Rachel's Reflections

I used to run into the back yard, straight to the bushes, and find my chameleon friends. I would laugh as they tickled their way up my arm, to my shoulder, and into my hair. Today, I got to relive that memory a little bit (see it on my hand?). It's our day off from training and we had fun hiking near a crater, stretching our legs after three straight days of sitting in "class." Day one of training we each shared our story of how God brought us to where we are today, being His ambassadors of the Gospel in Africa. It was interesting reflecting on how God brought me from Kenya as a child (bottom left), to the experiences and training I received with Child Evangelism Fellowship and Word of Life (near top), back to Africa with my internship (center of R), to Mozambique full-time with Africa Inland Mission, and everything in between. One other special rewind to childhood was visiting the airplane hangar my dad used to work at in Nairobi. After 17 years I still reme...

Pemba, a place I have learned to call home. But yesterday I traveled to Kenya for a 3 week training. As the plane descended toward Nairobi I felt like I was coming home. I have called many places home, but Kenya holds a special place in my heart because of all my wonderful, childhood memories. I count it a huge blessing to be a Third Culture Kid. Caught between cultures, I often see the world differently through a unique set of lenses. I can flex back and forth to fit in or understand one culture or another. But at the same time, the feeling of never truly belonging hovers at the edge of the heart. Theo and Malu, my little traveling companions, children of my Brazilian teammates, are now experiencing the life of Third Culture Kids. They are really good friends and it's cute to see them together. Theo was excited to be traveling with "Tia Tachel" (Aunt Rachel as he pronounces it in Portuguese) and stuck with me most of the trip from Pemba to Nai...

"Do you understand why Jesus died on the cross?" I asked her after listening to the end of John and the beginning of Acts in Kimwani. "No," my house help answered as we finished cleaning the bedrooms. In my not-so-perfect Portuguese vocabulary I tried explaining that Jesus had died on the cross for us. We are sinners deserving of punishment, but Jesus, God-in-flesh, took our punishment for us. Three days later He came back to life again, and anyone who believes in Jesus, as God, for the forgiveness of their sins, is forgiven and has eternal life. She understood perfectly what I was trying to say and even helped fill in some of the important vocabulary words I had forgotten in Portuguese. I asked her if she knew what will happen when she dies, she responded no. I told her I know that when I die I will go to heaven because I believe in who Jesus is and what He did on the cross. I explained to her that this is the only real difference between her and I. If she bel...