Jeff and Kate Davis came to RVA the same time as we did.   Jeff graduated from RVA in 1992.  His father graduated from RVA in 1964.  His grandfather attended RVA in its early days.  This year is the one-hundredth year of RVA.  At the "Centennial kick-off" program in October, they were asking who had parents who attended RVA and who had grandparents who attended RVA.  When they asked if there was anyone in the fourth generation attending RVA, Kate stood and proudly pointed to her extended belly.

Three days after his birth, Colin unexpectedly died in his sleep.  The community of RVA, Kijabe, AIM along with many others was in shock.  The tight community felt as if a part of the body had been taken away.  The "Celebration Service" for his life was an incredible testimony of faith and the belief that God was sovereign and had blessed them with a few days of life. It was a testament to God's grace that Jeff and Kate could turn such a tragedy into a celebration of praise for the short life of  their small baby. 

We have walked through the cemetery at Kijabe and seen the number of infants who have died in the community.  Over the years many missionaries have lost children, some which could be blamed on Africa, others not.   Even at the Celebration service there were 10 to 15 couples who stood when asked who had lost infant children.

God sometimes calls us to give that which is most precious to us.  It is our response to the happenings in life which truly shows character.


Blanket Update

A week ago we were invited to go to the Little Lambs orphan center above Kijabe.   Although the orphans live with their remaining family, relatives, or others in the community, they come to the center for lunch and after school.  Some of them take naps and we thought that giving some blankets to stay at the center would be appreciated.  We arrived with our guide, and were treated to an hour of recitations, songs, and scripture from the orphans.  The quilts filled with colourful pictures were shown to them one-by-one, becoming an English lesson as the children called all the objects out in unison.  When they came to one quilt of sheep their teacher Gladys started pointing to them and naming all the "Little Lambs", much to the delight of the children!  Gladys asked how many blankets there were, when told there were 20, we could see her face drop in disappointment.  She told us that many of the children did not have blankets to sleep under at home.  The next day we were going to Nairobi, and dropped off 60 warm, knitted blankets at the center, one for each child to take home.