"Now to God, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen" Ephesians 3:20-21
It has been brought to my attention(many, many, many times) by none other than my dear mother, that I haven't updated in a looooong time. I wish I had some great excuse, but I have just gotten busy and suffer from that age-old illness of the dreaded "writer's block" at times. It has also been brought to my attention that there may be some (or many) at home who aren't clear on what it is that I do here besides work on my tan ;-) I would also like to apologize for that lack of clarity on my part. Don't have a lot of time today, so this post is going to be short, but I just want to give you a rundown of things I typically do on a daily or weekly basis.
-write letters/e-mails to supporters of YWAM Ghana
-type sermon/lecture notes
-edit papers/journal entries for School of Communication students (not part of my official job description, but still surprisingly fun)
-go to orphanages, bringing donations, taking pictures, getting swarmed by kids (I'm getting better at carrying multiple kids at a time)
-speak to Junior High kids at the Christian school run by YWAM Ghana
-occasionally give tours of the base
-take part in hospitality for the base
-get invited to and sometimes take part in children's ministries in the area
There's more that I do...and I'll try to elaborate more in the future, but as I said I don't have much time today and I'm trying to make my mom happy by updating :)
On a final note I would just like to send out belated Thanks to some people in honor of Thanksgiving:
To Mom, for being a driving force
To Dad, for encouraging me
To Matt, Sarah and Noelle, for being part of my life for the last 26, 22 and 20 years
To Kristy, for being my new sister
To Grandma V, for writing such wonderful letters
To Jesse W, for putting me on your blogroll, I'm very honored
To Lori, for being my second mom and missing more than just my cheesecakes :-)
To Ronni, for being my mentor (don't know if I ever told you how much I appreciate all our times over various meals, I love you!)
To Ash, for coming here to visit. Don't have words to respond to that
To Bonnie, because I love you and miss you
To all those who are supporting what God is using me to do here. God bless you so much for your generosity, I cannot express how much it means to me
To all those who are praying for me, as always, I am a frail human being and if I ever claim that I don't need your prayers, it only means I need them much more than before.
To anyone I have left out, I'm sorry, but please know that for me to be ableto say thanks to everyone would require a much longer blog and more time in the cafe than I have today. I love you all, and miss you, but I pray that in my absence God will bless you all beyond your expectations.
~Rachel~
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Isolation Tank
“He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee which he loves not for Thy sake.” St. Augustine
You may be wondering about the title…I’ll come back to that. Let me just start by saying that things are going very well here. Between work and friendships and washing clothes by hand, I keep pretty busy and have a lot of fun while I’m doing it. Sometimes though, difficulties come along even while times are good and the circumstances we find ourselves in can either push us closer to God or distract us from Him.
Question for you—is there such a thing as a forced fast? I’m not talking about someone depriving you of food or a situation like famine or poverty preventing you from eating. A fast is not only from food, and if you look at the purpose behind Christian fasting, you realize that there are many things other than food which should be fasted from. According to John Piper in A Hunger for God, “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” (Emphasis mine) Recently I started to see something going on in my own life that I feel relates to this question. For the past few weeks, I’ve felt in some ways isolated from certain people that I know. People who are normally very good about keeping in touch suddenly seem nowhere to be found. E-mails, phone calls and text messages go apparently unacknowledged and no response is sent. Usually, this situation would really get under my skin—why aren’t they replying? Can’t they at least let me know that they received the text/email/phone call? But this time around I started to wonder whether this was a great opportunity to rely on God more than I do on people for companionship, friendship, fellowship whatever you want to call it. I could see from my dependence on people responding to my messages that my soul has been stuffed—so to speak—with human relationships and communion, when I should be turning to God more. Just as I was beginning to consider this, I was praying with one of the school leaders on the YWAM base here, and he started to talk about times of isolation from family and friends, and how they’re times we can use for building our relationships with God. Needless to say, I was surprised, here I was just thinking about this and he was speaking my thoughts right out to me (although with more and better counsel to go along with them than I could have come up with), and I found myself once again wondering at God’s provision and guidance when we ask for it. So, back to the earlier question—is there such a thing as a forced fast? I think that sometimes we find ourselves in situations which can be amazing opportunities for us to learn and grow in our relationships with God, if only we’ll turn our attention away from what we lack and focus on Him. For me I can see that human relationship can be a huge distraction from my relationship with God. Unfortunately, I think most of the time, we’re not paying enough attention to see the dry times in our lies for what they are—chances to deepen our faith. We notice that people don’t respond to us in the same way they normally do, and instead of turning to God we rather push harder to get a response from our friends. We’re experiencing a dry spell financially, but instead of turning to God for his provision, we pick up extra hours to scrape together enough money. Time that we normally devote to other things suddenly becomes free, but instead of using that time for fellowship with God, we just look for something else to fill the minutes and hours.
