2 or 28, it's all the same

Many times, when I teach Bible time to the kiddos, I am challenged myself by God's Word. Sometime, I have to get real before God and work out things before I can go before the kids and teach. Sometimes God speaks to me and says "Rachel, you're teaching them that I am good, you're singing "God is so good" but you're heart doesn't believe it. Do you believe what you're teaching? Does your life show that you believe Me?"
One of those moments happened just a bit ago. Our lesson was about prayer. And, the text was when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Our lessons are VERY simplified - they're 2, remember.) So, the lesson boiled down to Jesus praying, "God, help me to do what You want. Help me to do what pleases You."
What pleases God? We focused on 3 things: obeying our mommies & daddies, being kind to our friends, and being thankful.
The Lord challenged me in my obedience to Him. We define obedience in childcare as: right away, with a happy attitude. Many times, with the Lord, I drag my feet. I need to listen to what I teach the kids, and God is faithful to show me those areas that are not pleasing to Him.
The other area that God has been showing me where I am deficient is thanksgiving. He blesses me everyday. I take so much for granted. He is opening my eyes to His work around me & in me, and asking me to thank Him for what He is doing and to give Him the praise He is due.

Praises in the Latin Church

Every week, we as a ministry team meet for prayer and to plan whatever is coming up that we are responsible for (ie. the weekend hangout at our places.)
We have begun to see fruit in the church, and I believe it is a direct response to prayer. It is work only the Lord can do & I have been delighted to see Him work. It has been a huge blessing to me and I have grown more in my journey of learning about prayer.
One of the things we have been praying for is that the people would be hungry for God and for His Word. We prayed that they would be faithful to read the Bible and that they would be growing in their relationship with the Lord. As part of that, we gave Christmas presents to every family and we also gave out Bible reading plans, beginning with the basics - John, Genesis, and other foundational books. And, we continued to pray. As we visited with people in their homes and at church, we began to hear about their excitement in what they were reading & learning from the Scripture.
I was visiting Esteban & Blanca's house, and they were both telling me what they were learning. Esteban got so excited. He went and got the reading plan & his Bible. He showed me the chapters of John that he had been reading. (In each chapter, there is a phrase they have to find & then write down the verse number they found the phrase in.) He told me that as he read, he would get so involved in what he was reading, he forgot about the phrase & all of a sudden he would realize that he was half-way through the following chapter. So, he would go back & read it all again to be able to find the phrase. Sometimes, he said he read the day's portion three times so as to understand it better.
Part of our Sunday night prayer meeting has been opened up to let people share what God is teaching them in His Word. It has been a blessing to me to hear what God is doing in their lives, and as God's Word never returns void, it has been a challenge to me also in areas that God needs to work in my life.
God is revealing Himself to them through His Word. He is at work, doing what only He can do - changing people's hearts & drawing them to Himself. I rejoice to see Him in action - magnifying Himself here on the lake.
We have also seen a growth in the youth - in their understanding of God, in their trust in Him, and the difference that He makes in their practical life. One quick example: One of the girls, Brianda, was a cheerleader. Since she had become a cheerleader, her attitude was different - more sullen, tired, not participative, depressed. Seeing the change in her and how she was affected by her environment, several of us were praying for her. When I returned from Christmas break in January, I talked to her about her break, school, etc. She told me she had quit cheering. I was surprised, because I knew it was important to her. I was rejoicing when she told me why: she saw the effect the other cheerleaders had on her and how her reputation as a Christian was affected just for being associated as a cheerleader, even though she was trying not to be like them. She knew that God wanted her to quit cheering because it wasn't a good atmosphere for her, and she obeyed. She is back to her old self - smiling, joyful, compassionate, praying for her classmates who don't know Christ. God is alive & working! Rejoice.

A special day

This past week was my birthday, I'm now a whole 28 years old!! Woohoo! Some friends had told me to save Tuesday night so they could take out for my birthday. I thought I would slip through with a quiet birthday, celebrating over supper with a few friends. However, I was in for a few surprises.
It all started Sunday night at prayer meeting. Afterwards, we usually have some fellowship time, which usually involves food, before everyone heads home. Someone had told that it was my birthday coming up, so they had a cake for me & for little Emerson, whose birthday was Monday.I was one of the first ones to leave the meeting because I had been invited to watch a movie with a long-time friend from Panama that night. Emerson's family had called me that afternoon to ask for a ride to church, so I had to leave early to be able to take them home & then get home in time to start the movie not too late. I finally got home, changed from my church clothes into comfortable lounge clothes, scarfed a bowl of cereal, and ran up to my friends' house. She greeted me at the door, and as I stepped into the house, I realized I was walking into my own birthday party! It's the first surprise party I've had that I was surprised at! :) Thanks guys, you're awesome!

They'd written to my Mom in PNG to find out what my favorite cake was. My mom sent 2 cakes that I like - super moist chocolate cake & cheesecake. My friend made both of them! My Mom & Dad had a bouquet of flowers there waiting for me.

Thanks, guys, you made me feel so special.

My ministry team & my friends from Panama planned the party. I found out afterwards, that as soon as I left the prayer meeting, they jumped in their cars to rush back to campus to make sure they got to the party house before I did. :) They made it!

