Beckers in Kenya

Footprints in the Sand

2011-11-09T11:10:00.003+03:00

When I attempt to describe my walk with God, I like to refer to the famous poem by Mary Stevenson known as “Footprints in the Sand” – which, if you are not familiar, goes like this:

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only.

This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,

“You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”

Beautiful, right!? I know. I love it. Graphically, I would represent this journey using the following diagram:

And yet, to extend this beautiful metaphor, my journey with God might often look a bit more like this:

The progress of my journey, more often than not, looks more like God pulling me along to destinations that, despite their benefit, look threatening and uncomfortable. I’m not proud of it – I would much rather have an unhesitating, death-grip kind of faith. But I don’t – sometimes, I just need to be dragged along.
It’s a bit like our first trip to Knott’s Berry Farm, an amusement park in Southern California. Our son, then perhaps 12 years old, had a pronounced fear of roller coasters – even small, slow rides were unappealing to him. This puzzled us greatly, as newish parents, who thought that all kids must, by nature, love and crave thrilling rides.
He just needs some coaxing, we thought. He just doesn’t know how fun it will be!
And that is what we proceeded to do. We knew that if he would only give it a try, he would be a convert. He would enjoy himself, and we would not feel like we had wasted an expensive day at a theme park in vain! We persisted until he, either convinced or exhausted by our prodding, finally gave in. He would ride The Jaguar with his dad, albeit reluctantly and with much anxiety.
Our wait in line involved a continued dialogue which included encouragement, pleading, commanding, threatening, and begging. As a father, I was surprised at the range of emotion that such a seemingly benign decision could evoke. While anger was, admittedly, among the assortment that I felt, my motivation for pushing my son into this activity was love. I wanted him to experience the thrill and pleasure of an amazing ride – the twists and turns, the wind, the rush. And I was committed to persuading him to do it – drag his feet though he might.
I will conclude this anecdote by reporting that he did take the ride, and then proceeded, for the remainder of the day, to repeat the experience eight more times. We were elated! His surprise at enjoying The Jaguar surpassed our own as he requested, over and over again, to go back on the ride. It was the most thrilling experience of his young life.
I think this is how our journey with God can be. God has great things for us, that he wants for us to do. He knows what an incredible ride it will be if we would only trust him and his plan. But we resist. We drag our feet in reluctance or fear or laziness. When we finally acquiesce – when we give in to his coaxing – we are astonished to find that his plan for us was so much better than what we thought it could possibly be.
God has good plans for each of us. They will stretch and push us. We will have to trust Him. But the result is better than we can imagine.
Can you trust a God that has good plans for you? Even in your fear and doubt, God will patiently guide and maybe even drag you toward that which will benefit you. And His joy will surpass yours when you realize how wonderful and amazing it is to walk in his will for you.

A Year Out . . .

2011-07-13T11:51:00.004+03:00

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!!

A Long-Awaited Update!

2011-06-13T19:21:00.001+03:00

It seems that much time has passed since I wrote here last. I would love to say it’s just because I have been so incredibly busy. But, while this is true, I have certainly had time and opportunity to write a little update to you. It is just that, truthfully, life here is much like it is at home. The day-in, day-out activity of living is what occupies most of our time – even in Africa - and frankly, just doesn’t seem that interesting! In fact, most of the pictures I have included in past blogs have been from vacation times and trips to animal reserves and parks. I am not even sure we are allowed to show pictures of our students!

But an update is due – overdue – actually.

We are amazed to realize that we have been here 11 months now and are approaching the end of our first school year at RVA! It has gone by rapidly! We have come such a long way in that time.

By now we have developed good relationships with students and staff alike. We have worked, played, worked, and worshipped alongside each other.

Our most recent activity has been in assisting in the sophomore restaurant – an annual event that places all involved in the extreme periphery around their comfort zone. While we are not sponsors for the sophomore class, we are parents, and as such, had the opportunity to participate in this production. What a ride. Perhaps the most challenging and perplexing event of this school year, which is saying a lot considering the first thing I did when I arrived here in August was to stab myself with a steak knife!

Imagine a group of 5 adults managing about 70 fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds with no restaurant (or actual work) experience! Decorating, cooking, serving, entertaining, set-up and break-down (pun intended), and of course everyone’s favorite, cleanup. We felt like we were trying to keep our sandcastle from being dissolved by the incoming tide. Nonetheless, we were grateful for the chance to get to know more of Jade’s classmates – a gracious bunch of young people. We did take a few bruises along the way, however, and are still recovering from that tumultuous evening. This was in addition to teaching two guitar classes at the Titchie (elementary) fine arts night, administrating the ACT test, practicing for and participating in worship, teaching Sunday school, working in the nursery and making cookies for a baby shower!

So we arrive at Monday again, exhausted, and actually feeling as though the slow burn of the weekday work is restful compared with the weekends, which often seem filled to overflowing with frenetic activity and busyness. Don’t misunderstand – it’s all good stuff. But, man it is a lot! A “break-neck train wreck” as I’ve heard such things described.

So that, we have learned, is how it works here at RVA – go, go, go . . . rest. Repeat.

That is the culture to which we are adjusting. We do love it here, truly. But the truth is, life here is still life – work and sleep, good and bad. Thanks for looking in on it!

Against whom do we compete?

2011-02-10T22:06:00.003+03:00

Chapel at RVA is a daily event, with all 500+ students attending between 6th and 7th period, giving them an opportunity to listen to devotional thoughts from a variety of staff members throughout the week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are required attendance chapel meetings; Tuesday and Thursday are optional praise and prayer meetings respectively. As you can probably imagine, some enjoy, while others tolerate. Either way, kids are getting ample opportunity to hear different voices as the staff share life experiences and challenges with the students. Our hope in this is that through our shared experiences, we can offer guidance, hope, and encouragement to our students. What follows is a transcript of my recent chapel presentation, which was inspired by a desire to encourage encouragement and unity among them:

Some people love competition. Competition or more accurately, victory in competition, is the source of identity and pride that keeps them going. Their emotions rise and fall on the success or failure of their favorite athletic teams. Success in their academic careers consists not only of doing well, but of doing better than their peers. They are driven by the victory, or the promise of success that it brings.

Not me. I am kind of a sore loser. I hate competitive activities. Competition, I’ve noticed, brings out an ugly side in me that I am, frankly, disgusted by. It’s not so much because I am not good at competitive things (which is true), or that I imagine myself better than I actually am (which is probably also true), or even that when I compete and fail, I feel miserable and base too much of my self-worth in that failure (also, sadly, true). It’s really more because of the spirit that often accompanies competition. Divisiveness. Disunity.

I think that even as a kid, something about competition deeply troubled me. I simply didn’t belong in a competitive environment. I wasn’t born with the sports gene – I possessed no interest, nor any skill, that could benefit me in the athletic arena. While I did wrestle in high school, it wasn’t for any love of the competition – in fact, I came close to barfing before every meet (and not because I was trying to make weight!). Oh, I worked hard, and I was proud of being a wrestler in the great state of Wisconsin, where babies don’t wear onesies, but rather, wrestling singlets. I tried to see myself as a good wrestler, but the fact was, when I entered the mat against some of the incredible athletes I had to face with my 105-pound self, I just didn’t have what it took. And too much of my identity was wrapped up in that truth for me to handle.

I remember a meet during my freshmen year against Arcadia - a rival high school known for its champion wrestlers. Ross Potzner, a 105-pound ball of muscle and speed, was the previous year’s state champion in his weight class. Unlike most of my teammates, I had not grown up wrestling, but was a literal newbie. I was strong and fast, but I had much too little experience as a wrestler to have it benefit me much. Potzner knew he could pin me in moments, but he wasn’t going for the pin. He was working his stats – he wanted to be known and recorded as the “take-down king.”

Try to visualize this meeting. Potzner, confident and bent on personal glory for his skill in take-downs, and me, my third or fourth match ever. Let me tell you, guys on my team and in my weight class, who had been wrestling for years, had come down with mysterious illnesses that week to avoid this match. And so it began with the referee’s whistle.

It was like catch-and-release – Potzner would take me down, then he’d let me up. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. It was infuriating and humiliating.