I don’t want this to seem like a rant against the people who weren’t returning phone calls, etc. That is not my intention at all, I realize that life and circumstances prevent us from responding at times. But life and circumstances aside, if anything I should be thanking them for their role in one more lesson that God is teaching me. So if you haven’t been able to reply, Thank you! I appreciate it :)
At the same time, don’t feel like you shouldn’t talk/email/text me just because I’m trying to draw closer to God, I still want to hear from you too!
More later
~R~
P.S. I've added more pictures to my photobucket account, you can see them by following the link to the right.
You may be wondering about the title…I’ll come back to that. Let me just start by saying that things are going very well here. Between work and friendships and washing clothes by hand, I keep pretty busy and have a lot of fun while I’m doing it. Sometimes though, difficulties come along even while times are good and the circumstances we find ourselves in can either push us closer to God or distract us from Him.
Question for you—is there such a thing as a forced fast? I’m not talking about someone depriving you of food or a situation like famine or poverty preventing you from eating. A fast is not only from food, and if you look at the purpose behind Christian fasting, you realize that there are many things other than food which should be fasted from. According to John Piper in A Hunger for God, “If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” (Emphasis mine) Recently I started to see something going on in my own life that I feel relates to this question. For the past few weeks, I’ve felt in some ways isolated from certain people that I know. People who are normally very good about keeping in touch suddenly seem nowhere to be found. E-mails, phone calls and text messages go apparently unacknowledged and no response is sent. Usually, this situation would really get under my skin—why aren’t they replying? Can’t they at least let me know that they received the text/email/phone call? But this time around I started to wonder whether this was a great opportunity to rely on God more than I do on people for companionship, friendship, fellowship whatever you want to call it. I could see from my dependence on people responding to my messages that my soul has been stuffed—so to speak—with human relationships and communion, when I should be turning to God more. Just as I was beginning to consider this, I was praying with one of the school leaders on the YWAM base here, and he started to talk about times of isolation from family and friends, and how they’re times we can use for building our relationships with God. Needless to say, I was surprised, here I was just thinking about this and he was speaking my thoughts right out to me (although with more and better counsel to go along with them than I could have come up with), and I found myself once again wondering at God’s provision and guidance when we ask for it. So, back to the earlier question—is there such a thing as a forced fast? I think that sometimes we find ourselves in situations which can be amazing opportunities for us to learn and grow in our relationships with God, if only we’ll turn our attention away from what we lack and focus on Him. For me I can see that human relationship can be a huge distraction from my relationship with God. Unfortunately, I think most of the time, we’re not paying enough attention to see the dry times in our lies for what they are—chances to deepen our faith. We notice that people don’t respond to us in the same way they normally do, and instead of turning to God we rather push harder to get a response from our friends. We’re experiencing a dry spell financially, but instead of turning to God for his provision, we pick up extra hours to scrape together enough money. Time that we normally devote to other things suddenly becomes free, but instead of using that time for fellowship with God, we just look for something else to fill the minutes and hours.
I don’t want this to seem like a rant against the people who weren’t returning phone calls, etc. That is not my intention at all, I realize that life and circumstances prevent us from responding at times. But life and circumstances aside, if anything I should be thanking them for their role in one more lesson that God is teaching me. So if you haven’t been able to reply, Thank you! I appreciate it :)
At the same time, don’t feel like you shouldn’t talk/email/text me just because I’m trying to draw closer to God, I still want to hear from you too!
More later
~R~
P.S. I've added more pictures to my photobucket account, you can see them by following the link to the right.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
"Here Comes the Sun..."
Greetings once again in another long-awaited post to add to all my previous meandering babble. I hope that as you read this you are doing well and that you are getting some enjoyment out of what probably is for you a higher speed internet connection than I have access to : )
Continuing to enjoy my time here in
I went on some sight-seeing last week and saw a real contrast in the two places we visited. The first was
I have some pictures of these sites, but they’re on someone else’s camera, so it may take a little bit before I can add them to this post. Don’t worry, I’ll get them up here, or at very least onto my Photobucket account (there’s a link to that on the right side of this page).
One last note before I close…I just want to say how thankful I am for the technology we have available to us in this world. I’ve been listening to some sermons from home that I was able to download from the internet, and it has been very encouraging and challenging. I really recommend them to you, the series I just finished listening to is called the Summer of Discovery done mostly by Jesse Wilson, head pastor at the Milan Vineyard (It’s a church, not a winery, don’t worry). It’s all about discovering what the Father is doing and joining in…really good stuff :-) You can download them yourself at the church website: go to www.milanvineyard.org then click on the link for sermons on the left hand side of the page. (Jesse if you’re reading this I really enjoyed the sermon from September 9th and I look forward to hearing more of that series! Also, I hope it’s okay that I just did a plug for the church on here…)
God Bless!
