Rachel's Reflections

Cheetah lesson: On Thursday I had the wonderful privilege of seeing one of my dreams come true - petting a cheetah. Anabele is a beautiful animal made by the Creator God and I thank Him for this blessing. His sovereignty is incredible; He can hold the entire universe together and orchestrate every single detail - from big to small. The Lord has brough me to South Africa to serve alongside the Word of Life staff here and still He cares about me enough to add this small detail of petting a cheetah; which I did not deserve. How Great is our God! Work projects: All week we were busy getting everything ready for the Discipleship Training Center (DTC) students arrival on January 31 (tomorrow). The Word of Life property added on three new rooms that we painted and assembled bunk beds in while the guys installed the showers, sinks, and drain system. I wish we had taken before and after pictures to show how much of a difference all that hard work made. I look forward to welcoming the ne

Wow, what a wonderful last few days. Macy Ford and I flew out of Albany, New York Tuesday morning (Eastern time) and made it to Johannesburg, South Africa Wednesday evening (this time). I already feel so at home. The people here are very welcoming and friendly. I've made many friends (Kodani, Fortunate, Thobsela, and others) and gotten involved in ministry and work projects. I am learning to be a learner of the culture, customs, language, ministry, and most importantly of God.  I love the weather (it's warm, not cold and snowy) and the landscape is beautiful. We got put right to work, assembling bunk beds, making supper, helping with the children and youth at churches, and other random assignments. Tomorrow I will be going to church with Luke and Erin Lacey.  Learning to: build relationships with other people. Put yourself out there and be a blessing in someone else's life. Don't be focused on self or comfort. 

Word of Life Missions Conference is in full swing. We have first year students, second year students, CCI interns, Canadian students, and alumni all back to here God's Word from a missions perspective. Last night was the first session and our speaker was the regional director of South America. He spoke in Spanish while Chris Stout translated for him. Both men are passionate about God's Word and reaching other people with the gospel.  Today I spent some great time catching up with friends I had not seen in a while. One of them was in Nicaragua for three months ministering to young ladies there with difficult backgrounds. It was great to here her perspective of living cross culturally.  I leave the country on Tuesday! I'm definitely getting excited for warm weather and officially starting my cross cultural experience and ministering to the people in Africa. Missions Challenge: Be United! We are One body, One church, under One Lord and Savior.

Twenty-four Cross Cultural Interns with different personalities and backgrounds all going to different cultures around the world. The last few days we have been learning about the two main types of cultures: hot-climate cultures vs. cold-climate cultures. Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya I was surrounded by a hot-climate culture but living in Michigan has been a cold-climate culture experience. A hot-climate culture is very group centered, relational, indirect with their communication, inclusive of everyone around, spontaneous hospitality, high in manners and greetings, and are event conscience more than time conscience. Learning about these has been good and will help once I arrive in South Africa on the 20th of this month; however sitting in New York and hearing about it will be very different to experiencing it first hand and adjusting.  Macy, Caleb, and I are the three interns starting in South Africa this year and we had the chance to talk to Abbie, an intern who has already spent a