Finally, I’d had enough. At the top of my voice, bracing myself by holding the backs of my legs (a technique I acquired in youthful disagreements with my brother), I bellowed, to Potzner’s stunned surprise, “If you’re gonna do it, do it!” And this in front of a gymnasium full of spectators. Let’s face it – I was alone in that room, facing utter humiliation and torment, with no hope at all of victory. Bad sportsmanship? Probably, but I was desperate!

Within another minute, it was over. I guess ole Ross decided to get his take-down record on some other poor soul. He pinned me and I gratefully walked off the mat to my team benches. Honestly, I was so embarrassed at my lack of self-control, at my outburst, I wanted to go straight to the locker room rather than face my teammates and the gathered crowd in the stands. I braced myself for the ridicule I was certain to receive from my teammates and my coaches.

But to my great surprise and relief, I was greeted not by stunned stares and snickers and criticism, but by warm and generous encouragement. My team embraced me and lifted me up – despite my awkward moment of exasperation and despair. They knew where my heart was. They felt it too. In that moment of what I felt was my utter defeat, my team honored and welcomed me into their protective fold, complimented me on lasting as long as I did, talked smack about Potzner for me. You know, I’ll bet Potzner remembers that time, years ago, when this freshman kid screamed at him on the mat!

So why do I tell you this story? To illustrate an important biblical principle as it applies to the Christian life.

Competition should unite, not divide. A picture of Christian community is reflected in the response of my teammates when I so awkwardly fell. We should do this for each other as Christian brothers and sisters – as 1 Thessalonians 5:10-12 describes:

¹⁰ He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

And Hebrews 3:12-14 further elaborates:

¹² See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³ But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴ We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.

And Hebrews 10: 24-25:

²³ Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. ²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Divisiveness is a spirit that says, “I am better than you.” It is a spirit that says, “I deserve success more than you do.”

Unity says, “We are in this together.”

How many of you feel like I did, standing on that mat, alone against seemingly impossible issues? Facing unbearable humiliation and failure?

Who of you will stand with that person – encouraging him or her, lifting up and embracing, strengthening.

We are in this together. We face a formidable adversary who hates us as much as he hates God himself. As God’s Creation, his beloved, we are the enemy’s prime target. And yet, it is written that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church.

So don’t misunderstand – nothing is wrong with competition. Healthy competition can grow character and built stronger people.

But a right perspective is essential. Christian brothers and sisters are not in competition with each other. We compete together to receive the crown of honor that waits at the finish line.

⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:7-9, NIV)

Being Sick. . .

2011-02-06T19:34:00.001+03:00

I hate being sick. Doesn’t everyone? Probably more than actually being sick, I particularly despise the anticipation of the arrival of a nice, hefty viral infection. At the risk of being overly dramatic, it’s like being tied to the tracks as you watch the train approaching to squish you.

As a teacher during flu season in California, I could reasonably count on a good illness or two to ravage my household each winter. I and the staff at our school would watch with dread as the numbers in our class would begin to dip, indicating the genesis of a new epidemic. The anticipation was the worst (and I tend to be a bit of a hypochondriac) as I waited for the first victim in my own home to fall – it was just a matter of time before we entered a holding pattern during which time we waited until each member of our five took their turn on the sick bed.

Well, it’s no different here. In fact, the drama is heightened because each and every student in our little school lives right here on campus. Our sick kids hit the infirmary in droves as life within the gates becomes a micro-epidemiological study for the CDC. Add to this mix a hectic schedule and a population of kids recently returned from their homes in the various countries all over the African continent and the drama ignites.

This year, one of our students was infected with malaria in her home country, probably shortly before returning to RVA. Since the symptoms of malaria mimic those of most influenza, she was treated according to the predominant diagnosis, spending several days in the Student Health center – until the worst-case scenario for a health care worker reared its ugly head. Malaria, the uncontested killer of the African continent, had struck our student and she quickly went from bad to critical, dropping into a coma after her infection became localized in her brain.

The call went out for prayer – and if email is an iceberg tip measure of popular response, half the globe dropped to its knees in prayer to our Almighty Father, the only Healer that we could turn to in such a dismal crisis. Understand that malaria, once it has gone cerebral, has an abominable prognosis – if not turned around within 24-hours, it is most likely fatal. We prayed for healing, of course, but acknowledged that God’s will was what we sought, not our own. And God, in His wonderful mercy, granted healing to our young student.

48-hours after being in a malaria-induced coma, she was released from the hospital.

She was attending classes two days later, and can be seen walking energetically around campus during the school day. She is still recovering, and may need quite some time to feel “normal” again. But I can say unequivocally that a miracle has taken place in our midst.

While most of us do hate being sick, I believe that any of us would trade places with a sick child. God places them in our care, and that care becomes central to our sense of purpose. We feel a great upheaval when a child becomes ill or dies, as if the divine order has been disrupted.

And yet, what a vision of God’s grace and love when healing is given and we are witness to the overarching supremacy of God in all human affairs. While I would prefer the kind of miracle that doesn’t require any pain or suffering to be realized, I can only imagine a world in which God didn’t show up at times like these. His glory is revealed most vividly in our need, when our resources are exhausted, when we turn to Him in desperation. He shows up!

What did you do for vacation?

2011-01-09T15:23:00.001+03:00

After a pretty long hiatus from this blog, I am beginning to put together two or so thoughts that are remotely coherent. I seem to function better in the presence of routines and schedules. Our winter break was wonderfully unstructured (for the most part) and filled with opportunities to leave campus and immerse ourselves in our new surroundings. But I couldn’t make myself sit and write for any length of time. So for this entry, in honor of the beginning of second term, I am going to share a little of what I did over Christmas vacation!

AIM Spiritual Life Conference – an annual event held here at RVA offers a gathering place for missionaries in our organization refresh. I had the honor of joining On-Field Media’s Andy Brown and his wife Lisa leading worship for the four-day conference. I told Laurel, “This is my Woodstock!” Maybe not, but it was a very special time.
Visiting IDP camp in Rift Valley – a dry wasteland filled with temporary relief tents is home to over 1300 Kikuyu people from communities all over Kenya, just a twenty minute drive down the hill from here. We joined a number of Kijabe staff, visiting families who have been surviving there for over three years following 2007 post-election violence. We are still reeling from that visit, trying to wrap our minds around the challenges of their daily lives.
Naomi’s Village Children’s Home – a tremendous project undertaken by a couple working at Kijabe Hospital, this orphanage will provide a home to a great number of Kenyan children. I got to help lay some laminate flooring in one of the dorm rooms, spending the day on a Kenyan job site. Despite the great needs here, many bright lights shine in the darkness. This is definitely one of them.
Game drives in Machakos and Nakuru – trips to Machakos and the home of one of our sophomore students put us on a 20,000 acre game reserve, giving us a chance to camp out amidst the giraffe, wildebeest and zebra. Pretty wow! Another short drive to Nakuru gave us some up close and personal experiences with African wildlife – Logan even got close up live footage of a hyena making a kill. Absolutely surreal!
Legal Alien and Driver’s License – Laurel and I have now surmounted the bureaucracy of immigration to achieve “alien” status. I am expecting antennae to sprout any day now. Maybe they’ll help me to navigate the psychotic Kenyan traffic I am now driving in!!
Shopping trips to Nairobi – always kind of a shock to see the disparity between affluence and poverty – impossible to avoid seeing on the way to the mall in Nairobi though. Nothing new, just seeing it like it really is.
Handing out Christmas hampers in Maingi – up the hill from RVA, an annual opportunity to share some of what we have with widows struggling to make ends meet. This is the best way I can imagine to spend Christmas Eve.
Christmas morning at Beat the Drum – a home for children infected with HIV and AIDS was our morning’s visit, where we played games and music, gave gifts and food, and loved on a group of great kids. Another bright light. . .

So there it is – very possibly the best vacation I have ever spent. Sounds busy, and it was. But I feel more rested and ready for the start of term than I ever have. Maybe you should come check it out!!

I Wish. . .

