God's Timing

These pictures are from a little outing in the country with a family from my church. Simply wonderful :)

"After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you...understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Deuteronomy 9:4-6

I am reminded this week that I can not earn God's love...I can not earn his blessings. They are given freely to me but not because of anything good I have done. I freely accepted the gift of Jesus' life given for me. I surrendered my life to Christ. I am made clean. I am set free. I am washed in love.

Sometimes I have to repeat these truths to myself. I have to remind myself of what it is that Jesus did for me - not that I will ever truly understand the depths of his love. But I have moments of apathy. Moments where I forget what I am doing...what I was sent here to do. And in those moments I remember whose I am. Who gave his life for me. Who shed his perfect blood to cleanse me and give me life. My hope is put in Christ.

Some days I feel lost...But in Jesus I know I am found. Some days I feel tired...But I know where I can find a well of living water. Some days I feel discouraged...But I know that I have the Holy Spirit.

God is more than just a word to me. He is life. He is my caring and loving Daddy who cares for every wound and every heartache. He knows every thought that passes through my stubborn mind. He knows every desire that resounds in my heart. He knows me. "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord." (Psalm 139)

I wanted to update you all today about the progress of my work here in Leon...But when I started writing, all I wanted to do was talk about Jesus. While that is my heart in this moment, I must admit that that isn't the case everyday. I so desperately want that to be my heart everyday. I want Jesus to constantly be on my lips. I want my actions to convey his love and gentleness and mercy. And I want my words to cause change in the hearts of the people here in Mexico. That they would want to follow Christ. I know that I can't convince them to follow Jesus. That is the work of the Holy Spirit and I won't pretend to have that ability. But through prayer we CAN cause change. We can intercede for these people who have probably never been prayed for individually.

Please pray with me for the people in this city: Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. Please pray with me that my heart would be full of love for these people and that Jesus would constantly be on my lips. Please pray for M where we are continuing to work. Please pray for the university work that we finally started last week and will be continuing to do every Tuesday.

I am so grateful for all of you who have been praying and who I know will continue praying. God bless you.

A glimpse into Independence day here in Mexico :) It was a blast!

Mexican Hat Dance

This past month we got to go hiking one weekend :) and it was glorious!

These are my friends I went hiking with.

This past Saturday we had a party at church for the youth to celebrate independence day - it was fun :) This is one of my friends from church who tried to teach me how to dance - see below!

Some traditional Mexican food at the party...sometimes delicious ;) sometimes not haha

This is a very traditional Mexican dish, it is called Pozole. It is also sometimes delicious...and sometimes has weird parts of animals in it (like ear).

"Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:13-14

For some reason it has felt like 2 months since the last time I updated instead of just one. I don't know if it is because a lot of stuff has happened since or if it is because God has really been working in my heart or if it is both.

A lot of things have changed here regarding our ministry. We are no longer working in the orphanage and haven't been for about 2 months (I forgot to update about that...sorry - it happened when I went to Alaska and my mind was such a whirlwind of things to share that I forgot). We also ended our group that was meeting in AA. This group was wonderful but it became a Bible study only full of believers and we want to reach the nonbelievers. Also I have finally started working in a University here with the help of a friend, R. We are planning on passing out flyers for a Facebook group we created - we will not put anything explicitly Christian on the flyer as most of the students will throw them away if we do. We plan on using the group as a way of finding students who are interested and then we will start studies on the campus and use music as an attractant. I am pretty excited about all of this - it seems forever in the making but I am hoping God will really bless our efforts. Also I may have an opportunity to lead a girls university Bible study once a week so please also pray about that.

We are continuing our work in M. And it has been pretty exciting this last month. More and more are joining our Monday night study and tonight we are going to have a party to celebrate the independence of Mexico (the bicentennial) which will actually be on the 15th, Wednesday. Please pray for our group tonight - that more people will come since it is a party ;)

Also, I just wanna share a blessing I had this past week. On Saturdays we have our Youth time in M and we have 4 brothers who come pretty regularly. This week the youth pastor at my church was supposed to lead the study but he cancelled the morning of and so I lead it. We read the story of Nicodemus and discussed what it means to be born again and we read John 3:16. It was really cool to see the boys answer the questions about Jesus correctly although they have not made decisions to follow Him. I shared with them from my heart about Jesus and what it is like to have a relationship with him and it was such a blessing to me to share it with them. I can't really describe it - but I had passion :) and that is something I have felt lacking for a while.

