John and Zoe serve at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), AIM’s boarding school, which educates and disciples the children of missionaries in Kijabe, Kenya. They praise God for the privilege of being part of a ministry that believes in children and strives to nurture, educate and teach them about their place in God’s world.  In their dorm, there are ten 13 and 14-year-old girls. Many of their parents are involved with different types of work including supporting the local church in Uganda, flying planes into Zambia, working as doctors in Kenya, and supporting vulnerable young women in Tanzania. Please pray for John and Zoe as they seek to care for these girls. Not all of them come from missionary families. Some families may not even be believers, but have chosen to send their children to RVA for the quality of education. However, as John & Zoe say, they’re getting a gospel bonus!

John and Zoe serve at Rift Valley Academy (RVA), AIM’s boarding school, which educates and disciples the children of missionaries in Kijabe, Kenya. Praise God that dorm parenting continues to go well, even with the ups and downs that come with 14-year-old girls! They are encouraged that one or two who were quiet at the beginning are feeling more settled and are coming out of their shells more. Please pray for them as they seek to understand the cultural differences in communication, trust, truth and honour, and that the Lord will enable them to build relationships.

John and Zoe Putman serve at Rift Valley Academy (RVA); AIM’s boarding school, which educates and disciples the children of missionaries, in Kijabe, Kenya. They have had a great first term, with five girls returning to the dorm from last year and six brand new ones. With 11 students, they are now a little busier with more questions, more homework to help with, more sports games to support, more hearts to nurture, more hair to braid, more hot chocolate to make, more jokes to be listened to, more medications to administer, and more parents to liaise with. Their role as dorm parents is so special, and they are grateful to God for trusting them with the care of these 11 precious people at such a vulnerable age and stage. The girls are very mouldable and influenced by the world around them, and John and Zoe have the chance to step in whilst parents are away and take on the noticing; the growing of their personalities, characters, understanding of themselves and God, friendships, habits and hobbies. Please pray that their friendships with each other will be healthy and strong, that they will be bold to encourage each other in their faith, and that they will choose good study habits. There is a wide range of backgrounds and cultures within the dorm, so please pray that they can honour everyone to create a warm and welcoming environment with clear expectations and boundaries.