2010-12-09T20:30:00.001+03:00

What does Internally Displaced People or IDP actually mean? I wondered as we drove through the rutted roads below Rift Valley Academy. It took 3 four wheel drive vehicles to get our group to the IDP camp that is in the valley. Three years ago people from Eldoret and other areas of Kenya were violently removed from their homes. Many houses and churches were burned and people were killed. It was brutal. The memories that these people carry are horrific. It was January 2008 post election tribal conflict and it was ugly. As a result the Kenyan government set up IDP camps for the Internally Displaced People. They contained tents that were meant to be used for 3 months. However, the camp that is only a short drive from us has been occupied for the past 3 years. The Kenyan government gave the families living there a little bit of money and they pooled it together to buy the land that they are living on. However, because they purchased the land the government no longer identifies them as displaced, they have cut their strings, they are on their own.

The land in the valley is dry and dusty. It is windy and the dirt is everywhere and on everyone. In the Eldoret Camp 235 families reside, consisting of over 1300 people. There is no water, no crops that are living, and no jobs. Today Ava remarked that it is like the desert. It reminded me of the Israelites. One woman I met shared how they have nothing, no food for her and her children. No job, or crop, no way of making any money. She followed by saying "we have a big faith, we wait for God to provide and we wait. And then someone comes and brings something. God provides what we need, we trust God." How humbling to listen to this woman that has big faith! Oh I could learn so much from her and her unshakable faith in the God that has not abandoned her and her children even under such extreme circumstances.

Our group spent the morning visiting with the adults, listening to their stories, playing with their kids and knowing we would be able to go home and wash it all off in our nice clean showers. We would eat a good lunch and sit on our furniture and drink water out of the tap. I felt heart sick when we got home. How can I live so close to these people and not be full of sorrow for them and their children. How can I see them and hold their hands and not weep for them. I wish children could eat and play and go to school. I wish a strong young man could get a decent job and provide for his family. I wish I knew the answer. I wish I had a solution. I wish that the world would take care of its people.

Meat in Maasailand

2010-11-01T17:13:00.001+03:00

The boys and I, along with a couple of other men and their sons, spent Friday night and Saturday at the home of one of our security guards. We were invited there to participate in a “goat roast”, a privilege during which a goat is slaughtered, roasted, and shared among the participants. I entered into this activity with a measure of anxiety, as it has been many years since I lived on the farm and experienced the “reality” of the omnivorous diet. Even then, though I always enjoyed the eating part, the killing and dressing duties performed on the animal troubled me deeply. I dreaded deer season, during which my dad would dust off the old Winchester and head to the forest to pick off an unsuspecting buck. Its gutted carcass would hang in our garage awaiting a trip to the butcher, who would make it more appetizing. I still remember the carnage of a sheep slaughter, the story written in blood and crystallized by the frigid Wisconsin winter, a constant reminder of the source of that season’s lamb chops. As most “civilized” individuals, I prefer my meat clean, packaged, and odorless – nicely chilled and ready for cooking. No such luck at this affair, I’m afraid!

I guess that is one feature of African life that strikes me with the most potency. That which I take for granted, and allow to be submerged from my consciousness, is out in the open here. No illusions of refinement – just the facts. In order to eat meat, animals must die. Did I really have any doubts about that? It is funny how attached to those illusions I actually am!

I was so proud of my boys – my young men – who faced the harshness of this reality with a grim determination. Not without emotion, but with a desire to know the truth, to not live under that illusion anymore. They courteously received the graciously offered goat meat, as fresh as it gets, without any sign of revulsion or distaste. Despite their natural Western misgivings, they accepted what was offered as a genuine gift, given by a people who have very little. They are letting Africa in, letting its truth seep into their world. It’s transforming them, broadening them. They – we – will never be quite the same!

The Maasai families we visited live in the valley below RVA in fairly traditional dwellings, although our hosts, due to their slightly improved income as guards, had recently built upgraded homes. Their original houses were stick and mud (or cow dung) affairs, built by their wives, and serving as home to their entire families, which included calves and goat kids. As we entered, ducking to avoid the low ceilings, we were struck by the heavy smoke that suffused the air, coming from an open fire in the center of the floor. Our host’s wife was there, squatting before the fire, cooking chapatis for her husband’s guests while she breastfed her baby. A stunning perspective on the stay-at-home mom!

Their new homes were constructions of corrugated tin, and were relatively luxurious by comparison to their counterparts. We shared chai and meals in these humble structures, of which our hosts were obviously proud. One home even sported a small black and white television, powered by a car battery that was recharged daily by a small solar panel on the roof.

What was on TV? American Idol!

And it was not much improved!!

The Africa of Legend!

2010-10-10T19:48:00.001+03:00

Our first midterm break here at RVA, and we, along with a number of other new staff members, had the enormous privilege of visiting something of a minor game park called Hippo Point, near Naivasha – in the valley near Kijabe. Rumor initially had it that no actual hippos would be found, but to our great delight we encountered some immediately upon arrival. African game parks are unlike American zoos, where animals are in 1/4 acre cages. These animals have free reign over a vast area, which is protected – as much as possible – from profiteering poachers. These shy giants were probably 200 yards from us and required a telephoto lens to catch them. But what a gift!

In addition to these pretties, we found and walked amongst herds (by amongst I mean, within 50 yards – we are not quiet trackers!) of zebra, giraffe, water buffalo, Thompson’s gazelles, waterbuck and wildebeasts, as well as numerous birds, whose identities remain a mystery to me. Here’s one that showed some interesting behavior for my camera!

At any given moment, we were able to see several different species in one field of view, which was captivating!

We were really there. And I was so grateful! Africa is stunning and beautiful. God blesses us each and every day with its wonders. But this weekend, in particular, we were witness to His incomparable Creation in all its splendor!

And we were in its midst!

Flexibility

2010-10-01T10:47:00.001+03:00

Are you flexible? Have you ever considered the value of this trait?

It is, perhaps, the most invaluable characteristic that a person can possess in our current context. Flexibility.

Never mind the fact that we are in Africa, a foreign country that in many cases resembles no place that we have ever seen. Or that we are complete novices to missionary work and still retain many of the naive notions that fascinated us about Africa in the first place. Or that we are in some cases doing work that we have never done or thought about doing before. The simple fact that there are just not enough hands to do what is needed requires that everyone here can flex.

And that is just what we signed up for. We came to be stretched. To grow. To offer our bodies as living sacrifices, so that we could test what God’s good, pleasing and perfect will is (Romans 12:1). I have never, in my life, been more sure of God’s call. I know this because, even when I am missing my home in California – the friends, family, and faith community that defines home for me – I am confident of the rightness of this place for me and my family. Even though we have to be careful what we eat and drink, where we walk and drive, what we say and do.

Don’t get me wrong! I am no powerhouse model for faith! Far from it! I dragged my heels for years in coming to the decision to obey this call. I wasn’t altogether sure that I was that flexible! There were days during the process of “getting sent” that I just said, in my heart, “I’m not going!”

In fact, to be honest, there were extended times when, frankly, I hoped against God’s will – that AIM would refuse us, that the finances would not come in, that they would close the borders to Kenya, or that God would simply reconsider sending us to Africa. After all there are plenty of needs right there at home, right!?

But, praise the Lord, for He got us here – in spite of my resistance. And, as usual, His plans are the best plans. Not only are we safe and sound (despite the fears of my most desperate moments back home), we are being deeply transformed as we witness the deep, often painful, beauty of this Africa.

This weekend I will attend an AIM men’s retreat at Sunrise Acres, a retreat center in the Eldama Ravine, about a hundred miles from here. I am going with a few new friends with whom I work here at RVA. I will meet some new ones too. What is remarkable is that I will also be serving as the worship leader for this retreat and speaking on Sunday morning! I’ll have to be flexible.

Who am I that I should have a part of any of this? I am so often finding myself stunned that God would include me – ME! – in his plans. That I would be at this incredible school, teaching in the heart of Africa. That I would rub shoulders with men and women who have been serving the poor, neglected, sick, hungry, widowed, and lost people of this continent – unequivocal heroes of the Christian faith! That I, a blatant God hater for much of my life, would have any part of His kingdom at all!! It’s unspeakable! It’s amazing!