Thank you for continuing to pray for me. Sometimes my mom runs into some of you guys and later tells me that you have been praying for me everyday. What a blessing you all are to me. I am so thankful to have committed prayers. God hears you! It is obvious. God has not only been shifting our ministry but also my attitude towards it which is incredibly exciting. So thank you very much!

Like a Shepherd

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young...He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40

For the last month or so I have been incredibly busy. Hosting a volunteer team from the states and then traveling to Alaska for my beautiful sister's wedding and then coming back and going to a missions retreat and then changing houses last week. I am finally able to rest and actually send out this update :) Through all of this time of being busy God has been working in my heart - Reminding me that I need to rest in him and that he carries me close to his heart like a little lamb. Though I get tired, he doesn't :) Hallelujah! He renews our strength! I have been so amazed at God's faithfulness this last month - why am I ever surprised by that?? He is so loving. We all have hurts and wounds in our lives, whether new or old - God can heal them. Let me repeat that :) God HEALS. God has been healing up old and new hurts in my life and I am in awe of him.

Now :) I wanna share about what has been going on here. I am thankful for your prayers over the volunteer team - it went really really well! We were able to have a soccer tournament in M where we currently have our kids club and an adult Bible study. The goal of the tournament was to meet some of the youth in the area, and it was successful. We are trying to start a Bible study for the youth on Saturday mornings. So far it hasn't been a complete success but we are praying through it and being consistent. This week I am going to be leading the study so please pray that God would show me what to talk about, that he would help me be able to speak clearly in Spanish and that it would touch their hearts. Pray for Ch, Rob, Mar, Oli, and Ale - the youth that we have had come so far :)

This is a group of girls that live in M, some of these come to our kids club on Saturdays :)

This is a glimpse of the soccer tournament...The youth really got into it. Each team had a name and Los Chicles won.

Some of the youth in M that were waiting their turn to play in the tournament.

While the team was here I translated for them several times - this is just one example of it. The girl in the green was sharing her testimony.

My sister and I in Alaska :)

While we were in Alaska we went horseback riding! My first time ever! It was really fun (especially watching my dad do it ;)

My parents and I right before the wedding.

Once I arrived back in Mexico, we had a retreat. One night we had to dress up in traditional Mexican clothing - I only had this shirt from Guatemala so it had to do but the belt and hat are from mexico.

Please continue to pray for our Study on Tuesday nights which will be changing to Mondays, for our study on Wednesday nights, for our Kids club and youth study on Saturdays, and for a new opportunity I have to teach English in M on Monday afternoons. I taught my first class yesterday and I had 3 students. pray over these 3 - Is, Iv, and Mar. Also pray that more would come and that I would be able to develop good friendships with them. Please also pray for the woman in charge of the community center that I am teaching in, she shared with me yesterday that her son is having a lot of problems. Her name is So, and her son's name is Ed.

I want to thank you all again for your prayers. Prayer is the most important part of the work I do here - it is very easy to forget about it even for me, but I know that God hears us and that he wants to touch the lives of the people here in Leon. We don't have to convince him to care ; he already does care :) we just have to be intentional about lifting these people up - he already wants to reach them. I am so thankful to have a group of people back in the states who care about me and who care about the great commission.

In sincere love,

Rachel

This picture was taken in Guanajuato, I got to go with some friend this past month and this little alley is called the kissing alley. The balconies above are so close together that there is a legend of a couple that used to kiss across it. Apparently it is 7 years of good luck for couples who kiss on this step..I decided to wait :)

Challenge: In one of our Bible studies we are currently reading the book of Luke as homework. We are assigning 2 chapters each week and this week - for Wednesday night - it is chapters 7 and 8. As your challenge this month I encourage you to read Luke also. Obviously we are ahead of you but I challenge you to catch up and then stay on track with us or to go on ahead of us and finish it. I hope that you all have a daily time with Lord but if not this will give you a chance to start and if you do then you know the joy of reading Luke :) Please pray for the people here in Mexico before you sit down to read each time you take the time and please remember especially this Bible study - Pray that God will bless it and that he will transform it into his church. This is the Bible study you have already been praying for in A A.

