Thank you so much for your prayers this month! Nathan has struggled with sickness. We are I've had a great time getting to know Njoki and Peter. We ask you to continue to lift us up in prayer, both for the struggles and the joyful changes as well as keeping the hardships faced by the Kenyan people in your prayers as well.
In the last few days of June, there were protests and riots in Nairobi and the surrounding area. First and foremost, we are safe and were never in any real danger here at RVA and in Kijabe. The Kenyan people were protesting an upcoming financial bill, the main pain points that people were protesting were increased spending power for certain parts of government as well as additional taxes on a number of items including basic food necessities like bread and hygiene items like women's sanitary pads. Amidst the already serious cost of living increases Kenya has faced in the last few years, people felt this was an unfair hike in taxes on the most basic necessities. This led to protests across the capital, and various streets were blocked as civil unrest spiked. Unfortunately the protests turned violent. Numerous people were injured and several were killed as gun fighting erupted over the course of two days. One government building was firebombed, but the damage was minimal. The protests remained violent for about 3 days before settling down and becoming much more peaceful. Though there is still unrest and some unease, most recent protesting has been peacefully blocking roads or gathering outside houses of government. After the president's announcement that the bill would not be signed into law as it was written, protests continued to calm. We ask for your prayers that any residual protests across Kenya remain peaceful and that government employees remain safe while the bill is being re-written. We also ask for you to join us and pray for the injured and those killed in the protests.
We know several families that are trying to fly out next week and haven't received their re-entry visas yet due to the government shutdowns from the protests and rioting. Please pray for those to come quickly.
We know several families that are trying to fly out next week and haven't received their re-entry visas yet due to the government shutdowns from the protests and rioting. Please pray for those to come quickly.
Nathan has been a little bit sick for most of our time here so far. We've been told that that minor sickness, getting used to the new weather, pollen, food... is normal. Most everyone goes through some of that when they get here, but Nathan's minor sickness turned into something a bit more series this month.
On June 8th, Nathan spiked a fever of 103 degrees F. We reached out to a nurse friend of ours, who works at the student health building, to ask for a recommendation on whether Nathan should take fever reducing medication and run it out at home or head to Kijabe Hospital to get looked at. After asking a few more questions about his symptoms, Chip recommended that we head to the hospital. He even gave us a ride there since we don't have a car. It's not very far from campus, but it's pretty far to walk while sick, so that ride was very appreciated. A first visit to a hospital in a brand new country can be pretty intimidating, but having Chip there with us to let us know what to expect was insanely helpful! We can't thank him enough. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30pm. Our next-door neighbors were able to watch Jay for us the whole time that I was at the hospital with Nathan. At least from my point of view (Heather's), it wasn't scary at all. Everything that Chip said would happen happened. He knows people at the hospital, and he told us to contact him if the doctors were dismissing his symptoms as nothing and telling him to go home right away. That didn't happen. Dr. Felix was super thorough. He took blood and did labs. He got an x-ray since Nathan had rattling in his coughs. He confirmed that it wasn't pneumonia, it wasn't COVID, it wasn't strep, it wasn't malaria. He did find redness, swelling and puss on Nathan's tonsils, though. We were served great Kenyan food for supper at the hospital that we hadn't had before. The very kind nurses informed us that it was called ugali with cabbage and beef broth soup.
On June 8th, Nathan spiked a fever of 103 degrees F. We reached out to a nurse friend of ours, who works at the student health building, to ask for a recommendation on whether Nathan should take fever reducing medication and run it out at home or head to Kijabe Hospital to get looked at. After asking a few more questions about his symptoms, Chip recommended that we head to the hospital. He even gave us a ride there since we don't have a car. It's not very far from campus, but it's pretty far to walk while sick, so that ride was very appreciated. A first visit to a hospital in a brand new country can be pretty intimidating, but having Chip there with us to let us know what to expect was insanely helpful! We can't thank him enough. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30pm. Our next-door neighbors were able to watch Jay for us the whole time that I was at the hospital with Nathan. At least from my point of view (Heather's), it wasn't scary at all. Everything that Chip said would happen happened. He knows people at the hospital, and he told us to contact him if the doctors were dismissing his symptoms as nothing and telling him to go home right away. That didn't happen. Dr. Felix was super thorough. He took blood and did labs. He got an x-ray since Nathan had rattling in his coughs. He confirmed that it wasn't pneumonia, it wasn't COVID, it wasn't strep, it wasn't malaria. He did find redness, swelling and puss on Nathan's tonsils, though. We were served great Kenyan food for supper at the hospital that we hadn't had before. The very kind nurses informed us that it was called ugali with cabbage and beef broth soup.
