Rachel's Reflections

Do I truly love my neighbor? No But I bring her food when she doesn't have enough But I sit and spend time talking with her But I pray for her regularly But I talk about my faith with her But I invite her over to cook with me But I care about her How can I say I truly love her, that I'm her friend, if I never share the way of salvation with her? If I truly believe that Jesus is " the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through [Him] " then anyone who does not believe in Him is eternally lost. How can I not directly offer to her the most important thing I have in life? Why else did I leave my family, friends, and comfort zone to live in a different place? Was it not for the sake of the Gospel? But in my weakness, I'm afraid. What if she gets offended? What if it breaks the relationship? The Holy Spirit convicted me, gave me courage and the opportunity To share the way of salvation wit...

I wasn't officially looking for a car when suddenly God basically dropped one into my lap. At a craft market a friend asked me "Rachel, have you bought a car yet?" I told her I had just started looking around at what type of car I wanted, but wanted to get my Mozambique driver's license first. "I know someone who is selling three cars, he keeps them in good condition, which is rare here in Mozambique. You should jump on the opportunity while it's here." He "just happened" to be sitting nearby and she introduced us. He told me about one of the cars. I asked him to send me the details and pictures so I could think about it. I ran it past my team leader to see what he thought of that kind of car (if the parts are readily available), the price (less than $4,000), etc. He said everything sounded great. A mechanic looked it over and said it was in good condition. Four days later this car was in my possession: A week later and I now have ...

"No, I'm not going to my church in Chibubware tomorrow," I told Mama R, "I'm going to the missionary fellowship to teach the children a story." "I want to hear the story." "Okay, but I'll need to practice it in Portuguese first." ..... Monday I practiced the story in Portuguese with my guard's wife (a Christian) and she gave me some pointers. "Lord, thank you for this opportunity. May Mama R learn about who You are through this story." I took my Child Evangelism Fellowship flashcard book in hand and walked towards her house. I met her on the street, sitting with Mama S... "Okay Lord, I wasn't expecting to do it on the street...." "What do you have?" Mama R asked. "The story I told the kids yesterday. I just practiced it in Portuguese so I could tell you." "I'm ready," she responded; Mama S leaned in. (Here goes, Lord) "Imagine you are ...

Today, one of the Mwani neighborhoods had a festival. I'll be honest that I got bored during some of the speeches, but it was a good experience over all, especially to do as a team. Ana helped Evelyn and I put our head-wraps on. I think she did a great job! And we had some ladies put some design paint on our faces. I had fun playing with my little friend Theo :) even though we got surrounded by a group of kids watching us. I loved learning about the different foods and choosing what I wanted to try. It was a hard choice because of all the good options, but I was very happy with my tasty purchases. I was able to practice some of the Kimwani I've been learning with new people. The purpose in going as a team was to continue to build good relationships in that neighborhood to pave the way for the Gospel to move forward in that area, as a good team building activity, and to learn about the culture.