Rachel's Reflections

Which is worse? An all out war with guns blazing and bombs dropping on the other side of the world? Or the instigators of a nearby attack sending out a video of a mutilated person to spread fear? Or a sneak attack by the Enemy in your own heart? I drove up to Pemba on Thursday to renew my visa. I only heard about the attack on Ukraine late in the day. That same evening I heard of a new, brutal attack north of here. Both news items are serious and I feel for those who have been impacted. This week God also shone a light on a sneak attack that occurred within my own heart.  The smaller dog followed me as I turned the lights on outside. Sweet Canela, she just wanted to play. Excited, she wriggled her back end for lack of a tail and jumped around me. Unfortunately, her claw snagged my arm and drew blood. Later, after having a good conversation with my counselor, I looked down at the scratch.  How pretty the red mark looked against my pale, white skin. You could start cutting yours...

I marveled at my newly arrived teammates. Bruna's husband, Vinicius, led us down the winding dirt path to meet up with a local pastor. Vinicius had discovered a community with Mwani people tucked away in such an unlikely spot I had no idea it existed. "My heart is bursting with joy!" Bruna said next to me. "I'm so proud of my husband for connecting with Pastor Daudi. He's flourishing here!" I turned and smiled at Bruna. Behind her, I  spotted the cathedral that stands in the center of Nampula city, a small landmark on the distant horizon. A green landscape spread out before us. I breathed in the fresh, clean air and felt it cleanse away some of the frustrations of living in a chaotic, dirty city. Gratitude filled me for being invited along. Pastor Daudi came towards us down a different path. He waved and greeted each one of us and took us to the first Mwani home. The customary greetings ensued and introductions were made. I let the Kimwani words flow ove...

How would you fill in the blank? For the love of _____: Pete? Money? People? God? I had to learn the correct answer this week. "Please write your expectations and what you want to learn in this English class," I told my students. After class, I  glanced at their answers and felt guilt creeping into my cheeks. How could I miss the most important thing?! Several of them made comments about learning to pray, listening to sermons, or better understanding Scripture.  To my chagrin, I had focused solely on the English material I had been given without a thought for how to keep God at the center of it all. I hadn't even prayed at the beginning of the lesson. I revamped things for the following week: Start class with a memory verse in English. Pray in English. Play a worship song in English to improve their listening skills. I'm expected to teach the students English, but I'm teaching at a seminary for crying out loud, I can't leave God out of it. The second class wen...

Sometimes helping A__ with her English feels trivial. Am I making a difference? How does this have any eternal value? Is she even learning?  I brought one of my discipleship girls along to A__'s house because Mimi also wants to learn English. After introductions were made, I started reviewing the basics. A__ excelled. She answered every question. She explained a few things for Mimi. While  A__ sang the alphabet song my ears picked up the background notes of the trickling creek nearby. I felt encouraged by the end of the lesson. A__ has made great progress since I started working with her in June. Hopefully Mimi will too. Mimi and I stood up to leave, saying goodbye to the grandparents A__ lives with.  "Stay and eat a meal with us," they said, "it's almost ready." These grandparents, raising a swarm of grandkids, have very little, yet the grandmother is always hospitable. They insisted to the point I knew it would be rude to refuse. A few minutes later they b...