Fun side note:
The hospital was the first time we noticed this, but Njoki has confirmed it as well. It is very uncommon for Kenyan foods to have names besides just describing their ingredients. They don't have a "name" for the cabbage and beef broth soup that they served us besides that description. Njoki and I made chili together the other day, and she told me that she thinks it's hilarious that we have names like that for our food. |
Nathan was given 2 bags of fluids to get him hydrated. He was given a bag of paracetamol through IV as well. His fever went away. We both stayed together at the hospital till 11:30pm. At that point, the doctor said that Nathan was doing well and that he just wanted to give him a couple more medications before sending him home, so I got a ride back to campus and picked Jay up. Nathan was able to come back home a couple of hours later with antibiotics prescribed by Dr. Felix. We are so thankful for Chip, Dr. Felix, the amazing nurses at Kijabe Hospital, and who made that hospital visit much easier than it could have been. God was certainly looking out for us.
It took a few days for Nathan's tonsilitis symptoms to go away, and then it has taken several days since that point for Nathan's after-sickness exhaustion to go away, but he is finally back to a normal day at work. Thank you God for healing! |
We are getting into a routine with both Njoki and Peter. We are getting to know each other and figuring out what will work for all of us in these new work relationships. They are both becoming part of the family. Jay loves them both. He enjoys helping Peter out with the outdoor work, like mowing. He does great with Njoki when I leave him with her to go to Bible study or help one of the music teachers with something or run an errand! Njoki has been teaching me a song in her language that is celebrating a first born son. She sings it to Jay on a regular basis and dances with him to it. So precious!
Njoki took Heather into town to show her the different shops. They saw people that Njoki knew along the way, so she introduced them to Heather. We love that we can walk easily to stores in town and that we can build relationships with these small business owners that we will visit on a regular basis. It has been a relief for both Heather and Nathan to have their assistance while Nathan is working full time.
The teachers have a time slot everyday when they meet together for chai (hot tea) and snacks and get to socialize. We have very much enjoyed that set up time when we get to get to know the other teachers more. Heather has especially enjoyed that opportunity since she doesn't teach regularly yet, so she doesn't have many other organic times to get to know most other teachers.
Nathan has been hard at work doing some Python and Javascript development for the school, after taking some time to learn the specifics of the Odoo program in use here he has set up a personal testing instance on his computer and is beginning to make serious progress on an application that can tie 3 disparate database systems together, making it a lot easier for the teachers and other staff to access the information needed. While this certainly will not be a fast process, Nathan is very excited to really be able to put the full gamit of the gifts God has given him to use in a mission environment. In addition to this development work, Nathan continues to help students and staff with all manner of IT problems from the IT office here on campus. The IT office is fairly centrally located, so it helps Nathan get to know more staff and students as they come in for assistance and helps them get to know him as well. We continually praise God for such a warm and caring community that he has placed us in.
Since RVA is a boarding school, all staff couples are required to help out with daily life type things as well each term. Since we have an early childhood kid, we have more flexibility on the number of events we help with. Most staff EACH have to pick 7 events to help with in a term (3 months). We have to pick 7 between the two of us since Jay needs us more at this age. There are regularly scheduled social events for students where they get to choose one of several offered activities. Some staff choose to host an activity, allowing students to pick one to be a part of. It builds community and gives staff the opportunity to get to know students better. Nathan has been co-hosting a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Heather has not been able to help host such activities because they happen in the evening when Jay is asleep.
Heather was able to teach a sample preschool aged music class for some of the littles who live on campus one day this month. The kids loved it. The mamas loved it. We (preschool moms and Heather) have decided that she will teach preschool music once a week starting in August to the preschoolers in the mom-run co-op. She's super excited about that opportunity, and the preschool mamas are super excited that there are people available to teach these special classes (music and dance)! It all depends who happens to be here and available on campus each year.
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Heather also had the opportunity to help out with a few Titchie music classes during home-school week at RVA. There is a week when home-schooled MKs get to come to RVA and sit in classes to see what it is like at RVA so that their parents can decide whether or not they would like to send their kids to board at RVA in the future. With the influx of new students in the music classes, the music teacher asked Heather to assist. It was great to be able to help and see what normal Titchie music classes look like right now.