Then, Tuesday morning, I showed up at work to find my co-teachers decorating the room with balloons & streamers. I went to get snack ready, and there was a tray of cupcakes ready for celebrating! One of the little girls also has a March b-day, so we celebrated together.

Do you think they enjoyed the cupcakes?

I know they did! They loved the birthday party, and so did I.

Thanks, Edna & Christine, for making my day special!

I'm so thankful for the people that God used to remind me that I'm loved and cherished. Thank you all!

This weekend (edited - content added)

This past weekend, we (those of us from NTM who attend & work with the Latin church) invited the youth from the church out to our campus to overnight & then hang out on Sunday. (We meet Saturday night - many of the Latins work on Sunday and since we share a facility with an American church, the building is generally empty that night.)
Saturday night, we watched a movie, then hit the hay. Sunday morning, we had breakfast all together, then we had a devotional - a time of sharing, praising the Lord, and prayer. Afterwards, we sent the kids on a treasure hunt all over campus.

We saw God answer prayer in several ways. We had a good turn-out: 8 in total-6 of them are regulars, 1 doesn't attend regularly, and 1 was an invited friend.
We experienced the most exciting answers to prayer Sunday morning. We had planned to spend much of Sunday outside with the treasure hunt. However from the moment that weekend appeared on the weather forecast, the meteorologists predicted a rain & clouds all day. We began to pray and asked some other to pray, at least that during the time for the treasure hunt it would be clear. Saturday night, still the forecast was: RAIN. I woke up early Sunday morning, took a shower, and as I sat on my stoop for devotions and some quiet time with the Lord (some of the girls were sleeping in my house), huge dark storm clouds rolled in and it began to rain. I wasn't too worried, b/c God had plenty of time to stop the rain. It was another few hours until the treasure hunt. I went in to make breakfast & as the other kids arrived, I noticed the rain was stopping. After we finished eating, I went outside to check the sky. It was clear! The clouds were COMPLETELY GONE!! There wasn't more clouds waiting to come, it was CLEAR!! The rest of the day was a beautiful day. Clear, bright, sunny. Exactly OPPOSITE of what the meterologists predicted. THAT'S MY GOD!!! It rained just a few minutes. God did over & above what we asked for. I think He was just showing off - showing us how abundently He can provide for us & bless us. The kids noticed it too, and praised the Lord for the clear, sunny day!
The other praise was equally exciting. We had asked the Lord for an opportunity to share the Gospel with anyone who wasn't saved. Toward the end of the devotional, we were taking prayer requests for a time of prayer. One of the girls asked prayer for unsaved family members. The friend that was invited asked, "What does it mean to be saved?" Sam was able to take a few minutes and explain our need for a Saviour to save us from sin and to provide a way for us to have a relationship with God. We praise God for this open door to have be a witness in Kat's life. She attends a church that does not teach the Gospel, and we pray that the Lord will be working in her life, convicting her of sin & her need of a Saviour.

Here are some pics of the weekend: (You can see what a gorgeous day it was!!)

One of the teams is super excited to find the next clue!

The other team is trying to figure out the clue they just got from off a buoy in the middle of the lake.

With each clue, they gathered letters. The very last clue gave them the final letters they needed to unscramble the words "Icecream @ DQ." So, after lunch, we headed to town to celebrate with icecream. It was a very rewarding time, and it was good to hang out with the kids, building relationships with them in a much more casual atmosphere than weekly church meetings.

Please pray that the youth would grow in their relationship with the Lord and that they would be godly testimonies to those around them - at work, at school, and at home.

A week's difference

A week ago, Saturday, this is what it looked like outside when my brother came back from taking a shower in the washhouse. (Our apartments have bathrooms, but no showers. So, we head to the washhouse to wash clothes & ourselves.)

Not even a week later, on Friday afternoon, it was 80some outside. It was definately starting to get hottish. So, a friend, Holly Tiegs & I solved that by jumping in the lake! My first swim of the year. :)

Gotta love Missouri weather!

The Team

One of the things that has brought me great joy has been the opportunity to be involved with the Latin church here at the Lake. And, one of the reasons that that brings so much joy is the team that I get to serve with at the church. There are five of us that attend & are involved in the church. Some of our responsibilities are to lead worship, play guitar & piano, produce powerpoints for worship songs, and teach the youth during Bible study time. We are all involved in relationships with the people - youth & adults, those who are bilingual and those who only speak Spanish - many of these relationships extend beyond church hours. It has been such a blessing & an encouragement to see how God has worked in the church these past few months and answered prayer.
God has given us such a unity and a like-mindedness in sprit and purpose. It is my priviledge to know these guys and to work with them. As you pray for me, would you pray for each of them, also, as they look to the Lord for wisdom & guidance in their daily lives & future ministry?
There are a few other "white" people who go to the church. This couple has been involved with the church for about 4 years now. They attend the American church where the Latin church meets and help out with worship & teaching the kids during Bible study hour. We all got together for a time of food & fellowship and just had a fun time of getting to know each other better.

I praise the Lord for the friends & co-workers with whom He has surrounded me. They are a blessing, encouragement, and joy to me.