An hour's drive from Nairobi, in a forest of wild olive and pencil cedar trees, a school looks over the Great Rift Valley. The diverse student body, now comprised of almost 500 students from more than 20 different countries, represents 80 mission organizations serving across Africa. 

Jeff and Joyellen Hazard have served as dorm parents at Rift Valley Academy for the past nine years. In a series of questions and funny, honest answers, find out why.

What exactly is a dorm parent?

Jeff: Just the name "dorm parent" is kind of funny. We are in a parent role but we are not the dorm kids' parents. Their parents are the number one influence on their lives. For us it's more of a facilitator role- coming alongside the parents and helping them when they're not physically here. A lot of it's just mentoring. We challenge our guys to think critically from a biblical perspective.

Joyellen: We try to be a constant presence, to be around 24/7. Our busiest time of day is from 7 until 10 at night. It's just constant: study hall, hanging out and chatting, devotions once a week, things like that.

Can you tell us about your dorm kids?

Jeff: We've got grades 9th and 10th grade boys. We're at capacity with 22, which we've had almost every year. In 9th grade, they're just coming out of junior high. They're still goofy but trying to be cool, because they're in high school now. They still like to have toilet paper fights in the dorm, but they don't want the girls to know. It's kind of a fun time.

Joyellen: Usually we will have seven or eight nationalities in a dorm of 20 students. We have some who are missionary kids, some whose parents work for the government or are business people in Nairobi. You have kids that are not Christians, who are Muslim or whatever. Just all different nationalities and backgrounds. Some that are very, very conservative. Some from different missions organizations. We have interesting debates with the boys because they all come from different places.

How do your own children relate to the kids in your dorm? And vice versa?

Jeff: We usually don't let those guys talk to our kids. We try to keep them separate. (laughs)

"It takes consistency, creativity, fun, laughter. A sense of humor helps"No. Our kids-Megan (7), Lindsey (5), and Ian (2)-were all born here in Kenya. They've grown up in the dorm. So our kids are dorm kids. They have 22 big brothers.

What about balance and boundaries?

Joyellen: Sometimes you feel like it's impossible, like fighting the current and going the wrong way. It would be a utopia if you could only be a dorm parent. But everyone has needs and the next thing you know, you step in and you're swamped.

Jeff: You don't have one job at RVA, you have a hundred other things. I run the IT network here and all the internet and email for the entire station-about 900 users. I coach soccer. I drive a bus-which I thought I'd never do-in Africa. (laughs) I teach Sunday School. I fix my truck. A lot. So those boundaries are harder to set than between the dorm and our family.

What does it take to be a good dorm parent?

Joyellen: It takes consistency, creativity, fun, laughter. A sense of humor helps.

Jeff: Over the years we learned that it is not about the rules; there is a lot of heart behind it. One kid is looking for trouble, but you've got another kid, and his parent's village just got pillaged and burned down and they were chased out of their home. He got the e-mail last night and he came home and punched a hole in his door. He is not a malicious kid, he just doesn't know how to handle those kinds of situations...So does that kid need to be hammered? No, he needs a hug.

What would you say to someone who might suggest that boarding school is an outdated model?

Jeff: It's individual to the kid and individual to the family. But being part of it, I look at the opportunities these kids have here, for community, for sports, for extracurricular activities, arts, fine arts, and life skills. There are opportunities here that they wouldn't normally get. And nothing is done without prayer. This place has been running for over a hundred years. I think that just the fact that it has been going for so long and so many kids have been coming out of here with positive experiences says a lot.

Are there any passages of scripture that are particularly encouraging to you as dorm parents?

Jeff: Christ is coming back soon! (laughs) Every year, I talk to the guys about Romans 12. I love the way The Message puts it: "Take your everyday, ordinary life-your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life-and place it before God as an offering." Make your everyday life a spiritual act of worship and constantly remind yourself, "This is what God has called me to do." Just hanging out with the boys is part of worship and part of praising God. This is the responsibility that He has given us.

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