Our Family!

OUR MISSIONS STORY

Thanks so much for stopping by! We are the Reitenour family, including Nick, Stephanie, Dexter (10), Rowan (9), and Spencer (7). We are currently serving and teaching at Rift Valley Academy (RVA) in Kijabe, Kenya, and we are excited to announce that God has called us to serve and teach at Hillcrest International School in Papua, Indonesia next year!

In the summer of 2019, Stephanie began feeling a tingling sensation that began in her hands and feet and eventually spread throughout her body, taking away her ability to use her hands and feet and the ability to care for herself. She spent a number of weeks in the hospital and was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called CIDP. The Lord guided Steph’s incredible doctors and ultimately she was completely healed! With a new appreciation and perspective on the short time we have on earth, we have dedicated our lives to being obedient to God’s calling for our lives and following Him wherever He leads us.

In early 2020, we began pursuing serving at Rift Valley Academy, a 120 year-old missionary boarding school in Kijabe, Kenya. And we all remember what happened in early 2020, right?! Covid, the world shut down, and we thought the door had closed. BUT — we learned to never underestimate what God can do even in the bleakest of times. Over the next 15 months, the Lord led our family on an incredible journey of training and support-raising and we left for Kenya in the summer of 2021.

As wonderful as our time at RVA has been, it became apparent that our son Rowan, who is on the autism spectrum, can no longer be supported at RVA due to a lack of resources and staffing. So, after many months of prayer and asking God where He’d have us go next, He showed us Hillcrest International School in Indonesia. Hillcrest is a K-12 missionary school in Papua, Indonesia with about 200 students and exists to support missionary families and ministries that are working to serve the local community, reach the unreached, and translate the Bible for people groups who don’t currently have a Bible written in their native language. Also, they already have an established special education program serving students with Down syndrome, Autism, and many other learning disabilities. Pretty amazing, huh?!

Stephanie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Bible and Missions and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and has a passion for teaching kindergarten. You should see her in action, she’s incredible at it and has a HUGE passion for working with the young ones! Nick has a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Nick spent a few years working as a designer and illustrator corporately before going back to school for Special Education, which he taught for 8 years prior to coming to Kenya. Nick has been teaching art and design classes at RVA, and is extremely excited to get back into teaching Special Education at Hillcrest!