~R~
P.S.—wish I had some great, deep explanation behind the title today, but really it was just the song that I had playing when I started typing, and it felt like a good tag on the post.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
African Rain…
So I’ve been here for nearly a month now, and so far everything is going well. I have settled into my room and back into the rhythm of life here. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been really getting into the work there is for me here. My official role is “personal assistant” to Faithful and Mary Biney—the directors of YWAM Ghana. This means I do a lot of letter writing and sending e-mails and various other computer work, which if you would have asked me not too long ago whether I would want to do that, I would have responded with a resounding “no”. But the amazing thing that I’m really coming to realize is that when you go where God has sent you, the more you throw yourself wholeheartedly into the work He has sent you to do, the more you enjoy it, and the more passion you begin to have for that. Of course, along with office work, there are other things I’m doing, just the other day we got to visit the “Save Them Young” orphanage. We took vitamins to the kids, checked the progress on the building of a kitchen for the orphanage and got to spend a little bit of time just hanging out with the kids. I really loved it, but as with all my other experiences in orphanages, the biggest problem is that I don’t want to leave when it’s time to go, but would much rather just stay and hug all the kids and love them. I’m hoping that as time goes on I’ll be able to spend more time there. Here are a couple of pictures from that trip:
This boy on the left came up to me as soon as we got there and held out his arms to be picked up (I of course obliged), the girl in the other picture held my hand the whole time I was around. You can see why it would be hard to leave, they’re just so precious, if anyone in the world needs to feel the love of God it’s these little ones who have been left alone whether by choice or circumstance. But I think that when faced with injustice and sadness in the world around us, ultimately people have three basic responses: 1—they find the problem to be something that is either out of their control or none of their concern and so they do nothing; 2—they find the problem to be so overwhelming and see it as so large that they can’t possibly do anything that will really help or don’t know where to start and so they do nothing; or 3—they see the problem and respond in any way they can, no matter how “small” the amount of help they can give may be. It seems to me that too often people fall into the second group which to me is the saddest group to be in. You want to help in some way, but you’ve convinced yourself that whatever you give can’t solve the problem so it’s better not to do anything at all. But that is not the life of love that Christ has called us to. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Mark 12:30-31a NIV) He didn’t say that we should only love our neighbors if we have enough money to solve all the problems they have, or that we should only love them if we can heal them. He simply said to love them. Furthermore, Jesus teaches that whatever we have done for the “least of these” we have done to him. So if all we can do is take the time to hug a child or talk with someone at a soup kitchen, then that is also a service unto God. I think that we need to be careful, however, that we do not simply do these things because it is a service to God, but we need to look into our hearts as we’re doing them. We need to check our motives, is this simply something I am doing because I was told to do it? Do I really care about the people or is this only to make myself look good? Ultimately, the entire message we are given by God can be summed up in one word: Love. We are to Love God and Love others. Unless that is what is pushing us on, all of our pursuits will be meaningless no matter how “good” they seem on the surface. Paul illustrates this truth when he says that “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all the mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV) Now I don’t want you to misunderstand me, I am not saying that everyone should pack up, move to an orphanage and just love the kids there, that’s simply not realistic and it wouldn’t be productive. Even the apostles were not all in ministry to the same people. We’re not all called to show God’s love in the exact same way, but we are all called to show His love. So if you can do nothing else or you don’t have a clue where to start, then I think the best place to start is with prayer. You can pray into situations that you hear about, but have no control over. I feel certain that if you are praying and asking God for opportunities to show love to others, He will not only give you the opportunity, but He will give you more of His heart and more of His love for those He’s sending you to. I could give many examples of how often God does this for His followers, but since this entry is already longer than I intended, I’ll give only one. A dear friend of mine recently moved into a new community and, in what I think was an unexpected side effect of her new job, was given the chance to interact with a certain group of people who are generally looked down upon in American society. In a recent email she told me how the more she was able to spend time with them and simply care about them, the more she realized how much she loved them. The God we serve is more loving than we can think or imagine, and we need simply to ask and He will pour into us His love for those around us.
I’ve also been given the opportunity to speak to some of the students at Fountainhead Christian School, the first (perhaps of many) time will come this Friday—speaking of which, I would appreciate prayer support in selection of topic and the usual hurdle to be covered of me speaking clearly so that my accent doesn’t get in the way of the message. As always, it is only by grace that we can do anything :-)
As you probably noticed, I titled this entry “African Rain”. Right now
One final note in closing…I was able to go last weekend with the current DTS on their “fun time”—a day of recreation and just having fun with each other. We went to the beach and it was my first time to really go to the ocean here, although I’ve ridden past it in the car many times. Even though it was very rocky, and the jean capris I wore were probably not the best for wading, I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to walk in the water. I’ve officially stepped in both sides of the 
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Amsterdam in five hours or less...
