Rebecca teaches at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), Kenya. Last week, Rebecca’s local church had their vacation Bible school (VBS) and youth programme. Please pray that what they have heard will take root in the hearts of these young people and lead them to know Jesus for themselves. Pray too that through them more families will come to the church. Term 1 is going to look very different for Rebecca when she starts back in September. After teaching biology for the past two years, she is excited that she will get to teach chemistry and use her degree more. It also means she will be teaching the same children she taught last year and has built good relationships with. From mid-October she will be back in the UK for home assignment, until the end of December. Please pray that this time in the UK will bring physical and spiritual refreshment, and that she will know how to best use the time.

Rebecca teaches chemistry and broader science at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), Kenya. Throughout this term she has been continually reminded to choose joy in every situation, having to often remind herself of the bigger picture and mission of the school as she faced a very demanding term with many ups and downs. Praise God that she is getting to know her church family better and finding new ways to serve in the worship team; after about a 15-year break, she dusted off the cobwebs and brought her flute back into action! While she rejoices at the relationships God has brought her, as time passes, she is missing seeing her nephews grow up and having people her age and stage around her. Please pray that she will continue to choose joy and that she will find a deeper sense of friendships and family over this next term.

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.