Amazing Africa Part 4 - Victoria Falls

While visiting Zambia and holding several RFK meetings with Sanderson Sianjina, he took us to Victoria Falls.  What an incredible experience!!!

The few pictures and videos here could never do justice to the immensity and enormity of Victoria Falls.   The breadth is more than my camera could capture, I have added an aerial view from the internet to see the falls in its size and scope.  Some statistics have been added to help understand the sheer size and sound.

Victoria Falls is the only waterfall in the world with a length of more than half a mile and a height of 328 feet. It is also considered to be the largest fall in the world.

The noise of Victoria Falls can be heard from a distance of 24 miles, while the spray and mist from the falling water is rising to a height of over 1300 feet and can be seen from a distance of 30 miles.

You can see the falls from Zambia, but there are better views from Zimbabwe.  

The mist coming up from the falls was unbelievable!  At places it was light and soft, at another location the mist hit us from behind while facing the falls and toward the main falls it was nearly pouring down like a heavy rain.

I shot this video hoping that it would capture the mist with the sun behind it!

After walking across the bridge back into Zambia, I shot this picture with a stream coming into the river far below, we later hiked down to that location.

Statue of Dr. Livingstone, the first white man to see the falls.

Dedicating a Dream for RFK!

Over a year ago we visited Crane, MO. to see the future site of a dedicated RFK Camp facility.  Tom and Nita Horn have been blessed by God in many ways and wanted to create a site built especially for the unique needs for the Royal Family KIDS campers.  

This past week I was able to attend the inaugural week of RFK at their Whispering Ponies Ranch!!! What an incredible week of blessing that Tom, Nita and their entire family and staff provided for our Cassville MO. camp operating at First Baptist Church in Cassville.   

The children were blessed and touched and many had first time opportunities such as; their first fish to catch, their first time with horses and for one child, it was their first time on a bike!

I was able to give tours to 6 different groups, 4 who currently operate camps and 2 who are thinking about starting a camp at their church.

We look forward to many more camps participating here in the future!

3 of the 36 miniature ponies they have on site as therapy ponies. 

Campers getting their orientation on Pony etiquette.  

Campers learning how to wash and braid the horses. 

Campers also got to drive the ponies in their carts in the arena.  

 Camp fire and smores!!!

Evening prayer time before bed. 

 Various Activities throughout the day.

Giving tours so more camps can use the facility next year.  

What a great group of volunteers we have all around the country!

Visiting Mom's Birthplace - Butterfield MO.

While visiting a local camp in MO. I was able to take a side trip north of Cassville MO. and see the town where my mother was born back in 1939.  There's not much to do in Butterfield, it's mostly a small town with homes and only a few businesses.  No gas stations or places to eat and less than 1000 residence.  

I took a few photos of anything labeled "Butterfield", and a short video.  

There is something of interest to be where your parent was born so many years ago.

Miss you MOM, Love Jeff

Adding Value Through Partnerships!

RFK doesn't know everything, but other people and organizations are experts in areas we are not.

This year RFK is Partnering with Texas Christian University to provide Trauma Care training known as Trust-Based Relational Intervention or TBRI.  

TBRI was designed for the families of children from Foster and Adoptive homes who are struggling with their past traumatic events.  

This training will help each volunteer in their approach to the children and their communication.  

It is a powerful tool to help children use their voice instead of their behaviors to feel safe and accomplish life.  This spring, we are training nearly 200 volunteers in a 6-hour TBRI class.

In January we started off our learning with a 2-Day TBRI training In Texas at TCU.

            

TBRI Begins with understanding the brain and how a traumatized child literally thinks and therefore acts differently.   

Traumatized children develop survival skills to make it through life.  Some of those survival skills may be lying, manipulating, stealing or hitting.    

We certainly do not want these skills developed any further, however, we often fail to realize how embedded these skills are in the life of the child who is simply trying to survive. 

Then we show up and try to correct these skills without understanding or helping to develop new skills through trust and time.  

As one TBRI Instructor stated, "Don't you dare take away my survival skills, unless you replace them with something else"!

If you would like to learn more about TBRI, here is a link to a free youtube video introduction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vjVpRffgHQ&feature=youtu.be

“Mud Matters…” Devotional

[This is part of the devotional I delivered to several of our Regional Trainings in 2017.

The video is not available yet, but I will add the link to it once it has been edited.]

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Psalm 40:2.   

This is one of the verses I recently shared as a Devotional thought at our Regional Trainings. It is an insight into the world of helping Foster Children.  Many of our Campers and Mentor Kids have been pushed into mud pits of abuse and neglect, they have been slimed with shame and pain.  Our job is to help them out of the slimy, muddy pit of despair, and set their feet upon a solid rock of hope and faith.  But in order to help them out of the pit, we must be willing to get into the pit with them and get muddy too!  

We must be willing to sacrifice our clothes and looks, and climb into a pit of pain on behalf of the children we serve.  The mud that matters is not real mud of course, but figuratively it’s the mud of words when a camper who is angry at the world yells, “You’re the worst Counselor ever”.   The mud we encounter can be physical.   We have literally had adult volunteers get kicked, spit on and hit with sticks; it’s a physical form of getting muddy for kids.  Mud is always emotional.  We have had countless volunteers over the years who have had broken hearts for the kids they minister to.  

Sometimes the emotional pain is caused by the children, sometimes by the guardians, and sometimes by the system that is struggling to serve them all.  Volunteers get mud splattered on them from a variety of sources and styles.  But each time they crawl down into the muddy pit, it’s a moment that tells that child, we care, we know what you are going through, and we are willing to get mud on us as we lift you up and set your feet on solid ground.  

Getting muddy gives us our BEST opportunities to make a connection with kids to share our hope and faith.  We are so thankful for all our volunteers who have gotten muddy for the kids over the years.  

Maybe you, too, have gotten muddy in ministry trying to help someone else.  It comes with the territory of ministry.  

Here are three insights about getting muddy in ministry when helping someone: 
1-Accept the Mud. 
2-Embrace the Mud. 
3-The Mud is not personal.  

We don't really want to get muddy, but getting muddy means we have lifted someone out of a pit and set their feet on solid ground.  













As Lizette, a former camper from Bakersfield told us, “without camp, I would not be the person I am today.”

Special Training for Missouri

RFK has been given a great opportunity to have a Camp Facility built for some local Camps in Missouri.

I was able to go and train 14 of the facility workers in all the Royal Family ways and values so they are up to speed with our safety and spiritual values.

It was a great day of training and meeting people for the American Heartland and my mothers birth state.




And of course, being in Missouri, we went shooting the next day.

because that's what you do in  Missouri!

Child Protection Panel

I was privileged to sit on a Panel at the Child Protection Plan (CPP) training for organizations who have implemented specific CPP procedures.  It's really an emotional challenge to learn and teach about child predators and their evil ways of gaining access to vulnerable kids.  But we must be diligent in our procedures and enforcement to keep kids safe.  Although the topic and materials are challenging, it is incredibly encouraging to be with other like minded people who are trying to stem the tide of abuse and make a difference in the lives of kids.

Photos for Training This Summer

 This is a good message for many of our RF Kids to hear.  Many have already done so.

 Great photo of encouragement and self change.

 This is a great message for our Mentors and Counselors.

 Great news for every adopted child!!!

Training So Cal 2016