I am glad God has made me flexible – that in His infinite brilliance, He saw fit to include us, lost, broken, self-righteous sinners in His plan to redeem humanity to Him. That He, mercifully, didn’t let me have my selfish way back in my comfortable life in California. That He, to the protests of friends, family, colleagues, and even myself, sent us to this scary, foreign, beautiful place.

Is God asking you to be flexible? Are you willing to let Him stretch you? Is the outcome worth the sacrifice?

You’ll just have to let Him show you, I guess.

School Daze

2010-09-12T15:40:00.001+03:00

Full swing into school – and ironically, despite our seemingly extreme location, school is school! Aside from geography, our little African school is strangely familiar. And yet, the little ways in which it differs distinguish it from my earlier teaching experiences. (This image shows a group of students “mixing” the ingredients for a rocket stove on this weekend’s outreach trip. Check out the finished product below – a kindly widow’s new kitchen stove.)

The demography of my classes is truly extraordinary, for instance. In any given class, I have a number of students each from America, Kenya, Korea, Iceland, Finland, Sudan, Uganda, Lesotho, South Africa, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada (students, please forgive me if I have omitted your country of preference!) And this list does not even mention those from CANs (Creative Access Nations), where the gospel of Christ is openly hated, necessitating extreme secrecy in communications like these. Ironically, these identities are initially difficult to claim, as many of these students have only lived in the country of their citizenship for short, intermittent periods throughout their lives. An observer could by no means determine where any given student might call home. It is only through the developing relationship with my students that I am beginning to truly understand their individual identities. One student might be Korean by birth, and yet she may have lived in Mombasa her whole life, only visiting family in Korea a few short times. Another, bearing the outer appearance of a Kenyan or Sudanese national, might actually have lived in Minnesota for a good portion of his life. Any number of students here might be fluent in three or more languages, and capable of code-switching in a single conversation to accommodate her peers’ individual language abilities.

The students here are hybrids – third culture kids – belonging to neither one nor the other culture, or perhaps belonging to each culture into which they have been immersed. Some might be MKs (Missionary Kids), some are children from nearby Kenyan families, some are station kids – whose parents live and work here at RVA or on “lower station” down the hill at the hospital or Moffett Bible College. They are remarkable young people, and I am overwhelmingly honored and privileged to be here among them.

I began this journey believing that somehow our service at RVA, because of its relatively familiar trappings – electricity, clean well-water, internet – was some kind of “missionary lite” venture. I am convinced now, however, of the immeasurable impact that this place has on African missions – both with current families in the field who are sharing the gospel with the beautiful, needy people throughout this vast continent, and without whom, they would perish, and also with the kids themselves, whose very hearts are tuned to Jesus’ call to missions, and are in fact the future of African missionary work until the day of Christ’s return. These kids will change the world.

And we get to help them!

A mixture of mud, ash, and sawdust, this “rocket stove” will serve as a Kenyan widow’s new cooking stove. At her request, we used the extra mud to give her a new floor too – a far cry from travertine – but a great improvement over the rocks, loose dirt, and debris that previously served as her kitchen floor.

Nickname, anyone?

2010-08-23T16:02:00.001+03:00

Sorry for the delay in my getting a more personal message out. My computer stopped accessing the internet about three weeks ago during ABO (Africa-Based Orientation), and is only now just working here at RVA today, where I have to go to the library to access the nearest signal. All will be sorted out soon, and more regular correspondence will be forthcoming as the campus is now equipped with Wifi!! Lucky Beckers!!

So we are done with ABO, a somewhat grueling three week “boot camp” for missionaries! It was long days of classes, awkward cultural moments and . . . repetitive … food. Great relationships were forged there with the over 90 participants, the largest ABO in AIM history!

So now begins our second week in our new home at RVA, a lovely two story house with plenty of space and a room for each kid and even a study for music and work! Our hosts have been wonderful and have shared time, resources and food. Several families volunteered to feed us dinner these first few nights until we “get settled”. But honestly, it’s so incredibly beautiful – I am not finding it too difficult to settle. Of course, students don’t get here the end of the week. Then things will get BUSY!!!! We’ll be glad we had this short time to “get settled”! I am to teach 7^th and 9^th grade English, and will add on other assignments as need arises – anything from coaching to care groups to relieving dorm parents a night a week. It looks like Laurel will teach a high school cooking class and maybe do some admin work in the guidance office. More later.

So, funny story. We arrived here at campus about 3:30 Tuesday afternoon, met by our hosts, each of whom escorted us and our stuff to our new homes. We met our host family, Mike and Kim Saum (Rich Saum lives in Paradise and is father to Mike), and began to unpack. I began by searching for a sharp implement with which I would cut the plastic zip ties securing our Action Packers (Rubbermaid tubs). Unable to find anything, I grabbed a rented steak knife from the silverware drawer. Oh yes. I proceeded, with the utmost caution, to gently pry the blade against the resistant plastic tie. Without warning, the knife slipped, and in an instant had stabbed my forearm, hitting the radius, and withdrawing. Where I threw the knife, I don’t know, but later, Jade showed me the arm hair stuck to it! Immediately, blood spurted from the wound, and I thought – “Uh oh, I just hit an artery!” – and clamped my hand down on the wound.

Now I know why I was so encouraged by the proximity of Kijabe hospital to RVA. In maybe 5 minutes, my new neighbor, Rodney (poor guy), had delivered me and Laurel to the Casualty department (the ER) and I was being treated. Kijabe hospital is widely known as the best medical facility in East Africa and beyond. I was stitched up and out in a couple of hours and aside from a night of agonizing pain from the muscle trauma I gave myself, I am doing well. I have a ridiculous, swollen bruise from my elbow to my wrist, which will be a wonderful conversation piece for the first week of classes (I’ve already decided my first 7^th grade writing activity will be a story answering “How did Mr. Becker get this scar?”)

Anyway, aside from that little diversion, we are doing great at RVA. What a wonderful community, a stunningly beautiful campus, and a dedicated staff of dorm parents, support staff, and teachers. We feel truly blessed and await the challenges and joys of the coming school year!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Due to an administrative mistake, we are still underfunded by about $1000 monthly and could use as much prayer and help addressing that shortcoming as possible. We love email and would consider it a privilege to know we were on your hearts and minds regularly!

Africa Based Orientation (ABO)

2010-08-02T21:15:00.001+03:00

Having commenced our second week of ABO, we are starting to feel adjusted somewhat to the new environment. Jet lag has worn off for the most part, and life here at Scott College is a little like family camp – we sleep in bunks, attend teaching sessions, eat meals together at the cafeteria. The kids are participating in age level classes designed to orient them to Africa too (but I think they are having more fun than the adults!). Yesterday, the youth group, consisting of 10 boys and girls and including Jade and Logan, went to a nearby ranch, where they are being treated to camping, familiar foods, a game park drive, hiking, swimming, and companionship. It has been much quieter in the dorm today in their absence.

I am starting to recognize the incredible value of this three-week orientation. Aside from the invaluable information and questions being shared by our facilitators and Kenyan teachers, we are developing close bonds with our fellow missionaries, forming community in a place where we will need it most. These people will be our support while we are in Africa – we share the same desire to serve in Africa (a pretty specific call!), the same anxieties and concerns, the same sacrifices of comfort, family and friends and home. In a very short time, we have learned to recognize the now familiar faces as friends amidst the sea of strangers in which we are immersed. We get it now – we need these folks.

In terms of our contact with local people, we have made a number of excursions into the community. On Saturday, we walked into Machakos, the nearby town, for lunch and a little shopping. The picture above shows Logan with a group of Kenyan boys hamming for the camera. Sunday, we divided into groups to visit several nearby churches. We traveled on foot to an A.I.C. Church called Katisaa, a corrugated tin affair filled with plastic lawn chairs. Quite austere, yet peopled with many beautiful Kenyan believers. I was asked to introduce our group, consisting of American and British families, and was invited to play some music next Sunday. It is a privilege to be welcomed so readily, and I am excited to return there.

While ABO is challenging in many ways – some kids and adults are ill with both stomach and respiratory ailments – it is showing itself to be a very valuable time that will prepare us well for our assignments in two weeks. It will also make our arrival at RVA that much more sweet – as it now represents our home for the next while, and it is where our hearts will reside during our stay in Kenya.