Amsterdam in five hours or less…
Well, I am on my way to Ghana, haven’t arrived yet, but have already had a mini-adventure. As some of you know I had a five-hour layover in Amsterdam before flying on to Ghana. I was informed by friends that it doesn’t count as “being in” a country unless you actually go somewhere and do something. I had no intention of leaving the terminal, let alone the airport as we began our descent into Schiphol International Airport, but then I found out that this airport had baggage lockers, and a train station in it, and was only a 15-min trip from Central Amsterdam. So, for the first time in my life, I decided to ditch my paranoia about leaving during layovers, and set foot on European soil (also a first for me). I have to say that I loved my 2+ hours that I spent walking around the city. Granted you can’t see that much in such a small amount of time, and the prices were too high to be able to eat most of the places I passed. But I was able to see the canals and old buildings and fun stuff of that nature. I also saw more bicycles than I have ever seen in my life…I really think that if you took the sum total of all bikes I had seen in the past 26 years, that number would pale in comparison to the plethora, the multitude, the whole big mess of bikes I saw today. I had no idea that the Dutch loved the bicycle so much…but now I know and knowing is half the battle. One other thing I did during my time out on the town was to pay an exorbitant amount (18 Euros!) to buy a pass on the Canal Bus system. I almost didn’t do this (because that’s entirely too much for me to be spending on this trip for as little use as I was going to get out of it), but in the end it came down to me REALLY wanting to see Anne Frank’s House (Anne Frank Huis). I’m glad I did, because let’s face it who knows if/when I’ll come through Amsterdam again? I didn’t go in because the line was reeeeeallly long, it even wrapped around the corner, and as I said before I was in a bit of a time crunch.
I think the thing that surprises me the most about this little excursion is the fact that, if the same situation had occurred a year ago, I don’t think that I ever would have made the decision to go out and have a look around. Unless there was someone else with me any fleeting thought of leaving would have been quickly squashed by my practical side—that would be the side of me that sees pretty much every single possible negative outcome, and decides that the risks far outweigh the benefits of deviation from the plan. In fact if I had been with a friend and they had suggested going out, I probably would have been the “Voice of reason” and once again would have given in to timidity and not taken the risk.
So the next question I have to ask myself is where does this confidence come from? Sure I didn’t have much to fear with language barriers due to the fact that almost everyone in the Netherlands speaks English, but still I don’t think that is necessarily what would have made me nervous in the first place. Again I think that it is very much a question of confidence. Ultimately I think it comes down to knowing where I fit in the world around me, to having a knowledge of what God has placed in me and is preparing me for. During my DTS one verse seemed to stand out to me. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” The truth is that timidity doesn’t fit into the plans God has for our lives. God intends for us to be bold, to have confidence in the abilities that He has placed within us. How can we be worried and timid when we know that before He created the foundations of the Earth, he had plans for us? I think that far too often we fail to grasp just how much God cares for us, which leads so many of us to believe that maybe He cares for creation as a whole, but would He ever take a moment to make real plans, and furthermore to instill in us what we need to see those plans come to pass?
I don’t think that it is coincidental that during the commissioning at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Sunday (the very day I left), the beginning verses of the book of Jeremiah came up.
“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” ~Jeremiah 1:4-7~
If God is for us, who can be against us? I find that simply knowing the truth—that God cares for me personally—has gone very far in changing the way that I view not only myself, but the world around me as well.
~Rachel~
p.s. sorry this is over a week old...sometimes internet connections fluctuate here. will try to get something new up soon :)
Well, I am on my way to Ghana, haven’t arrived yet, but have already had a mini-adventure. As some of you know I had a five-hour layover in Amsterdam before flying on to Ghana. I was informed by friends that it doesn’t count as “being in” a country unless you actually go somewhere and do something. I had no intention of leaving the terminal, let alone the airport as we began our descent into Schiphol International Airport, but then I found out that this airport had baggage lockers, and a train station in it, and was only a 15-min trip from Central Amsterdam. So, for the first time in my life, I decided to ditch my paranoia about leaving during layovers, and set foot on European soil (also a first for me). I have to say that I loved my 2+ hours that I spent walking around the city. Granted you can’t see that much in such a small amount of time, and the prices were too high to be able to eat most of the places I passed. But I was able to see the canals and old buildings and fun stuff of that nature. I also saw more bicycles than I have ever seen in my life…I really think that if you took the sum total of all bikes I had seen in the past 26 years, that number would pale in comparison to the plethora, the multitude, the whole big mess of bikes I saw today. I had no idea that the Dutch loved the bicycle so much…but now I know and knowing is half the battle. One other thing I did during my time out on the town was to pay an exorbitant amount (18 Euros!) to buy a pass on the Canal Bus system. I almost didn’t do this (because that’s entirely too much for me to be spending on this trip for as little use as I was going to get out of it), but in the end it came down to me REALLY wanting to see Anne Frank’s House (Anne Frank Huis). I’m glad I did, because let’s face it who knows if/when I’ll come through Amsterdam again? I didn’t go in because the line was reeeeeallly long, it even wrapped around the corner, and as I said before I was in a bit of a time crunch.
I think the thing that surprises me the most about this little excursion is the fact that, if the same situation had occurred a year ago, I don’t think that I ever would have made the decision to go out and have a look around. Unless there was someone else with me any fleeting thought of leaving would have been quickly squashed by my practical side—that would be the side of me that sees pretty much every single possible negative outcome, and decides that the risks far outweigh the benefits of deviation from the plan. In fact if I had been with a friend and they had suggested going out, I probably would have been the “Voice of reason” and once again would have given in to timidity and not taken the risk.