We are still waiting on another music teacher to arrive on campus this summer so that we can all discuss how to divide up the RVA school music classes for next school year. The only definite request so far has been that she lead the music in Titchie (elementary) chapel services each week. The plan is to wait till everyone is here this summer before the beginning of next school year since that will be when decisions will be made about what music classes she'll teach. She would love to help out with chapel, but it is easy for part-time to become super busy if yeses come too quickly. Once we are sure of her class schedule, we'll pray about whether she can handle chapel as well without being away from (or unavailable for - because of planning time) Jay for too much of each day. We are so thankful for this opportunity that she has to prioritize being around for Jay while he's this little. We know that not every family gets that choice these days.
We were both blessed to have the opportunity to help out with the Junior Senior Banquet (much cooler equivalent of prom). Nathan was able to help out with food prep at cafo (cafeteria). Heather was able to help make a Junior girl feel special by doing her makeup in preparation for the event.
What happened at RVA this month?
- The Junior Senior Banquet was a huge success! The Junior class did an amazing job with the Peter Pan theming. It sounded like everyone had a great time!
- Midterm break
- The Junior High and High School musicians did a great job at their choir/band/orchestra concert!
- RVA's rugby team got the silver medal at the Prescott Tournament!
- RVA's rugby team got the gold medal at the Blackrock Tournament!
- Several students got baptized.
- 6th grade safo (multi-day safari field trip)
- Senior safo
- Alumni week
- The Junior Senior Banquet was a huge success! The Junior class did an amazing job with the Peter Pan theming. It sounded like everyone had a great time!
- Midterm break
- The Junior High and High School musicians did a great job at their choir/band/orchestra concert!
- RVA's rugby team got the silver medal at the Prescott Tournament!
- RVA's rugby team got the gold medal at the Blackrock Tournament!
- Several students got baptized.
- 6th grade safo (multi-day safari field trip)
- Senior safo
- Alumni week
Looking forward to the coming month:
A lot of staff are leaving (either for good or for home assignment) in the next couple of weeks. Many times, when a missionary leaves here, they sell their whole household of stuff to a newly arriving missionary family. This limits the headache of selling things individually, and helps a new family get most of their shopping done in one bulk purchase, often discounted. There is a pretty long schedule of moving logistics that the housing committee came up with for organizing the moving of household stuff from one house to another. We are part of that schedule since we are purchasing a whole household of stuff from one of the leaving missionary families. We were able to temporarily rent household items that belong to the school until we were able to purchase our own. In a few weeks, some hired movers and other staff who are staying on campus over the summer break will move all of our rental stuff to the school storage and then move all of that other family's stuff to our house. That will be quite the busy day, but it will be a wonderful feeling to have the furniture and kitchen stuff in our house that we will be living with for the foreseeable future. We'll feel even more settled.
A lot of staff are leaving (either for good or for home assignment) in the next couple of weeks. Many times, when a missionary leaves here, they sell their whole household of stuff to a newly arriving missionary family. This limits the headache of selling things individually, and helps a new family get most of their shopping done in one bulk purchase, often discounted. There is a pretty long schedule of moving logistics that the housing committee came up with for organizing the moving of household stuff from one house to another. We are part of that schedule since we are purchasing a whole household of stuff from one of the leaving missionary families. We were able to temporarily rent household items that belong to the school until we were able to purchase our own. In a few weeks, some hired movers and other staff who are staying on campus over the summer break will move all of our rental stuff to the school storage and then move all of that other family's stuff to our house. That will be quite the busy day, but it will be a wonderful feeling to have the furniture and kitchen stuff in our house that we will be living with for the foreseeable future. We'll feel even more settled.
Please continue to pray for the families who lost loved ones and homes in the flooding and mudslide last month. RVA is still working with the local community to help with things like funding rebuilding.
In Kenya, there is a practice called Harambee, which is where the local community gathers together to support a family that has lost everything, like the flood victims have. This outpouring of support helps meet needs that no one family can meet, and is a way to bring the community closer together.
For RVA, it represents a clear way to show we are a part of this community and that we will continue to support others in the area no matter what. One interesting thing about Harambee is that the money given is public, and the closer you are to the family, the deeper the need to give, and the higher the amount. This public giving can really rub Americans and some people from other western countries the wrong way, as no one likes to brag about their financial status in these countries. This is where giving through RVA's benevolence fund comes in, you can still support the local community, knowing that every dollar donated is being used for medical bills, funeral costs, and the cost to repair and replace homes without feeling like you're bragging about your ability to give.
As missionaries, we have to balance our home culture and our host culture delicately, but this fund gives us a way to do both, which is a huge blessing to those of us not native to Kenyan culture.
If anyone would like to join us in giving financially to the community, this can be done via RVA's benevolence fund. Online donations can be made to this fund at the following link:
https://usgiving.aimint.org/donate/rva-general-program
When making the donation, please check the box to “Leave a note for the finance office” and type “Flood Relief” in the notes section.