Getting Started

2010-07-29T19:02:00.001+03:00

This week began our work in Kenya as our Africa-Based Orientation commenced. After arriving in Nairobi on the 23rd, we had spent about 4 days in a missionary’s home in the Eastern Region Compound (ERC), where we were basically spoiled by our hosts, Jan and Marv Smith, who cooked for us and helped us get to the very western shops – Nakumatt and Ya Ya Center – where we exchanged money, tested our ATM cards (yes, they work great!), and purchased cell phones and other items that we thought might be essential to our adaptation to our new environment. Marv is the regional director for the Eastern Region, which includes several specific ministries in East Africa. His life has been spent largely in Africa, and his and Jan’s passion for Africa is clear. Each of them has a fluid and gracious manner that welcomes relationship, a hallmark of African life. While it is difficult for Laurel and I to imagine spending our entire lives in a country other than America right now, the Smiths are so natural there that it comes as no surprise at all.

We are now in Machakos at Scott Theological College, a school operated by AIM. Students from Scott are on summer break at the moment, so we essentially have the whole campus to ourselves, which gives us a little room to wiggle. Our group is the largest ABO class in AIM history, numbering around 90, including over 40 kids. It’s a busy place! Our daily activity consists of class sessions on language and culture, safety and travel, etc., mealtimes and teatimes (a wonderful feature of African culture that Americans should absolutely adopt!). It is a busy schedule, but beneficial, as we are all adjusting to a dramatic lifestyle change (I will include some of these in a later blog). The information and relationships acquired at this training will be a great comfort in the months to come.

The Kenyan people that we have met are kind, courteous, and helpful. I am encouraged beyond imagining that our stay in Kenya, although thoroughly challenging, will be spent with people whose very lives make the challenge worthwhile and joyful. I thank God for calling us to leave our comfortable space in the world to temporarily occupy this one. I have no doubt that it will revolutionize our worldview and irretrievably alter our hearts and spirits. Bring it, Lord!!

Getting there!

2010-07-22T22:19:00.001+03:00

Well, the first wave of appointees has left the building here at AIM headquarters in Pearl River NY. We are on two separate flights until Heathrow (London), where we will merge onto our flight to Nairobi. We should arrive there on Friday evening (Friday morning on the West coast). We will be in Nairobi for a few days until ABO (Africa Based Orientation) begins – language acquisition, prep for life in Africa, some field trips – we’ll be there for about three weeks in Machakos at Scott Theological Seminary.

It has been wonderful spending time with other missionary families (we’re not the only nutty ones!!), most of whom have children younger than ours. All but a few are en route to RVA as well, so we are already getting to know the staff with whom we will be serving in Kenya. God is gracious and generous and good and we are humbled by His outrageous love and provision. As we wait in the now quiet building, we are reflecting on this journey that was started over two years ago (although in God’s plan, much longer than that!).

God is the master of the impossible. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). And yet through Him we can do all things (Phil 4:13). Paradox is the thread of God’s tapestry, the pattern of which is invisible to our limited senses until it is displayed gloriously, perfectly timed and exquisite. That He uses us to create His intricate designs is bewildering and beautiful.

Please join us as we pray that we can be open and teachable as we try to walk in His perfect will for our lives in all things.

Still Learning

2010-07-03T19:13:00.000+03:00

It has been difficult to write a new blog lately. It really shouldn't be, considering all that has been going on in our lives. I guess it has been hard to formulate where to actually start and how to proceed. Our family has been talking, praying and learning about Rift Valley Academy in Kenya for about 2 years. We have been raising support to go to Rift Valley Academy for over a year now. Our support has recently all come in and we are scheduled to leave our home in California on July 20th. Needless to say all of us have been preoccupied with the million details that go along with moving a family of 5 to Kenya for a year or more. Instead of giving you all the gory details I thought I would give you the top 10 things that I have learned through this process this far. They aren't in an order of importance.

1. Support Raising is an incredibly vulnerable place to live until you truly give it to the Lord and let it be his job and not yours.
2. God will walk with you if you are willing to walk with him. He really does only give you what you need and it can seem very insignificant to others, but truly a miracle to you, when you see him provide for even the smallest need.
3. Saying you're moving your kids to Africa is not normal to most of the world, and it has an effect on other people's lives that is surprising- it changes how they view you and the world around them.
4. Children seem to be way more in tune with the fact that God has great plans for them and that he is leading, even when it is frightening.
5. My hairstyle and having the ability to look good is way too important to me.
6. When God truly works in your life, it is better than any house, car, job or lifestyle there is. Jesus can allow you to live eternally-minded and these earthly things will become less and less important. Not that you don't want them - they are just no longer a priority.
7. Moving to Kenya doesn't mean that you aren't scared of Kenya or Africa or other people or airports or weird food.
8. Letting go of control in life is necessary if you want to gain the peace that Jesus can supply.
9. I am incredibly thankful that God values friendship and brings people into our lives that lead us closer to him.
10. The Lord is faithful. He will show us if we will stop and take the time to see.

I am sure that this list could go on and on. God has opened my eyes to himself in amazing ways through this time. I have always believed that these things are true, but I hadn't really lived them out prior to the past few years. I have been incredibly grateful that I have been able to see his work in our lives. Much of which has been through the amazing people he has put in our path.

Leaving Part

2010-04-19T03:14:00.000+03:00

One of the major problems with moving is the whole Leaving Part. Yes, it sounds like a great adventure to go to Kenya and to see more of this world. It will be a time of growth for our whole family. Our kids will never forget this trip and all the many new things they experience along the way. We will meet new people and make new friends. But its the Leaving Part that I don't really like. Why does it have to be so painful to leave all the people that we love? At times it feels like my stomach will collapse- it literally hurts when I think about it. And yes, our kids struggle with it too. As a mom I try to smooth over it and at the same time I feel the same way. I try to focus on the good, the adventure, what God has for us out there. But it still doesn't take away the Leaving Part.

Chico Christian School & the Beckers

2010-04-17T19:20:00.000+03:00

For the past year our daughter Ava has been a student at Chico Christian School. She has had an amazing year in kindergarten. At Chico Christian the students have the academic subjects during the first part of the day and then they are offered electives in the afternoon. Ava has been able to take Spanish and music this year. A couple weeks ago Ava was struggling with the fact that she would no longer be at Chico Christian or with her beloved Mrs. B next year while we are in Kenya.

This past week I have been working with the principal there to see if we could form a partnership with the school that would help us stay connected and give the students insight into missions and missionary kids. It has been exciting to have it unfold- we are going to be the Chico Christian School missionary family! Our family is scheduled to share at Chapel in May and I will be sharing with the teachers at their faculty meeting. It is great to be getting this chance to talk with Christian educators who already love kids and are on their own mission field at school everyday. Along with us sharing with them we are looking forward to them sharing with us while we are gone. Each class at Chico Christian will get a chance to write to us and the students at Rift Valley Academy. Our hope is that this will help open the kids' eyes to missions around the world and how God gives us all a chance to be a part of spreading the gospel. Yes, even kids! They will also be praying for us! What a blessing to have an entire school praying for us!

If you would like more information about Chico Christian School or Rift Valley Academy just click on the links!

RVA Video
Chico Christian School

Why Africa?

2010-04-09T02:47:00.000+03:00

The question comes up a lot - Why Africa? When we share with people that we're moving to Kenya for a year to be missionaries at a boarding school for missionary kids, most of the time we hear- Wow! Really, Why? It can be a hard question to answer. We really wouldn't have thought it up ourselves and we hadn't been attracted to Africa prior to the last couple of years. Our lives are going well here and our kids like where we live. So why uproot our family and move to another country - and Why Africa?

We have a very ethnocentric view of Africa. We like the United States of America. We are civilized here. We have running water, nicely furnished homes with heat and AC. Groceries are easily found, nicely packaged and approved by the government. On the flip side, Africa doesn't always have all these things. And I myself am fearful of the unknown. Especially AIDS, poverty, insects, dirt and people that I think aren't like me. So why Africa?