So the next question I have to ask myself is where does this confidence come from? Sure I didn’t have much to fear with language barriers due to the fact that almost everyone in the Netherlands speaks English, but still I don’t think that is necessarily what would have made me nervous in the first place. Again I think that it is very much a question of confidence. Ultimately I think it comes down to knowing where I fit in the world around me, to having a knowledge of what God has placed in me and is preparing me for. During my DTS one verse seemed to stand out to me. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.” The truth is that timidity doesn’t fit into the plans God has for our lives. God intends for us to be bold, to have confidence in the abilities that He has placed within us. How can we be worried and timid when we know that before He created the foundations of the Earth, he had plans for us? I think that far too often we fail to grasp just how much God cares for us, which leads so many of us to believe that maybe He cares for creation as a whole, but would He ever take a moment to make real plans, and furthermore to instill in us what we need to see those plans come to pass?
I don’t think that it is coincidental that during the commissioning at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Sunday (the very day I left), the beginning verses of the book of Jeremiah came up.
“The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” ~Jeremiah 1:4-7~
If God is for us, who can be against us? I find that simply knowing the truth—that God cares for me personally—has gone very far in changing the way that I view not only myself, but the world around me as well.
~Rachel~
p.s. sorry this is over a week old...sometimes internet connections fluctuate here. will try to get something new up soon :)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
"That OLD"
"It is so comic to hear oneself called old, even at ninety I suppose!"~Alice James
"People like you and I, though mortal of course like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live...[We] never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born" ~Albert Einstein
Well, one more year officially under my belt. When I was in Mexico this year, an adult in one of the groups heard that I would be turning...dare I say it?...26 years old. Her response was along the lines of "She doesn't look that old!" Now, I think I can justifiably have two responses to this statement. #1-'Thanks, glad to look younger than I am' :) and #2- 'Is 26 old? Since when?' Having said that, I want to add that I don't feel old, except for when my joints start aching and I realize just how old my niece and nephew are :) My goal is now simply to live up to "another year older, another year wiser" rather than the alternative.
"People like you and I, though mortal of course like everyone else, do not grow old no matter how long we live...[We] never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born" ~Albert Einstein
Well, one more year officially under my belt. When I was in Mexico this year, an adult in one of the groups heard that I would be turning...dare I say it?...26 years old. Her response was along the lines of "She doesn't look that old!" Now, I think I can justifiably have two responses to this statement. #1-'Thanks, glad to look younger than I am' :) and #2- 'Is 26 old? Since when?' Having said that, I want to add that I don't feel old, except for when my joints start aching and I realize just how old my niece and nephew are :) My goal is now simply to live up to "another year older, another year wiser" rather than the alternative.
As you have probably guessed, I returned from Ghana at the beginning of June. The last month and a half has just been a whirlwind of activity. Two short weeks after arriving from Ghana I flew down to Mexico to spend two weeks volunteering with Faith Ministry (Ministereo de Fe), building houses. following that I was at home for a little over a week and then took part in the Westminster Presbyterian mission trip to Detroit. Now I am firmly entrenched with no plans for future travel for the time being--for the next 20-something days anyway--and have taken up employment at a hotel here in Ann Arbor working in the laundry to put a little bit of money in my pocket.
I assume that the many astute readers out there will have noticed that I imply that I will be traveling beyond the 20-something day range...this is not only an implication, it is fact. I think I have mentioned in earlier posts that there was a possibility of my plans changing and that I might be returning to Ghana. Well, my plans did in fact change and I will be returning to Ghana on August 26th for an indefinite period of time... This time I will be on staff with YWAM Ghana getting to take part in a few different ministry opportunities. There will potentially be: a soup kitchen, weekly visits to a school to do evangelism type puppet shows and the like, computer work a couple of times a week in the office (apparently I have mad skills on the computer), helping to arrange apprenticeships for single mothers, and working with orphanages. I'm really excited about all these different areas, but the one that I'm most looking forward to is the work with orphanages. Over the past year I think God has really been opening my eyes to the needs of those in our world who are least able to protect, defend and fight for themselves--children. I think that God is preparing me for some sort of ministry to children, and my hope is that whatever areas God takes me to I'll be able to convey his love to those around me.
While I don't have a definite end date in sight for my service in Ghana, I do know that I will be coming home mid-April of 2008 for a short visit. I am still seeking God's guidance and direction for the next step after Ghana, but right now I'm trying to focus on balancing between making plans and leaving things in God's hands and just learning to be ready when He tells me to move.
As always I appreciate your prayers and support. This final month home is going to be a very busy one for me, between working and raising financial support and trying to fit in as much time with family and friends as possible, I'll barely have time to think, but by the grace of God, I can do all things!
Grace and Peace to you!
