situation was a bit shaky, but we pray that our renters will get their feet on the ground and enjoy the house as much as we have.   Also, just hours after we left, our 20-year-old house began acting up with pipes leaking, flooding and a hot water tank that needed replacing.   We have an amazing property manager and numerous friends who helped take care of things and we are so very grateful!

We are two weeks into our school year at Hillcrest, however today was a first.  School uniforms were mandatory beginning today, and it was a big deal.  There was lots of complaining from student (especially the teenagers!), but everyone looked so good and sharp!

We plan to update again soon…thanks for continuing to keep up with us and pray, encourage and support us!

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20 May 2011

The end of the school year is here and we are amazed and thankful for all that took place this year. As our superintendent stated; we have had to be flexible and trusting in the Lord to work our way through the challenges of this year. I have to agree! And as I look back at our year I believe we have learned and grown through it. This is also a difficult time of the year, since we are in the process of saying “goodbye” to those who are leaving at the end of the school year and not returning. God blesses us with fellow teachers and friends for a short time, but we are learning that arrivals and departures are a regular part of the cycle of living here. Attached are some random pictures of our year…

We had a SHORT track season as we had to adjust our schedule for Nigeria’s elections. It was still exciting to see the kids give their all in the hot sun and dirt. Notice the socks and bare feet on students at a track meet running the 1500 meter race (6 laps around the track).

We have an orphanage that is special to us and at a recent visit we helped bathe the kids and feed the babies… then we got to play.

After a hard rain, we had a large water truck lose control and crash into (or through) our compound wall. We live in a huge compound, yet this truck came through our neighbor’s back yard….30 feet from ours. It was loud and scary, yet luckily the injuries were minor. Our damaged wall was down through the last round of elections, yet prayers were answered as peace in Jos has remained throughout all the elections, while other villages and towns have had their share of rioting.

Jordan’s class had their end of year banquet. It is a celebration they talk about and plan for the entire year. The girls spend the day doing hair, nails and makeup, then the Hillcrest community comes out to see them all dressed up before they go out to eat. It makes us parents tear up as we see our children looking so grown up!

We will be home again this summer and can’t wait to catch up with all of you!

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02 April 2011

It’s been challenging the past couple of months to find time to update our blog and keep in touch with everyone. We had a couple of months of challenges with our power supply, and with all the surges and extended outages we experienced, the power supplies (chargers and batteries) for the school network took a severe beating and were damaged. The past few weeks  our power situation has improved, but the network is limping along until we can replace all the chargers and batteries, and is only powered up until 5pm on school days and for 3 hours on Saturday afternoon.

Here are some pictures from the past two months…Valentine’s Day Lunch hosted by the Senior class, Elementary and Middle Field Day, and the annual Carnival hosted by the Sophomore class. Jordan’ elective classes this semester have included a Language Acquisition class (taught by a Wycliffe-trained translator) and beginning woodworking class…be sure to check the examples of her work in the slideshow pix.

As we enter the month of April, elections are taking place over the next 3 Saturdays  beginning today. Please continue to pray with us that the elections will be peaceful, and the results valid and fair so that Nigeria can move forward  in a positive manner.

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Lava Columns

When we have the opportunity, we enjoy getting out of the city and exploring different areas here. On Saturday (19 Feb) we headed out with a group of friends to explore an area known for columns of lava (basalt). A caravan of baturi (white people) passing through villages draws a lot of friendly attention, and as soon as we parked and began walking down to the riverbed, we drew a crowd of children who walked along with us the entire time. Some of the older ones spoke English, and several in our group speak Hausa, so they talked with us, sang songs for us, enjoyed being part of pictures, and before long were holding hands with the women and girls in our group.

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Pool Party!

Just before our Christmas break we tagged along with our friends at Back to Back Ministries and took a group of kids from a local orphanage to the swimming pool for swimming and lunch.  We had received a  gift from friends at home that sparked the idea for this fun afternoon.  The water was freezing, but the kids were brave and had a great time splashing around.  Planning ahead,  B2B had a bag of donated swim suits for the kids.   A delicious lunch was served, giving the kids had a chance to eat something different besides what they usually receive at the orphanage.  These kids need so much love and attention it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming.  Jordan, Isabell and Cypress  had a great time hanging out with them.  At the end we gave them stuffed animal presents donated by our kids from their stuffed animal families, telling them how much Jesus loves them.  It was precious to see how much they loved their gifts, and we enjoyed seeing the reaction in the girls to how much their gifts were treasured.  It showed them in a very real way how blessed we are and that we can make a difference to people in need.    Our hearts were touched hard by Suzanne who had recently arrived at the orphanage from a traumatic experience.  She hadn’t talked yet, but she held on tightly to our hands, and by the end of the day she was smiling.

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