There is an incredible school about 30 miles outside of Nairobi in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. It has 450 missionary kids from all over Africa in attendance. The staff is made up of fellow missionaries who have left the their home countries to teach, parent, counsel, play with, mentor and love these kids. The parents of these kids live all over the continent, some in Muslim countries, some in small villages and others in large cities. Without Rift Valley Academy many of these families would have to go back to their home countries to get an accredited high school education for their kids so they could go on to colleges and universities. RVA allows these families to remain on the continent of Africa and spend extended breaks with their kids, and continue in their ministries.

That is why Africa! We want to help missionaries to do their ministries and help equip missionary kids for the world after high school. We feel like God has a plan for us to be a part of Rift Valley Academy's staff. We have seen his hand working in all the details. We are trusting in his guidance for our family as we leave our home and make a new one in Kenya.

You can join us on our journey by clicking on the link Join The Team on the right side column of this page. I assure you it is safe! Your response is so encouraging and lets us know that people are "with" us, even when we are far from home.

February 2010

2010-02-02T02:32:00.000+03:00

This is the email letter that I sent out a few days ago... if you have been reading our blog and would like to get our emails please let us know! You can leave a comment for us or fill out a little form to your right titled- Join the Team.

Hello Friends,

We are excited to be getting closer to our departure date! In my last letter I wrote that we would be leaving for Kenya in late June which was recently changed to the end of July! Our official leaving date is July 20th. We will be flying to Pearl River, New York, to get our travel documents and meet with other missionaries. Then we will fly to Nairobi on July 23rd. Africa Inland Mission has a house in Nairobi called the Mayfield House that we will be staying in for a few days before we head to Africa Based Orientation. This will give us a chance to recover from jet lag and readjust before starting the 3 weeks of training. Africa Based Orientation will give us insight into Kenyan culture, what to do and maybe more importantly what not to do! We are looking forward to this time of learning. However, all the travel and change during our first month in Kenya will be difficult and we would appreciate your prayer especially for our children.

What's on the calendar... we are sharing at Ridge Presbyterian Church, Sunday February 21st. We will get to show our Rift Valley Academy dvd and Karl will be sharing some of his testimony. We are really looking forward to this time with our church and getting a chance to involve them in the ministry for missionary kids at Rift Valley Academy. There are several churches that have received our information that are prayerfully considering supporting this ministry. We are hoping to be able to come and share with their congregations over the next several months. If your church has a missions Sunday or needs a missions Sunday let us know, we would love to be a part of it!

We have been meeting once a month with our prayer team. It has been wonderful to share what God has been doing and what we are struggling with. It is amazing how God has worked in people's hearts to support us through prayer. We are so encouraged. If you are in the Chico area and would like to join us during this prayer time, please send me an email and I will add you to our list! We would love to have you come.

Our financial support is slowly coming in. Our outbound support is a little over 30% and our monthly support is right at 20%. We have been encouraged to see more and more people jump on board with us and RVA. This ministry is a huge reason why missionaries from any Christian missions organization can work throughout Africa. The missionary kids at RVA represent over 70 missions organizations in 20 different African countries! Many of their parents are in remote dangerous places that aren't conducive to children. They are the missionaries that are putting themselves on the 'front lines' of missions for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are amazed at the work they do and feel a great desire to serve them by caring for their children. If you want to support missionaries in Africa, what better way to do it than by supporting their kids! Check Africa Inland Missions website www.aimint.org - they have a great website. You can see what AIM is doing throughout Africa in short videos and you can watch the RVA dvd too! We need your help to go to RVA in July 2010. Would you prayerfully consider joining us? Let us know how you want to partner with us by filling out this quick form. It only comes to us so we can know that you are on board! That way we can easily send you some information about how to support us. Or send us a reply email.

Here's a list of our current prayer needs

1. Pray that we would get more opportunities to share at churches in the coming months and that we would be effective in sharing the ministry at RVA.

2. Pray that our family would learn more and more how to trust the Lord and his call on our lives.

3. Pray for Jade, Logan and especially Ava and all the upcoming shots.

4. RVA is struggling with an outbreak of H1N1. They currently have almost 100 kids that are sick- not including staff. We can only imagine how difficult this is on a campus with 600 people living together! Please pray that this would end quickly and not spread to the surround communities.

5. Karl is in his LAST term at Chico State. Pray that he would manage his time wisely to finish his classes and thesis.

We are so thankful for you! We would love to hear from you!

love,

Karl & Laurel

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

2010-01-13T23:18:00.000+03:00

Happy New Year, Friends!

It is hard to believe that 2010 is here! Our family has been on quite a journey to this point. It really all started back in 2008, when we went to Candidate Week with Africa Inland Mission in November. That week in Pearl River, New York solidified our commitment to go where God wants us. We learned a great deal about ourselves, missionary kids, life at Rift Valley Academy and how God calls people by growing a deep desire to go in their hearts. It has not been without challenges along the way.

We are in support-raising mode here, trying to complete bible classes online, and continuing life with a family of 5. God is being patient with us. As we have progressed toward our departure date, our emotions have ranged from excitement to tears. We look forward with great anticipation to what awaits us at Rift Valley Academy. Our family is excited about getting to know the kids there and being involved in campus life. However, it is hard to imagine leaving all that we have here and all the people we love so greatly. Jeremiah 29:11 comes to mind. We memorized this verse years ago at a family camp that we attended. We literally ate, drank and sang this verse for 7 days and nights. Now I understand why God entrenched it so deeply within us that week.

'For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not it harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'.

I love that God has a plan for me and that it is a good one, but I think that the only way for me to know it is to read further. The next 2 verses are the kicker! Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, 'Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'

I love that God is relational, and that he wants to be found! And that in searching for him we ultimately find ourselves in his plans for us. This past couple of years have been a soul-searching process that we are still on. As it is for everyone that is on this journey with Jesus, isn't it always soul searching? I hope this New Year finds you seeking the Lord with all your heart. You will be in good company.

We would love for you to join us in Kenya- serving missionary kids. You can be there with us by helping provide some of our needs. Our departure date is the end of July, just 7 months away! We have shots coming up, we are praying for someone to rent our house, and we need to raise our financial support. Most importantly we need your prayer. God is the ultimate provider. If he lays it on your heart to help us through your prayer or finances would you please let us know. It is so encouraging to hear from you. For those of you who have already made commitments to support us we are so grateful that you would join us on this journey. Thank you so much for your commitment to our family and to missions in Africa.

If you would like more information on how to get connected with us there are a couple easy ways to do that. Send us an email at beckeroos@comcast.net! You can click here to fill out a simple online informational form letting us know how you'd like to help and we'll contact you.

Grace and Peace to you,

Karl, Laurel, Jade, Logan & Ava

Fall News Letter

2009-11-03T04:22:00.000+03:00

I finally figured out how to post our current news letter! I hope this gives you some insight into what RVA is about and what our family will be doing when we're there. We would love to hear from you!!

2009-11-03T03:19:00.000+03:00

Fall 2009

PARTNERING IN SPREADING THE GOSPEL

We are so thankful to be able to share in the ministry at Rift Valley Academy. God is drawing our hearts to Kenya, and in that, showing us his incredible love for his people. What is so amazing about Rift Valley Academy? At ﬁrst glance, it looks like a normal school with kids and activities, but what you may not see on the surface is the work that God is doing through Rift Valley Academy. The student body at RVA represents 80 different sending missions agencies. If you are a student at RVA, your parents are somewhere in Africa sharing the gospel of Christ. The students at RVA continue on to colleges all over the world andoften return to the mission ﬁeld later in their adult life. That is where our hearts are drawn - to spreading the gospel. While we serve and teach and love the kids at RVA, we are enabling missionaries to continue what God has called them to do. We are thankful that God has given us all different gifts and avenues to serve people for the glory of Christ. The 3rd chapter of Nehemiah is devoted to all the different priests, rulers and groups of people that helped rebuild sections of the wall around Jerusalem. What a huge task to undertake! And it couldn’t be donealone. We know it is no small task to get our family to RVA in June 2010, it will take many hands and feet. Would you consider supporting the missionary community in Africa by joining with us in prayer and ﬁnancial support?