We continue to look to our Father for His love and comfort in this grief.
In Kenya, there is a practice called Harambee, which is where the local community gathers together to support a family that has lost everything, like the flood victims have. This outpouring of support helps meet needs that no one family can meet, and is a way to bring the community closer together.
For RVA, it represents a clear way to show we are a part of this community and that we will continue to support others in the area no matter what. One interesting thing about Harambee is that the money given is public, and the closer you are to the family, the deeper the need to give, and the higher the amount. This public giving can really rub Americans and some people from other western countries the wrong way, as no one likes to brag about their financial status in these countries. This is where giving through RVA's benevolence fund comes in, you can still support the local community, knowing that every dollar donated is being used for medical bills, funeral costs, and the cost to repair and replace homes without feeling like you're bragging about your ability to give.
As missionaries, we have to balance our home culture and our host culture delicately, but this fund gives us a way to do both, which is a huge blessing to those of us not native to Kenyan culture.
If anyone would like to join us in giving financially to the community, this can be done via RVA's benevolence fund. Online donations can be made to this fund at the following link:
https://usgiving.aimint.org/donate/rva-general-program
When making the donation, please check the box to “Leave a note for the finance office” and type “Flood Relief” in the notes section.
We continue to look to our Father for His love and comfort in this grief.
Prayer Requests:
- prayers of thanks that Nathan is feeling better after so long of being under the weather.
- prayers for wisdom in decision making about Heather's music teaching position for next school year.
- prayers for the families affected by the flooding and mudslides.
- prayers for us as we adjust to a new culture (both of the country and of the school).
- prayers of thanks for the new friendships that we've been able to make with other teachers on campus, making us feel like we belong more in our new community.
- prayers that the students and staff are able to keep pushing through to end the school year well.
- prayers that God would bless our relationship with Peter and Njoki.
- prayers for all of us involved in moving household stuff for all of the houses in that massive moving schedule this month. Pray that no-one gets injured and that items don't get damaged in the move.
- prayers for us as we continually learn together how to be parents... and that we remember each day to rely on God and look to Him as the example of what the perfect Father looks like as we strive to better our parenting each day.
- prayers of thanks for all of the financial support that we have received so far.
- prayers that God would continue moving people to give financially so that we can continue to work here as long as God would have us here.
- prayers of wisdom and guidance for Nathan as he considers a teaching position this next school year.
- prayers that missionaries trying to travel home for furlough or permanently will be able to do so without their exist visas, as government changes and the protests prevented numerous staff from being able to apply for their residence visas
We are truly blessed to be in so many people's prayers during this process. Thank you so much for your continued prayers.
HOW TO SUPPORT US
To support the Pittmans’ ministry online, click here. One-time or automated contributions are available, and you can make contributions through Pay-Pal or via a debit or credit card.
OR
Mail a check to:
Global Lutheran Outreach
6709 Ficus Dr.
Miramar, FL 33023
Put "Pittman" on the memo line of the check.
Global Lutheran Outreach is a not-for-profit corporation under section 501 c 3 of the Federal Tax code. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by the IRS.
OR
Mail a check to:
Global Lutheran Outreach
6709 Ficus Dr.
Miramar, FL 33023
Put "Pittman" on the memo line of the check.
Global Lutheran Outreach is a not-for-profit corporation under section 501 c 3 of the Federal Tax code. Contributions are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by the IRS.
Working through Thrivent, GLO can accept stock, liquidate it and put all of the funds that come from that into our support account. Since you would be donating the stock to a not-for-profit corporation under section 501 c 3 of the Federal Tax code and not cashing out the stock yourself, you don't have to declare that stock as income or pay taxes on that donation at all.
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If you are interested in donating this way, please email [email protected] to get further information on how to do it.
Thrivent Choice Dollars® can help missionaries!
Are you a member of Thrivent Financial who's eligible to direct Choice Dollars®? Choice Dollars charitable grant funds can make a world of difference to our organization as we work together to send missionaries! Your Choice Dollars directed to Global Lutheran Outreach support missionaries who are underfunded or experience a temporary shortfall in funding.
Directing Choice Dollars is easy. Simply go to Thrivent.com/thriventchoice to learn more and find program terms and conditions. Or call 800-847-4836 and say "Thrivent Choice" after the prompt. If you have donated your choice dollars to GLO and would like them to be earmarked for us specifically, please email us ([email protected]) or GLO ([email protected]) with the amount that you have donated and express that you would like to donate them to us. As long as GLO is made aware that you would like those funds to go to us, they will get those funds out of the general GLO pot and sent to our support account. |