In the last month, we have continued moving along in the works we have started. I have a few pictures to show to help you get visuals of some of it :)

M

~ M. this is a colonia we have been working in for several months now. This Saturday we have a conference for parents. Please pray that all the details come together, that the speakers would have the words they need, that the parents of the kids in our kids club would come, and that the youth from my church would have a good experience as they are going to help us with the kids. Also July 13, 14, and 15 a volunteer team from the states will be helping us in M. We are going to clean up some areas that are covered in garbage and glass and form a temporary soccer field and volleyball court. Then we are going to invite the youth in the area to play as a way of meeting them and hopefully starting a ministry to them. These youth, as are many in the city, are involved in gangs and drugs and have not been given the opportunity to have a good education. Please pray over this volunteer team that God will prepare them and use them and please also pray for the youth in M and for their parents that they will be open to us.

A A

~A A. This is the area I talked about in the Challenge. Also please pray over the Vacation Bible school that we are going to have in this area in July - I won't be able to go because I will be working with the volunteer team that is coming but my friend J will be there.

University (this is on the Catholic University Campus)

~University. I have a huge answer to prayer about this university work! I shared this goal with one of the women at my church and she put me in contact with a guy named R who is graduating from this University and has been leading a Bible study. I went to his last study of the year and all of the students in the study were unbelievers which is very cool. I have met with him since and he is going to be staying in Leon for another year working and he wants to continue working in not only his university but others also! What an answer to prayer! we are now working on coordinating and planning how we want to go about it :) Keep praying over this work and over R.

~Please continue to pray for our Monday afternoons in the orphanage. Honestly the kids treat us horribly - they say bad words in English a lot and try to push our buttons - it is very hard to get them to listen to the lesson. This past Monday as soon as I sat down with them they said something insulting to me which clued me in to the fact that they are seriously hurt children. They try to push us away immediately. Pray that we would continue to show them love and that they would learn through us that God loves them even if their parents don't. Pray that their precious hearts would be open to the gospel and that they could live different and better lives than their parents.

~Please also continue to Pray for Jo - we visited him last thursday and talked about Nicodemus and how we have to be born again. He was so much like Nicodemus - he kept thinking in terms of Spiritual birth. We talked to him about his wall that is covered in idols and he said that there is only one he wants to keep and he walked over and picked up a crucifix and said "this is God" when all of us had unbelieving stares he said "right?" and we just shook our heads no. He is so confused as are many people in this city. Please pray for his salvation and for his neighborhood, San JB.

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away form this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." Jeremiah 24:5-7

To me, this is a really beautiful passage. I believe this is what God wants to do in our lives. He is watching over us for our good and he wants to bring us back to himself. He wants to build us up and not tear us down, to plant us in his word and in his love not uproot us, he wants to give us a heart to know him! It makes me excited to get to know God better. Sometimes when I go to him in prayer I just think "Lord, I can't even picture you. You are too big for me to fathom." But I know that he hears me anyway. God has been teaching me lately that I need to get to know him better. Many times I am praying over things but I don't go to God for the one and only purpose of finding out who he is. I think he calls us to that.

This months Challenge: Plan a night to go eat Mexican - either with a friend or with your family. Make a point to pray over the requests here in Leon before you eat. One method that has worked in Leon to share the gospel is to share with the waiter or waitress and obviously to leave a big tip - because really, who wants to listen to a bad tipper ;). One easy way to share is just to tell them why you came - you can use this challenge as your excuse. Let me know how it goes or if you do it at all :)

Prayer:

• Last Monday we went to the orphanage for the first time. The director never can remember exactly what she has told us from the previous time we met her, which is quite frustrating and ate up about 30 minutes of our time. However, we finally did get to interact with the children and I think it went pretty well. Please pray for these children. Obviously none of them have parents around and many of them have suffered emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Most of them are under the age of 7 or 8. Pray that this ministry would touch their lives and that the director would also come to salvation. Pray for the youth from my church that are coming and helping and learning to teach - Pray that this ministry would be catalytic in their relationships with Christ.
• On Tuesdays we have a Bible study started in colonia M which I have mentioned before and is the same place we are having the Saturday kids club. Our purpose in the kids club is to meet parents who will hopefully want to attend the study. On Thursday night, J and I, went to follow up with some of the parents and to invite them to the study. God really blessed it and several of them expressed interest. Pray that this Tuesday these new women would come and that our study would be full! Pray for me as I lead it in Spanish ;). Also pray for the kids club. As we walked to these different houses it was very obvious that many of these children live with drug-addicted brothers and sisters or parents and that many of them are probably abused. These kids are precious and we are starting to get to know them on a more individual level. Pray over them.
• Pray for a group that we have going in colonia A A. We started this one a couple of months ago and the family has been very faithful to come and very excited to learn from the Bible. If they haven't accepted Christ already, we believe they are about at that point. Pray for us as we lead and try to move forward with them.
• Pray for the University work that I am still trying to figure out how to start. I met with two believers who are students in one of the Universities here and who are trying to reach out on their campus to find out how they are going about it. They shared some good information with me and I have a few ideas now about working but it still isn't clear. Pray for this vision to be completely guided by the Lord.
• The last thing I can think of right now is for several of the women in my church who have decided to form an evangelistic singing group. This is very exciting to me because several people in my church have now expressed their desires to reach out to this city. Pray for wisdom and discernment for me as I try to help them in what ever way I can. I would love to sing with them if possible :) They also need help with vision as to how to actually get out there and make it happen. Pray for these 4 women D, D, A, and M.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

This verse has spoken to me lately. I am praying for love for these people. Sometimes, honestly, they are hard to love. They look at me funny and constantly try to speak English to me when I am speaking Spanish (which can be slightly discouraging when they think their "hello, how are you" is better than my 7 months of learning), and a mountain of other reasons that would not be edifying to me or you all if I went into them. The point is, is that God has called us to love. I am praying that my heart will be overflowing with love for these people and that when offended my heart will immediately say "they know not what they do." I encourage you all to love those around you as well. Especially those who offend or hurt - pray for them. God will bless it :)

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Prayer

All,

I have made a short video with pictures and a video of a little colonia here in Mexico - I hope you enjoy it and that it catches you up on a little bit of what I have been living in lately. These people need your prayer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weImBrfNaxk

Challenge :) I have seriously been thinking of creative ways to help all of you back at home remember to pray for Leon, Mexico. I have several ideas which I will disclose in later updates as I have decided to give you a new challenge each time. (or as long as I can come up with new ones :) This update's challenge is as follows:

Please write a word or scripture reference on the inside of your wrist. Mine is as follows:

Please pray for Leon each time you see your wrist. Once it washes off you don't have to rewrite it :) unless you want to. Also, please leave comments here on this blog about what God showed you through this challenge and how other people around you responded to seeing you faithfully remember Leon in prayer. This can easily be a way for you guys to share the truth of Christ with those around you as they see your wrists. This will also be a huge encouragement to me!

Prayer needs:

• I have contacted an orphanage here in town and am trying to set up a time when the youth at my church can go and teach these little kids about the Bible and generally just love on them. Please pray that this will work out. So far the youth minister is very excited about it and has recruited several of the youth to go. Please pray that all of the details will come together. We are planning on going on friday afternoons!
• Please be in prayer for a neighborhood called M. We are starting to work in this area and are trying to meet families to start Bible studies. We have met one wonderful lady who is a Christian and has opened up her home for us to use to invite people to study the Bible. We had a children's event there on Friday, April 30th to try to meet some of the parents and to just leave a favorable impression on the area. We had prayed for at least 100 kids thinking this to be a number too high but God provided about 200 kids! It was very chaotic and we were all exhausted afterwards but overall it went well. We invited the kids to come to a kids club that we are starting on Saturday mornings. Pray that the right amount of kids will come and that we will be able to prepare well for it. We are having these clubs the last 4 saturdays in May, starting May 8th. Please pray that this will lead to Bible studies in this area and that children and parents will come to salvation. Our ultimate goal is a church! Here are a couple of pictures from the event. Preparing balloon animals for the kids and actually breaking the pinata :)

• We are also trying to start work in another area of town called San J. B. We don't really know how to start here so please pray doors will be opened. We have started partnering with a social organization in town and we may have some entry into the schools through them - hopefully we can meet some parents. Obviously God has to prepare their hearts, so pray that God will be working on people's hearts throughout this area.
• Also, continue to pray for entry into the Universities. I am still unsure of how to go about starting this work and really my heart hasn't been in it. Please pray for God to change my heart about this. I want to have an open heart to these students and a strong desire to share the truth with them.
• Also, I am currently involved in 4 different Bible studies. I am leading the study in one and leading music in the other 3. Please pray for the people in these Bible studies. Pray that as they read the words for themselves that it would become alive to them as it has become to me and to all of you who believe. Pray for their salvation! :) Pray for wisdom for us who are leading the studies and for me as I lead worship.

