fly Saturday?

Well, I was hoping to be on a plane right now, flying to Atlanta, and then to Panama. However, I'm flying on a space available basis. When I made the reservations, today looked good. But now, there are no empty seats leaving Dallas today or tomorrow. So, the next chance is Saturday. The chances are SLIM that day, though, so would you pray with me that God would open up the way for me to fly on Saturday?
Thanks.

I'm leaving on a jet plane!

Well, not quite this caliber, although this jet plane would be much more fun!

Thursday I will be heading to Panama on an airliner! I would appreciate it if you would pray for safety and that I would be a blessing to those around me.
Thanks.

Meditations

As I was driving down here to Texas, I had plenty of time to think - well, 13 hours to be exact! I reflected on this past year, praising the Lord for what He has done. As I said goodbye to friends in Missouri, several people shared with me how the Lord had used me in their lives. As I was thinking, a song came on my mp3 player that puts words to what I am feeling:

Grace Alone - by Scott Wesley Brown & Jeff Nelson
Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.

Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace

Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.

Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.

Grace alone which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us, our Cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone.

It is only by God's grace that I am anything. And, it is only by His grace & Him working in me that I can be of any good to others. I know people look up to me or admire me because I'm a missionary, but I know what is in myself - my weaknesses, my timidity, my selfishness. I'm nothing special, I just have a super powerful and gracious God that can take this worthlessness and make it of use to others.

As I was driving through OK City, I switched to the local Christian radio, and a song came on that I had not heard in a long time, but it mirrors the sentiments of the song above and echoes what I've been meditating on in Philippians 3:8 "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him."

In Christ Alone - sung by Brian Littrell (I don't know who wrote it)
In Christ alone I place my trust
And find my glory in the power of the cross
In every victory Let it be said of me
My source of strength My source of hope
Is Christ alone

In Christ alone do I glory
For only by His grace I am redeemed
For only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness to my need
And now I seek no greater honor than just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses to the glory of my Lord

A Video Ministry Update

Woohoo! I'm catching up to technology. Here's my first ministry video. Hope it gives you a better perspective about what's ahead. Enjoy!

A little language lesson

Nahuat is the language spoken by the people of Las Moras.
Did you know that you can speak some Nahuatl (NAH-waht)?
Let's see...

What is this?

Yep, chocolate! The Nahuatl word is xocolātl. (The "x" is pronounced "sh.")

Give up yet? The Nahuatl word is tomatl.

This fella is called coyōtl.

In Nahuatl, this is a āhuacatl.

This one may be a hard one if you don't know your types of cats. In Nahuatl it's called an ocēlōtl.

These are just 5 words that we've borrowed from Nahuatl. Here are some more... cacao, cocoa, chayote, chili, guacamole, mesquite, quetzal, shack, tamale... and Spanish, especially Mexican Spanish has many more.

A Visual

This is a video my partners, Tom & Teresa Elkins made for their church. It has some photos from several trips that Tom & Ron made into the village doing community development projects for the people. Hopefully it gives you a visual of what it will be like... :)
Unfortunately, one thing that has changed since these trips were made is that flying into the village is no longer an option for us. For several reasons, that is no longer feasible. We will be driving in and out each time we travel unless God works several miracles.

The people of Las Moras

The people of Las Moras are one group in 30 that form the Nahuatl language group in Mexico. They are the descendents of the ancient Aztecs that used to rule central Mexico.
They are friendly, hardworking people and have been very receptive to our visits and desire us to live among them.
The people in and around Las Moras number around 1000 people and live in villages scattered in the mountains.
This is part of the village where we will be living.
It is right on the edge of a cliff! Makes for gorgeous views!
This is the road that we will be using to travel into & out of the tribe. It's a long, bumpy drive!
Here's some more pictures of the people:

Introducing... My Team

God has opened the doors for me to work with the people of Las Moras in Mexico. There is no Gospel witness there - no believers - no Bible - no truth. Lord willing, we will be able to present God's truth to these people in a few years when we know their language & culture.
So, let me introduce you to those with whom I will be working:

My Team - My Co-workers - My Partners

Dan & Sarah Alkire - Josiah - Dan & Sarah are both children of missionaries. Actually, Sarah's family was in Panama with us & the two of us were in a dorm together at the boarding school! I've known them for a long time & it is cool that now God has brought us together to serve Him on the same team.
Ron & Tasha Davis - Ben, Emma, Josh, Nathaniel - I met Ron & Tasha when they went to Mexico in September 06. I was the newest on the field, but acted as their "host" kinda. How ironic! They were the only missionary family within walking distance of my house. I hope they enjoyed my spontaneous visits! :) They had been serving in another country, but moved to Mexico when it was no longer possible for them to be where they were.
Katie Moore will be homeschooling the Alkire & Davis children. This will free up Sarah & Tasha to have more time to dedicate to learning the language & culture of the Las Moras people.
Tom & Teresa Elkins began to have a ministry in the Las Moras area about 10 years ago. Despite many setbacks, they are continuing to do community development projects and will be supporting us as we live in the village.

This summer, the whole team is taking a "summer furlough" visiting churches and family before the move into the tribe. Lord-willing, we'll all be back in Mexico in August and then get ready to build houses in the tribe & move in.

More details to follow... :)

Memorial Day a la Mexicana

Arriving late, like a good Latin, although, perhaps this time it was a little too late, but I had to come from an hour & a half away and I didn't find out about the party until after I was supposed to be there! :)
Friends from Chile & Nicaragua
Sebastian playing a little for the kids.
Gerardo, the pastor of the Latin church, hosted the get-together.
Mmmm.... Grilled chicken, beef, sausage... watermelon, warm homemade tortillas, beans, rice. What more could you want?
A feast shared with friends. A great way to spend a holiday.

I'm a Survivor!!

11 kids - 4 hours a day - 5 days a week - whew!

This is the reason for all the work everyday. My job made it possible for these people to be trained for cross-cultural ministry. Some of them are now heading out to different countries around the world to expand the reach of the Gospel. Others have another semester before they head out. Please pray for them as they embark on this new stage of life's journey, that they would be faithful.

Another camping trip

We try to do fun things periodically with the Latin youth group. Last semester we camped outside for a night, in the yard of one of the Latin families who lives out of town. We had the fun things about camping but with some modern ammenities - bathroom & kitchen to help prepare food. It was such a hit that we decided to replicate it this semester, but go a little more primitive.
One of the families from the American church I attend has some property out in the country and offered to let us use it to camp. So, we took them up on it. Praise the LORD for the gorgeous weather we had both Friday & Saturday.
There were a few non-normal camping apparatus that we enjoyed.
Despite the means of cooking with gas in the background, we chose to make our dinners over the fire.
Going with the model "Don't fix what ain't broke" and since TFD's (tin foil dinners, aka hobo dinners) worked so well the first camping trip, we had them again.
After a walk and a few games, we had a time of getting real at the campfire. It was a time of honestly sharing before the Lord and others some of our struggles. It was good to hear the kids open up & to see how they're doing & with what they are struggling.
I also had the opportunity to share some of the things I've learned over this past year, especially about who God is and how knowing Him and His character affects my behaviour and what my response to Him should be. I especially appreciated the opportunity to share because I only have a short time left with the youth before I'm planning to head back to Mexico.
This was the girls tent. Although, 2 of us slept outside. I slept out in the open under the stars, and another girl slept in her hammock. Right before we loaded up the cars to head back to "civilization," we took a group picture. Although we did not realize that just a second before, two of the girls had run off to see something. We took the picture, loaded up the cars with the two of them who had returned and blended into the group. We didn't realize that we were missing the girls in the picture until we were looking at the pictures later on the computer.
But anyway, here we are...all but two. :)

10K race

I had the opportunity to run a 10K race this weekend with 7 other friends from NTM. 2 others ran the 5K race at the same time. It was fun to do it as a group - seeing your friends at different stages of the race as you pass each other on the parts that you backtrack. And, we had a cheering section, too! That was fun.The first 3 miles, Danielle & I ran together. It was fun to have someone with whom to run - to comment about what we were seeing and to pace each other.
Here's 8 of us at the end of the race. 2 others had already left.

The Living One

He is not dead. He is alive! Death is not strong enough. The grave couldn't hold Him. Everything is under His authority.
"O, Death, where is your victory? O, Death, where is your sting?"

This is what John saw years after the Resurrection:
When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw...standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
When I saw Him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But He laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One. I died, but look - I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave."
He has triumphed! He has conquered all! He's alive, today!

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.