A Year Out . . .

We are at the end of our first year at RVA. Right now is “Dead Week”, a time at the end of the year that, by its name, might seem superfluous – final exams are over, no new instruction is planned, just hanging out until graduation. It’s actually quite a welcome reprieve for both students and staff alike.

The end of school here, like in the typical high school, involves major transitions in many lives. Not only are seniors graduating – which in itself is huge, as most of them will be moving to the U.S. or Europe to attend college, far from their familiar community – but everything on campus enters a state of flux. Some students and staff members will be leaving on home assignment or furlough, others permanently. Many will, as they anticipate the next school year (in seven weeks!) will also be anticipating moves to new dorms, new dorm parents, new dorm brothers or sisters and new classmates. Some to new countries. Uncertainty is often a constant companion in the life of a missionary kid. So departing RVA at the end of the year can be a bittersweet event.

In our own lives here as teachers, we have had the supreme honor and pleasure of living and sharing with many amazing people. Of my seventeen years of teaching, I must confess this one to be my most deeply gratifying, as I have had such a distinct awareness of God’s direct influence. Never in my life have I had such a tangible sense of God’s leading and blessing. My English classes have been rich and rewarding, allowing students and me to engage in active, stimulating discussions about literature and to generate outstanding written work. Truth be told, RVA is a teacher’s dream! But more importantly, I have been deeply affected by students’ lives. I have developed profoundly significant friendships with them that have changed me for the better. I hope that the inverse is true as well.

This weekend, we held our last Sunday school class – 12 ninth grade girls and boys with whom we have spent the last two terms studying God’s Word. After a splendid breakfast (a combined cooking effort!), we sat in our living room and shared our best experiences of the year and our hopes for the next one. I was touched by the sincere and transparent words of our kids who were thankful for the ways in which God had been working in them. I am so blessed to hear these young people expressing their love and need for God. It was a tearful morning.

Then we went to church – Senior Sunday – which was conducted entirely by senior students. From the worship to the speakers, RVA seniors gave testimony to the power that comes of faith in Jesus and ofthe ways that RVA has influenced their lives toward living within God’s will.

We are looking forward to next year (a mere six weeks away for us!), when we begin our new assignment as dorm parents. We will be host to 22 junior boys! We are excited, and a little apprehensive, as we take on a whole new role in the lives of many young men. This, in addition to our continuing jobs teaching and working in guidance, will keep us busy!

This year has been wonderful, difficult, joyful, sad, triumphant – a whole world of emotion. I am very thankful for God’s leading, not only in our lives, but in the lives of those who have given support to our efforts – in prayer, with delightful packages, with finances, with words of encouragement. It has made this challenging year one full of joy and light! Thank you to all who have been a part of this wild journey!!