Rachel's Reflections

Praise the Lord my Cross Cultural Internship support has passed the half-way mark! Both for committed monthly support and for the start-up costs. The Lord has blessed me through so many different people, not just in financial support but through prayer, encouragement, and wisdom as well. I thank God for each individual I have the chance to talk with. :) I have started my part time job working with Child Evangelism Fellowship, I am enjoying being back in Muskegon helping Karen Dear with different ministry projects. The biggest focus is to schedule Christmas Party clubs as part of a new outreach CEF is launching this year. The goal is to tell children who do not attend church about the real and True Christmas story in a fun and exciting way.  The other week someone reminded me that all Christians are in ministry. What a true statement, whether one is getting paid for it or not here on earth God wants all of His children to be involved in whatever ministry they are able to, using the

A professor from Cornerstone, at our house?! With his family? From Brazil?! What a privilege! Five Brazilians all around our dining room table enjoying the Brazilian meal and helping me learn Portuguese. This was such a blessing and I thoroughly appreciated it. Last night I went a step further and met with my Portuguese tutor for the first time. She is top notch, explaining things well, encouraging yet pushing me. We will meet twice a week to get me as far ahead on the language as I can be before I leave in January.  In other exciting news...   I have been approved to work part time for Child Evangelism Fellowship in Muskegon to help Karen Dear, the director, and further their ministry outreach through the Christmas Across America clubs! I will be in Muskegon on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the CEF office as well as helping out at Awana on Wednesday evenings. Last week I celebrated the completion of two online classes with Summit University towards my bachelors degree in Christian M

I could have been discouraged, I could have given up, but I chose to trust God. Before I went down to Illinois I was a little discouraged because several people I wanted to see were busy. But God had just the right people for me to talk with and as I drove back from Illinois I was praising God for what He had done. I got to share about my Cross Cultural Internship to Mozambique, spend quality time with family and a close friend, and left with new support (prayer, encouragement, and $250 of monthly commitments).  I have been in communication with Carlos, the Word of Life director in Mozambique and he sent me this picture of the 6 missionary couples that are serving Mozambique in the three southern provinces. One of the couples is Mozambican (in the midddle) and to the left of them is Carlos and his wife. The rest are all from Brazil. I am looking forward to joining them in June of next year, after spending February to May in Brazil for language school. Please continue t

What an incredible journey I've begun! In the last two weeks several new and exciting things have happened.  I turned 21 I started support raising for my two year Cross Cultural Internship with Word of Life Mozambique God has provided above and beyond what I expected in several areas The first gift towards my internship came in Several people have been an encouragement in unexpected ways I learned more about Word of Life Mozambique (Wol-MZ) I got my ears pierced Watching God work is always a blessing and the events of the last two weeks have pointed directly at Him and His work. My mom received an email from an old friend in Kenya who said she wanted to partner with me, I heard from two 5-Day Club hostesses in Muskegon who have been praying for me and want to give what they can and I have not even seen them in two or three years, I've personally met with ten individuals or families and shared my heart and all them were an encouragement to me. I thank God for these (

Home! What a beautiful word. Everyone pictures something different when they here this word. To me it means my family, good home-cooked food, and peace. In the last two years I have only been home for short breaks but now I am home for several months. This will be a time of blessing and enjoying the company of those I love.  I arrived back home Saturday after a crazy two weeks. My last day up in Northern Michigan with Child Evangelism Fellowship was Friday, August 21. We were in the middle of the Northern District Fair painting children's faces and sharing the gospel when I had to leave. Overall 512 children came through the booth and heard the gospel. That same week I started my online classes with Summit University to finish my four year degree. Saturday, August 22 I needed to be back in NY at Word of Life for graduation weekend. The Lord provided a ride for me to get out there and not drive the whole, long drive by myself. After a week of training classes at Word of Life I am

I'm restarting my blog! :) I actually forgot how to login to this, that's why I haven't been writing blogs lately, but I really enjoy using this blog to keep friends and family updated on how things are going in my life. Obviously I can't tell you everything that has happened since I wrote the last blog, but let's do a quick recap... I had a great 2nd year at Word of Life Bible Institute, God definitely taught me a lot through the people I met there this year. He taught me humility and servant leadership by not placing me in an RA position. He taught me love, patience, and compassion through the roommates he put me with. He taught me to trust Him when I didn't know what was going on. He taught me the value of friends and being there for each other. But most importantly, He taught me about Himself, He drew me closer and strengthened my relationship with Him.  The highlight of my year was going to Brazil on a mission trip back in April! What an incredible exper