~R~
I assume that the many astute readers out there will have noticed that I imply that I will be traveling beyond the 20-something day range...this is not only an implication, it is fact. I think I have mentioned in earlier posts that there was a possibility of my plans changing and that I might be returning to Ghana. Well, my plans did in fact change and I will be returning to Ghana on August 26th for an indefinite period of time... This time I will be on staff with YWAM Ghana getting to take part in a few different ministry opportunities. There will potentially be: a soup kitchen, weekly visits to a school to do evangelism type puppet shows and the like, computer work a couple of times a week in the office (apparently I have mad skills on the computer), helping to arrange apprenticeships for single mothers, and working with orphanages. I'm really excited about all these different areas, but the one that I'm most looking forward to is the work with orphanages. Over the past year I think God has really been opening my eyes to the needs of those in our world who are least able to protect, defend and fight for themselves--children. I think that God is preparing me for some sort of ministry to children, and my hope is that whatever areas God takes me to I'll be able to convey his love to those around me.
While I don't have a definite end date in sight for my service in Ghana, I do know that I will be coming home mid-April of 2008 for a short visit. I am still seeking God's guidance and direction for the next step after Ghana, but right now I'm trying to focus on balancing between making plans and leaving things in God's hands and just learning to be ready when He tells me to move.
As always I appreciate your prayers and support. This final month home is going to be a very busy one for me, between working and raising financial support and trying to fit in as much time with family and friends as possible, I'll barely have time to think, but by the grace of God, I can do all things!
Grace and Peace to you!
~R~
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Hello all, here is an update from Rachel's mom again. Rachel is approaching graduation in just a few days. For the last couple months she has been at Akuse, Ghana. I tried to look this up on Google Earth, but the resolution is not the best. Her daily activity has included the early wake up call, much time spent in prayer, praise and worship and work duties. This phase of the program has involved outreach. This includes direct outreach and evangelism, street evangelism, coordination of programs at the church where Rachel is staying including teaching services and prayer meetings for those they have invited in the external evangelism. The attitude in Ghana has been quite different then would be expected doing these types of activities in the US. People do not automatically react with suspicion. Rather they will engage in conversation and are attacted to the street evangelism activities. Rachel provides a unique draw. The children in particular are interested in the seeing a white person. The conditions are relatively primative, without the modern plumbing we appreciate and also without regular electricity. It is obvious when talking to Rachel that these things are inconsequential relative to the spiritual growth she has gained.
Rachel returns to the US on June 2. I know that she would like to return to Ghana relatively soon. She will be spending two weeks in Mexico from mid-June to early July, so that she can keep her Spanish in shape and visit friends in that part of the world. Hopefully we will be able to schedule a time when she can share her experiences with you all.
Carol
Rachel returns to the US on June 2. I know that she would like to return to Ghana relatively soon. She will be spending two weeks in Mexico from mid-June to early July, so that she can keep her Spanish in shape and visit friends in that part of the world. Hopefully we will be able to schedule a time when she can share her experiences with you all.
Carol
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Photos
This post is from Rachel's mom. Rachel sent home some photos. The children are from a YWAM sponsored school on the 50th anniversary of Ghana's independence. That is Rachel's room. The people in the picture are Helen and Haruna. Helen was a former staff member with YWAM, Haruna is a current staff member. The group photo is of Rachel's classmates when they were on an outing to visit a Mercy Ship. And the last is Rachel, dressed up for a wedding in traditional dress.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The end of phase one...
So I know that I've been really bad at keeping this up to date and I wish I could promise that I will do better in the next two months, but the truth is that soon we will be heading out to the outreach phase and the odds of finding an internet cafe just down the street are slim to none...but who knows...God can provide anything we need :)
As I keep saying we've really been learning alot in the classroom. Over the past few weeks we've been enjoying the teachings of a couple from England. They are in their 60's and have taught on a variety of topics, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Tabernacle to Knowing God. As you may imagine, with them coming from England and with me coming from the U.S. they have teased me not a little about my "american-ness"--spelling differences, foods, the War for Independence--especially since I sit right in the front. But I'm mostly just thankful that I can understand them perfectly clearly (some of the African students have not had it so easy).
So you are probably wondering what the outreach phase involves, so I will try to sum up. The basic goal is to preach the gospel. We split into two teams that will be going to two different locations and using various methods to convey the message that Christ taught to those we meet. In the villages (think rustic--maybe drawing water from river/lake possibly), we will do dramas, door-to-door evangelism, mercy ministry, children's ministry, pretty much anything you can think of... It's really exciting to think of being able to put into practice all that we've been learning over the past three months. At the same time however, it's somewhat bittersweet bcause it means that of the 25 other students that I've grown close to in my time here, I will have to say goodbye to 13 of them for two months, since we won't be near enough to visit during that time.
We had sad news this past weekend, one of the students went home to Benin over the weekend and while he was there, his father passed away. The father was a strong Christian, so that is comforting, but of course the separation is difficult. Please be in prayer for Franck and his family.