Thank you all so much for you prayers and encouragement! I love hearing from you all so keep letting me know you are alive! Let me know how I can be praying for you also - I consider it a privilege.

love,

Rachel

I also have decided that I want to leave you with a bit of God's word. God has been graciously opening up his word to me lately and so I will share with you from what he has been showing me.

"A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it." Proverbs 22:3

I find that so often I see something in front of me that looks good or looks smart - and it may be - but sometimes these things are not God's best for us. I have learned this the hard way what seems a million times now. I want to encourage you all to examine the things that are taking place in your lives. Is there danger in them? Not physical danger, but the danger of a separated relationship with Jesus. Is there sin? Are you continuing on a path that will not lead to holiness? If we see danger, the Bible says if we are prudent we will take refuge, and if we are simple in our thinking we will keep going after it. What does that lead to? Suffering. First hand experience with suffering - it stinks! Let us be prudent in our decision making and let us take refuge in the father when we see danger ahead :)

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The PEACE of Christ

A woman literally walking on her knees up to the alter of the Virgin of San Juan
You will notice above the lit up idol of Jesus a box with a doll in a dress - this is the Virgin of San Juan - they take her out every few months to parade her through the streets.
A woman lifting her arms to form a cross as she prayed during a processional on good friday - this day is the most holy day of the year for Mexican catholics - they reenact the passion of Christ and never once mention his resurrection. They do nothing on Sunday.

To my brothers and sisters living in the States,

I have much to share about the past few weeks here in Mexico but I feel the need to encourage you in this moment from what God has been teaching me. As many or all of you know, my transition to Mexico has been much more difficult than I ever anticipated. When I thought of missions, I envisioned a great adventure - I expected to be on fire for Christ and set others on fire as well. What I have found instead is a daily choice to surrender my being to Him, my creator. I have always learned the most during struggles and I don't think I have ever grown as much as I have during the last 3 months. I am being edified in Him daily as I wait for his strength to fill me. No matter where we are at or what we are doing, whether we are happy or sad, in plenty or in want we have the choice to surrender ourselves to Christ and follow His direction in every decision. This is what I have been learning - to daily tell Jesus that I am not enough and that I need Him to be enough for me. What I have found through this time of hardship is a deeper relationship with God. I have always heard about the peace of Christ and even talked about it as if I understood it - but the truth is, I don't think I ever really grasped what that peace was until a few days ago. In what should have been the most difficult of days since I arrived here, I found myself standing firm in the loving arms of Jesus. I found myself laughing and even experiencing joy. And since that day I have continued to feel that peace covering me. How is it possible I wonder? How is it that I am still standing? how is it that I have the strength and the desire to keep moving forward? To continue to share the truth of Christ with the most lost people I have ever met? It is God! It is His love for me, the weakest of women, that sustains me. It is His peace that is filling me up in these days and even giving me joy to dive into this work and to love these people more. Praise Jesus!

What I am trying to tell you all through this small testimony to God's grace is that HE is enough for you. Please submit yourselves to Him in this moment. Please give yourself completely to Him. While I know some of you are so strong in the faith, I also know that no matter how strong we are, we are still going to hit walls and have hard days. Submit yourselves to Christ in the good and the bad - Sometimes it is more painful to submit and to wait in Him but goodness! it is so worth it! Surrender and experience His peace - it is more incredible than I have words to describe.

Obviously I still need your prayers. Please pray for my ministry here - pray that I will have wisdom and discernment in how to go about reaching and helping these people. Please pray for my heart in these next few weeks - pray that God will heal all wounds and that I will be able to love more fully. Pray for entry into the Universities so that I can begin ministries in them. Pray that I will be able to find the social service agencies in this city and that God will give me wisdom in how to work with them. Pray for people of peace and for softened hearts as I share the word of God - pray that it will not fall on deaf ears. Just pray for this city.

I can not thank you enough for your support and prayer - God hears you and has been answering. I love your sweet notes of encouragement that remind me I am not forgotten. I am praising my Father for you all :)

Continue following Christ, reading his word daily, and actually living by what the word says.

"But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:17-18

This is a video demonstrating how to receive a free hour of Skating! Also demonstrating how to have fun when you love to skate and sing - 2 of my favorite things ;)