Rebecca Welsh teaches chemistry and broader science at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), Kenya. She worships at a local church plant, and she has loved seeing how the church has grown and the community deepened over the past months. She loves being able to be part of the local community and serve alongside her Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ, who have been so warm and welcoming to her. Although the church has, on average, 30 people on a Sunday morning, they had 150 kids come along to hear about the love of Jesus at recent holiday bible clubs. Twice a month, folk from the church do outreach in the different surrounding areas, and even though it is mainly done in Swahili, it has been one of the most life-giving things Rebecca has done this term. The leadership team are intentional in building community at the church, so there are often ladies’ events, praise and prayer events, invitations round for meals and even overnight stays. The few that go from Kijabe (where RVA and the mission hospital are located) invited all the young adults from the church to Kijabe and gave them an experience of some more western style food – the carrot sticks and hummus didn’t go down very well! Praise the Lord for this church plant and pray for Rebecca to grow in her walk with the Lord alongside her brothers and sisters there.

Rebecca Welsh teaches chemistry and broader science at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), Kenya. Many of those Rebecca was closest to last year are no longer at RVA, so ask the Lord to provide good friendships and a real sense of community for Rebecca this year. Pray too for work visas as Rebecca’s and those of some other staff members still haven’t been processed, which causes problems when travelling.

Rebecca Welsh teaches chemistry and broader science at Rift Valley Academy, (RVA) Kenya. She is thankful to God for a positive term and for deepening relationships with the students. She and another member of staff have a small group of the senior girls round for a meal each week. These girls have experienced so much in life and are preparing for big changes as they graduate, and Rebbecca finds it a privilege to support them on this journey. With so much going on, it can be hard for staff to find time to make connections and build friendships, which can make the term breaks hard at times. Pray for good friendships and support networks for the staff, particularly as this term there will be a lot of change and goodbyes.