Well, time is almost up, please keep praying for us as we prepare to head out into the practical portion of our training. God Bless YOU!
~Rachel~
As I keep saying we've really been learning alot in the classroom. Over the past few weeks we've been enjoying the teachings of a couple from England. They are in their 60's and have taught on a variety of topics, from the Sermon on the Mount to the Tabernacle to Knowing God. As you may imagine, with them coming from England and with me coming from the U.S. they have teased me not a little about my "american-ness"--spelling differences, foods, the War for Independence--especially since I sit right in the front. But I'm mostly just thankful that I can understand them perfectly clearly (some of the African students have not had it so easy).
So you are probably wondering what the outreach phase involves, so I will try to sum up. The basic goal is to preach the gospel. We split into two teams that will be going to two different locations and using various methods to convey the message that Christ taught to those we meet. In the villages (think rustic--maybe drawing water from river/lake possibly), we will do dramas, door-to-door evangelism, mercy ministry, children's ministry, pretty much anything you can think of... It's really exciting to think of being able to put into practice all that we've been learning over the past three months. At the same time however, it's somewhat bittersweet bcause it means that of the 25 other students that I've grown close to in my time here, I will have to say goodbye to 13 of them for two months, since we won't be near enough to visit during that time.
We had sad news this past weekend, one of the students went home to Benin over the weekend and while he was there, his father passed away. The father was a strong Christian, so that is comforting, but of course the separation is difficult. Please be in prayer for Franck and his family.
Well, time is almost up, please keep praying for us as we prepare to head out into the practical portion of our training. God Bless YOU!
~Rachel~
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The end of February...
Well, I know I haven't been doing the best job of keeping this up to date, but I hope that the little I've posted has been enough to keep you coming back--although if you're reading this, then that's a pretty good indication that you are indeed coming back...
As I seem to keep writing in e-mails and letters home, I don't even know where to start in describing all that I'm learning here about God and how much I'm growing closer to Him. I think that first I should clear up some confusion--I am attending this school, not teaching. It is a training program so to speak--and the field of training is in Discipleship with Christ. Because of this, we have many requirements on our time--tasks to complete, books to read, being time concious is highly stressed. But I think the two most important aspects of the school are the lectures and the prayer time. We're assigned no less than two hours a day when we should be in prayer-our quiet time in the morning and our prayer walk in the evening. I'm learning alot from the lectures, but the time spent in prayer is so valuable to me, because if I don't have conversation with God, then how can I say that I have a relationship with Him? And I'm seeing Him respond to my prayers--for example at the beginning of February I asked God to teach me some various things this month...and we have covered almost all those topics in the lectures!
In addition to just what's going on within the school, I'm really getting to experience Ghanaian culture...in the past three weeks I've been to both a wedding and a funeral. The ceremonies of both were not terribly different than what you might see in the States--some minor differences, but essentially the same formula. Bear in mind, however, that I am in a large city (700,000+/-) and the services were both with people in the Church--due to this they have been highly influenced by the western way of doing things. As I said there were some differences, more dancing in the wedding, but that's normal in Sunday service, so it's not surprising to see in the wedding. And after the funeral, at the reception, I got to see some tribal dancing. It seems to me that once the burial has taken place, they are not as somber as we are in the States--especially if the person who died is older, they use it as a time of rejoicing...
Please continue to pray for God's direction as I look at the future, as many of you know, before coming here I had some things planned out for the next year, but now I see that God may be leading me elsewhere...
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Prov. 19:21
God Bless you!
~Rachel~
As I seem to keep writing in e-mails and letters home, I don't even know where to start in describing all that I'm learning here about God and how much I'm growing closer to Him. I think that first I should clear up some confusion--I am attending this school, not teaching. It is a training program so to speak--and the field of training is in Discipleship with Christ. Because of this, we have many requirements on our time--tasks to complete, books to read, being time concious is highly stressed. But I think the two most important aspects of the school are the lectures and the prayer time. We're assigned no less than two hours a day when we should be in prayer-our quiet time in the morning and our prayer walk in the evening. I'm learning alot from the lectures, but the time spent in prayer is so valuable to me, because if I don't have conversation with God, then how can I say that I have a relationship with Him? And I'm seeing Him respond to my prayers--for example at the beginning of February I asked God to teach me some various things this month...and we have covered almost all those topics in the lectures!
In addition to just what's going on within the school, I'm really getting to experience Ghanaian culture...in the past three weeks I've been to both a wedding and a funeral. The ceremonies of both were not terribly different than what you might see in the States--some minor differences, but essentially the same formula. Bear in mind, however, that I am in a large city (700,000+/-) and the services were both with people in the Church--due to this they have been highly influenced by the western way of doing things. As I said there were some differences, more dancing in the wedding, but that's normal in Sunday service, so it's not surprising to see in the wedding. And after the funeral, at the reception, I got to see some tribal dancing. It seems to me that once the burial has taken place, they are not as somber as we are in the States--especially if the person who died is older, they use it as a time of rejoicing...