We are thrilled to have 2 supporting churches! Having raised a little more than 10% of our support, we continue to move forward in faith that God will provide our needs by May 2010. We are so thankful for your partnership in this ministry. We would love to hear from you. If you have any questions we are available to talk with you.

Steve and Lori Kramer have served at RVA as dorm parents for 6 of the last 9 years. Several years ago while they were on a home visit, Karl was leading worship at their home church, Richvale Evangelical Free Church. After the service Steve and Karl talked a little bit, and Steve asked Karl if he had ever thought of teaching at RVA. A couple of years went by and the subject came up again. We started praying about it, and God has moved our hearts in a mighty way to love this school that we have never even seen before!

It was so exciting to get to meet with the Kramers last month in person! Steve and Lori returned home a couple of months ago to their farm in Biggs, California. Our kids were able to ask tons of questions about the school and life in Kenya. It was a wonderful time of fellowship. They continue to pray for us and with us that God would be gloriﬁed in our family’s move to Rift Valley Academy. Below is a picture of us together at their farm.

Here are some praises and prayer requests

•Praise God that we have 2 supporting churches and a super encouraging pastor that was a missionary in Africa and loves missions!

•Pray that God would help us trust Him to meet our needs.

•Pray that our children would grow in their relationships with the Lord through this ministry.

•Pray that through all the work we would continue to focus on God and give him the glory.

Again, we appreciate all your support and prayers. We are thankful for the body of Christ and we look forward with great anticipation to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Christ alone our HOPE is found!

Karl & Laurel Becker

The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. ~

1 Thessalonians 5:24

Music Head...

2009-10-14T23:47:00.001+03:00

This is a picture of my son Jade and I. If you look closely you can see he is holding the ear buds from his ipod in between his lips. Yes, he is doing this on purpose. Jade has made his month into a speaker system! When he gets tired of being shut off from the rest of the world, but doesn't want to turn off the music (a term I use lightly) he makes his own personal speakers in his head! I love that boy!

2009-10-05T21:31:00.000+03:00

We talk a lot about Africa at our house, but mostly we talk about what Rift Valley Academy is like. We are different than many missionaries that are going to Africa. Most of the missionaries that we know are living among a group of native people, working with them and involved in their lives hoping to establish relationships. We are going to do that too, however our target group is missionary kids. The majority of kids attending Rift Valley Academy have grown up in Africa somewhere, they are citizen of another country and they are boarding in Kijabe, Kenya. They are referred to as 3rd culture kids. In many cases they have lived in their home countries less than any other place they have lived. It is an interesting phenomenon that most of us could have a hard time relating to. At RVA dorm parents and teachers come and go and I think it would be difficult to not struggle saying so many good byes. As we look ahead to saying good bye to our friends and families in June maybe we will get a little taste of what it can feel like to be a missionary kid. Here is a new video about RVA! Check it out!

http://www.aimint.org/usa/videos/rva.html

Home

2009-09-28T20:46:00.000+03:00

Our family recently changed churches. We were living in one community and going to church in another. Finding a church in our town was important to our kids. Seems easy enough-it was hard. After almost 8 years at our church we had formed incredible relationships with so many people and we loved our church family. Even people that we didn't know very well we miss seeing every Sunday. Church is such a big part of our lives and to move to a new church definitely feels like part of us was left behind. At times during the process it physically hurt my insides.

Then the process of visiting churches begins...

Visiting churches can feel like being at your first middle school dance. Yup, you can picture it- standing alone awkwardly wishing you were invisible or could do this from the safety of your living room. As others greet and hug each other you try to read the bulletin acting extremely interested in the announcements for the week hoping the music will start and thinking that next time you will be fashionably late to avoid such unease. All the while trying to picture those people caring about you or befriending you. Hoping that this one is the one so you don't have to endure more of these Sundays. I think that these feelings are a big reason why people that don't go to church don't go. They haven't found their church home yet and the visiting part really stinks. Being a visitor has made me want to be a better member- a friendlier member. It has made me look deeper into why we go to church and what church is really about. Honestly- I just couldn't possibly not be a part of a church now. It is where I find home.

2009-09-20T07:59:00.000+03:00

A couple weeks ago I entered a little contest on another friend's blog- www.goodtrueandbeautiful.com and I won! The prize is 200 free postcards with a picture on one side and info. on the other. That is exactly what we need to make our prayer cards! Thank you Sharon!

Today another friend took pictures of us at the park so we can make those cards. Thank you Ryann- for all your help and encouragement! Here is one of my favorites.

If you aren't on our mailing list and want to receive a newsletter and/or prayer card just let me know! I will gladly add you to our mailing list.

Freedom!

2009-09-15T22:57:00.000+03:00

When we went to Candidate week with Africa Inland Mission back in November we learned that we would need to fulfill some bible class requirements. Thankfully we can do this right in our own living room through some online courses and they are free! Yippee! I have been listening to lectures on the old testament, they run about 45 minutes each and 15 of them make up one class. When I am done listening to all the lectures for the class I take a test and shazzzam I have finished one of my classes. To be honest, at first I looked at this requirement as a pain and I thought- I am going to bang out these classes as fast as possible! But my attitude has really changed over the past couple of weeks. I am enjoying learning about the old testament and how it all leads up to Christ's return. It is interesting to hear why the people did what they did and how God did what he did and why. It always leads to Jesus and I love that. Recently I received an email from a friend who is a missionary in South Africa. She had a quote at the bottom of her email. It says- 'Freedom is a process that happens inside a relationship with Jesus. Then all that stuff churning around inside will start to work its way out.' William Young.

That is such a true statement. That is what happened in my life. And for that matter continues to happen with Jesus and I. I am thankful that I have these 'requirements'. It is just what I need!

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

2009-09-02T21:54:00.000+03:00

One of my favorite childrens books is written by Dr. Seuss. It is more realistic than you might think at first glance. It gently eases kids (and adults) into the real world, encouraging yet not candy coated. I like that. I gave it to my niece when she graduated from high school and I read it to my 5 year old. It can span a wide range of ages and still be relevant. If you haven't checked it out you might want to!

Wicked Good!

2009-08-31T00:04:00.000+03:00

One of the highlights of my summer break was a trip to San Francisco for Karl's birthday. It was great to get a couple nights alone in the city. We explored the bay, ate incredible Indian food, and got to talk without interruption, but the best part was seeing Wicked! Just getting to go to a theater in the city is fantastic! The architecture alone is worth it. Both of us have read the book so we knew the story line. The musical does a great job at telling the story- you don't need to read the book to love the musical. Of course, the book is way more detailed, there would really be no way to perform the book in its entirety. The musical is AMAZING! The costumes, the set and their voices blew me away! We bought the sound track and we're addicted! At any given time in our house someone is singing one of the songs. My advice- if you're asking, when Wicked comes remotely close to where you are- SEE IT! And if you do get a chance to see it let me know what you think, maybe we can sing together!

Green Guilt

2009-08-22T19:01:00.000+03:00

Do you still drink out of plastic water bottles? Is your kitchen flooring a sustainable, renewable resource? Are you smashing your clunker for cash? Should you get out of debt or spend more to boost our economy! I am confused!

Recently I was watching a show (yup, we still have a TV) on 'Green Housing'. Everything in the house was a green product- and it was beautiful! I loved it. I quite literally could have moved right in! However, the issue I took with the 'greenness' of this house was that it was over 3000 square feet. Talk about a big 'foot print'. Am I the only one a little bit confused? I don't know how to be green. When I go to the store I feel pressure to buy 'green' products. I think I need a $27 stainless steel water bottle- for all 5 of us. I look at all the wasted packaging that our food comes in and I cringe. I feel bad buying brand name, processed granola bars. I want to buy food from the farmers market, but have to drive almost a half hour to get there! We even put in sod this summer that we are watering! Help! I think I have green guilt!

Calling all- Counselors, Teachers, Dorm Parents!