Please continue to pray for God's direction as I look at the future, as many of you know, before coming here I had some things planned out for the next year, but now I see that God may be leading me elsewhere...
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Prov. 19:21
God Bless you!
~Rachel~
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Obruni
No, that's not a name for a tribe here, that's the word for "white person". Classes have started in full force this week, and we had the wife of the director of YWAM Ghana for our speaker. She spokke on a few different topics- prayer, integrity and inferiority complexes. It was a very worthwhile time for me especially.
I had another adventure in the market today, trying to find a gift for a baby shower, let's just say that gift shopping here is very different than at home where you look up the registry and go get the items off the shelves.
I also got to try what seems to be the national food today-- fufu (spelling?)--no utensils need apply, just make sure that you only use your right hand, especially since it's eaten out of one big bowl.
I only have a couple minutes, so I can't sa alot, but I'll try to write again on Wednesday...
Blessings!
~Rachel
I had another adventure in the market today, trying to find a gift for a baby shower, let's just say that gift shopping here is very different than at home where you look up the registry and go get the items off the shelves.
I also got to try what seems to be the national food today-- fufu (spelling?)--no utensils need apply, just make sure that you only use your right hand, especially since it's eaten out of one big bowl.
I only have a couple minutes, so I can't sa alot, but I'll try to write again on Wednesday...
Blessings!
~Rachel
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Akwaaba!
Akwaaba! Welcome to Ghana!
I arrived safe and sound in Accra on Saturday night (here, around 4pm at home). The flights to and from London were uneventful for the most part. In Heathrow I saw Keanu Reeves! He is a scruffy-looking man in person :-)
On the plane to Accra I sat next to a man from Finland who informed me about his country throughout the flight, and he also let me know that Finnish people and Russians do not get along and that is why so many young Finns like American culture.
The program is just getting started and we are in our orientation week right now. There are supposed to be around 30 students total, although not all of them have arrived yet. The students are mostly from West Africa (Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana so far), although my roommate is from Switzerland (the french part) and so far the only other white person in the school. The days consist of waking up around 6:15 (1:15am EST!) and doing work duty, followed by breakfast and then orientation meetings, lunch, more orientation, rest, dinner, study time, free time and then sleep. This schedule is pretty loose right now and will get harder next week and I'll give more of an idea of a typical day later.
The conditions are pretty good, electricity (usually), running water (sometimes)-- all the comforts of home ;-) I will say that it is very hot, especially at night, which is taking some getting used to, or maybe it's all the mosquito netting that is different. They tell me that right now we are in the middle of the "Hamattan"--a season when it is very dry, and not too hot.
We went to church in a local church this Sunday and it was very different than church at home, louder and more energetic! We sang alot and people danced and it was really cool to get to experience something different than the way we do things at home.
Monday afternoon we went to the market to get a couple of things that we needed...Quite the experience. I got a SIM card that I thought I needed for my phone for only 65,000 Cedis (about $7). I felt very funny carrying around a huge wad of bills when I hadn't changed that much money!
Things are going well over all, although there are some things that will take some getting used to.
I appreciate all your prayers and support--please pray that I will get over homesickness, I'm already struggling with it and have only been here 5 days!
More later!
~Rachel
I arrived safe and sound in Accra on Saturday night (here, around 4pm at home). The flights to and from London were uneventful for the most part. In Heathrow I saw Keanu Reeves! He is a scruffy-looking man in person :-)
On the plane to Accra I sat next to a man from Finland who informed me about his country throughout the flight, and he also let me know that Finnish people and Russians do not get along and that is why so many young Finns like American culture.
The program is just getting started and we are in our orientation week right now. There are supposed to be around 30 students total, although not all of them have arrived yet. The students are mostly from West Africa (Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana so far), although my roommate is from Switzerland (the french part) and so far the only other white person in the school. The days consist of waking up around 6:15 (1:15am EST!) and doing work duty, followed by breakfast and then orientation meetings, lunch, more orientation, rest, dinner, study time, free time and then sleep. This schedule is pretty loose right now and will get harder next week and I'll give more of an idea of a typical day later.
The conditions are pretty good, electricity (usually), running water (sometimes)-- all the comforts of home ;-) I will say that it is very hot, especially at night, which is taking some getting used to, or maybe it's all the mosquito netting that is different. They tell me that right now we are in the middle of the "Hamattan"--a season when it is very dry, and not too hot.
We went to church in a local church this Sunday and it was very different than church at home, louder and more energetic! We sang alot and people danced and it was really cool to get to experience something different than the way we do things at home.
Monday afternoon we went to the market to get a couple of things that we needed...Quite the experience. I got a SIM card that I thought I needed for my phone for only 65,000 Cedis (about $7). I felt very funny carrying around a huge wad of bills when I hadn't changed that much money!
Things are going well over all, although there are some things that will take some getting used to.
I appreciate all your prayers and support--please pray that I will get over homesickness, I'm already struggling with it and have only been here 5 days!
More later!
~Rachel
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)