2009-08-21T19:34:00.000+03:00

If you have any of these skills you should check out Rift Valley Academy! RVA is a boarding school for missionary kids in Kenya. There are over 450 students, representing 70 different missions organizations working throughout Africa, attending school at RVA. Basically - if I was a missionary in the bush of Africa at some point I would want my kids to go to a school that could provide friends their age, academics that could help them continue on to college, and great adults who pour themselves into students' lives! That's what RVA provides for missionary kids! It is truly an amazing place. Our family is headed there this coming June to do just that!

RVA is in need of more teachers, counselors and dorm parents. You can check out the website - www.rva.org

You can also watch a short video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHYmr3_qU5Y

Just click on the link!

Do We Have What it Takes

2009-08-20T17:50:00.000+03:00

Really that is the question- or is it? As we look ahead to June 2010 as our departure from our nice little comfortable lives, I wonder if we have what it takes. Will we be the ones who sail on through or will our family struggle and dig our heels in at every new experience! I don't think we'll know until we're there. I do pray that God gives us peace and rest in him that would allow us to trust him along the way. What I do know is that God has what it takes- I just have to let him lead! Easier said than done!

When we went to Candidate Week in November with Africa Inland Mission they told us that our missionary work starts now! The check list of ' To Do's ' is long and can seem very daunting. This list has everything from paperwork for the Kenyan government to support raising to registering our kids in school! I am trying to go one step at a time and am literally holding God's hand on this road to Kenya. Do we have what it takes- probably not! You could pray that we rely on the One who does!

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

In with the New!

2009-01-02T22:34:00.000+03:00

So I feel rested, even with the slight flu-ish state I am in currently. Par for Christmas vacation at our house actually. We've been holed up in the house most of the break this season, though, so everyone's pretty healthy. Despite feeling cruddy, I was able to put in some time painting the doors I installed in our hallway in August! Of course, I can't just leave it there, so I decided to paint the hall too. Looks great - and I only spent 4 bucks on paint!!

Just a few days from recommencing after completing a VERY busy first semester. I will be working full-time at PCMS after several years of part-time. I will be helping to meet some tech needs on our campus and creating some public relations materials to bring us into the modern era! This is a real blessing at exactly the right time, as I begin my third semester at Chico State in progress toward my Master's degree in English. I will be doing a teaching internship in a literature class, brushing up on a 17-year lapse in French, and taking an American literature seminar. Busy, but fun.

In addition to leading worship at the Vineyard of Chico and hosting home group gatherings, our family will begin our "deputation" as AIM missionary appointees, building a team of churches and individuals committed to missionary kids in Africa, particularly those attending Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. We are excited to be visiting our friends in the the several churches with which we are involved, sharing our hearts for these kids. We are, admittedly, a little nervous as we enter into a completely new and foreign activity. It feels a little like fundraising, and frankly, I am not the salesman type (if there is a type!). But honestly, it is not my work but God's that will be done in this. As such, I deeply trust that He is in control and will be the One who moves hearts and finances in the direction He is sending us. Can't get better confirmation than that. Basically, we pray that we would be able to communicate our passion for this endeavor and for the kids we will be serving in Kenya, whose parents are working the fields in often-risky locations. We will be more than teachers in many ways, providing nurturing, community, and emotional support in addition to academic challenge.

Now that our date for departure has been delayed, we don't want to let time lapse in getting prepared for this journey. Much is needed in the way of finances as it takes a lot of support to get a family of five to Africa, much less to have them stay for a year or more. So an early start is a very good thing. So I invite you on this journey with us. Here is a list of ways that you can get involved with what God is doing with us!!

1. Become a follower of this blog. There is no danger in it, and it will be a tangible way that we can feel your encouragement. It's easy. . . just click on the 'follow this blog' link on the right and "follow" the directions. You may have to set up a gmail account if you don't have one, but it's free and practically effortless.

2. Get on our mailing list. Just click here to fill out the form that will link you eternally to the Becker family! No financial commitment at this site, but it will allow us to mail and email you important documents if you are interested in committing to this project.

3. Invite us to your church to speak. Or email your pastor's name and church office phone so I can arrange a visit with your congregation. I can play some music or just share a short presentation that will fill you in on what RVA is all about (as far as we know so far!!)

4. Invite us to your small group, youth group, ice cream social, game night, whatever. The more people we talk to about this project, the better! And we would love doing that!

5. Check out the web sites at the right. They will give you interesting details to contemplate!

6. Seriously, pray for us. We believe deeply that this move is God's call on our family. We covet your thoughts and prayers over it. Plus, is it ever a bad idea to pray?

7. Ask us about it. Anything . . . how we're feeling, how it's going, etc. We want to tell you!

Have a blessed beginning to 2009! We are thrilled to see God working in all of you this year!

In Jesus' name,

Karl

Breaking News

2008-12-21T03:34:00.000+03:00

Boy, I never appreciate rest as much as when I have been incredibly busy. I am currently enjoying the first Saturday of my winter break. Last night, as an inauguration of this blessed hiatus, we celebrated Jade's 14th birthday with our close friends at home. It has been a real joy to enter this season of Christmas - we welcome the new life that we are continually receiving in Christ.

This break is significant in a few different ways. First, it is Laurel's and my 17th Christmas together. We are continuing to grow together in ways of which I had never dreamed. We enter this season as officially appointed missionaries for Africa Inland Mission with the goal of traveling to Rift Valley Academy in Kenya during summer of 2010. RVA is a school primarily for missionary kids, located in Central Kenya on a nearly 60 acre complex. We will be living on campus, teaching English, and working at various tasks as needed by the school. Excitement hardly describes the prospect of this adventure. We look to this adventure with a complex mixture of joy, fear, purpose, mystery, conviction, and resolve. We believe God is calling us there, and we are stepping forward in faith, trusting God to provide in all areas.

My intent at establishing this blog is to provide a way to communicate our process and progress toward this goal. We would love to hear from you. Our first assignment as AIM missionaries is to build a team of people who share our desire to support missionary kids. We recently attended an orientation school in Pearl River, NY, where we met a number of other candidates interested in African missions. What struck me was the powerful influence missionary education, RVA in particular, has over the mission in Africa overall. So many of the committed people working in the field have benefited from missionary schools, whose graduates frequently enter the missions field themselves. We feel that our role at RVA will be to encourage and educate these future workers and their families, many of whom are in difficult areas of Africa communicating Christ's love where none have yet heard.

Keep checking back as we continue to gather friends, prayers and finances for this ambitious project, and consider how God might use you in this mission as well. Merry Christmas.

Karl

It's Almost Here. . .

2008-12-13T07:39:00.000+03:00

I remember as a kid around this time of year my repeated statement of "I can hardly wait until (fill in the blank)." It could be Christmas or winter break or New Year's or even my birthday (in June!). Waiting seems to be an inescapable trait of the human life. My dad would say, "You're missing out on right now!" I couldn't help it. Something to wait for was worth waiting for!

As an American, I really don't have to wait for too much. Immediate gratification is available here if you're willing to deal with the financial or other consequences. I try to have some self control in this area, but it is a struggle. I recently read Where the Red Fern Grows with my sixth graders. Billy, the boy in the story, works and saves and waits for two years to buy his hound pups so that he can become a hunter. I ask my students how long they have had to work and save for something. Few if any have had to wait more than a month or two for that one item that they really wanted. It's too bad really. Getting what we want right away hasn't done much for our character as a people.

It seems like sometimes we want God to answer us quickly or give us what we want right away, and then we get mad or discouraged when it doesn't come. I remember a friend telling me that the danger in asking God for patience was that He would give me something to wait for! I guess that is how He does it. He gives us just what we need at the exact time that we need it. Waiting actually becomes a fulfilling outcome of its own - a discipline - by which our ability to wait improves. And sometimes we even get that which we were waiting for too, particularly if it is aligned with His perfect will. Pray that it is, right? I mean, do we really want it if God doesn't want it for us? I don't think so.

So Christmas is coming again. A beautiful season in the right context. Waiting for it is much easier now. Now I smile when my kids say, "I can hardly wait. . ." I tell them it will be worth it! As Christians, we are waiting for something pretty extraordinary. We can't see it. But we know it's there. Sometimes I feel like I can't wait. Not that I have any choice! But I do know it will be worth it. Everything God has for us will be worth it! Every wait, every joy, every pain, every sacrifice. All worth it.