A Short Part Before the Last Part of My Story... right now

12 years ago, my aunt and uncle knew God had called them to go to France to be missionaries. God used telling them to go to set a spark in my own life. I was certain at that point that God wanted me to go with them to France. So I began pursuing that by asking if I could study French in high school instead of Spanish, paying more attention in Bible class, I don't know, I was set on going.

Having studied French for four years, I talked with my parents and aunt and uncle about actually going to France. It was my desire to go for a year and just serve by cleaning or whatever was necessary. When I turned 18, we decided to get my passport- this was a really long and discouraging time based on all the paperwork they required. How is a home-school student supposed to have a school ID? (That was fun to make.) I was talking with my sister Sarah about it once and she said, "Rachel, do you think that maybe God doesn't want you to go to France?"
"No, of course He wants me to go. This has been on my heart for longer than anything else. It's been there for 6 years..."
"Ok," Sarah said, "but just remember that if He doesn't want you to go there, He has somewhere better for you to go." This really pierced me. 1)I was positive God wanted me to go, so why was it so hard? 2) If I hadn't been getting God's prompting to do, this than did I really know what His promptings were like? 3) Had I been trying to manipulate God into something I wanted?

My passport application had finally been sent in and now I was just waiting for it to come so I could purchase my plane tickets. One day, some family friends living in Russia said that there was another family in Russia that was about to have twins. There wasn't a need spoken, it was more of a joyous announcement, but immediately, Mom, Dad, Sarah, Ben, and I all knew that I was supposed to got to Russia. I tried to figure out how I could do both, but no, the time that I would be "needed" in Russia was the time I had planned to go to France and by the time I was done with all of that, I would be out of money.

There are two major things I think God wanted to teach me through this time:
1) God will often use what we believe wholeheartedly that we should be doing to get us to where we can be used by Him. There was no way I would have gotten a passport before I was 18 if I hadn't thought it was needed for France.

2) I'm positive God asked me during this time if I was actually willing to go anywhere He wanted me to go. It's really easy to tell God, "I will go anywhere you want," and even mean it wholeheartedly when you are home. However, when you are far away from your family and you need to answer that question, it feels very different.

I don't want this post to be super long, so I'll stop here and do the last little bit sometime later... maybe never. :)

Dumbfounded!

So much has happened and it has all been a whirlwind. I'm sure it has been for all of you as well. Life keeps moving and what a good thing that is!

Since I last wrote, I had the pleasure of finally getting to visit my Aunt and Uncle in France. I've been wanting to visit them for the past 10-12 years (kinda before they even moved). The food, the conversation, the time of rest (for me); it's all summed up in fabulous fellowship. Getting to see a brief glimpse into a slow week of theirs - quite a time! :)

I've now made it to Austria. I look out the window and wonder how I can wake up in such a beautiful place. I look in front and behind me and see the Alps! I feel so privileged to go hiking in the mountains and enjoy their beauty and grandeur.

I think that wherever we are, different things about God stand out to us. Recently I've been listen to songs about Jesus coming back or even just how Awesome He is. And in the two songs I'm thinking of, they both say that "the mountains bow in reverence". I know mountains. I live with them at home and this home. But here, I am completely surrounded by them, and, being a visual person, imaging these beautiful and majestic mountains melting before the presence of the God who I can call, "Daddy" and have no fear of, this leaves me a bit awestruck and floored.

I hope you all are doing well. Remember that God created everything - it all points to Him. What reminds you the most of our Creator God today? Remember to enjoy this day, it is good, and God gave this one to you!

Overview of Sweden

My time in Sweden was "Fantastisc and Amazing"!

Two weeks ago I was talking with a friend and we were both trying to look back over the summer and see what we learned. Neither of us could think of much, and so we just accepted thankfully that God had given us two months to be built up by the group we served with.

A couple days later though, it hit me. I could kinda sense that something was changing or that God was starting to show me something, but nothing had really sunk in. I almost finished the book, No Compromise by Melody Green. It felt kinda weird to be reading the biography about Keith and to become convicted of things - and at times I felt more convicted than when reading the Bible*. The biggest thing that stood out to me was the question of motivation. Why am I cleaning bathrooms and doing a good job? Why am I always trying to make people happy and remind them of their joy? Why do I enjoy playing music and singing harmonies? It was at the moment a strong thought, and then it was placed on the back burner - it came up every once and a while but not extremely.

It is a tradition at Holsby to have a campfire for the interns who are leaving. It is a  specific time set up to encourage those leaving in godliness, to tell them what they see God doing, and just to reminiscence off all the fun had. My friend Jazz and I were both leaving and one of the girls spoke up and said, "The Lord wants me to say something. I don't know which one of you it is for, but here it is. You are joyful and love others and serve so well, but make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. When you love people, love them because God loves them. When you serve, do it for Jesus." As she was speaking, I knew it was for me. This was the first time something like that has ever happened for me. 

So here I am: 2 months and 4 roommates later; visiting my aunt and uncle in Lyon, France for a week before heading off to Austria; and with some time to think about my motivations for doing what I do and how I do it. 

Things I will take with me from Sweden:

1. Write down or share 3 things you are thankful to God for

2. Ice cream time is at 11:00 - don't be late!

3. Memories, notes, and lessons

4. "Don't get so caught up in the work of the Lord that you froget the Lord of the work." No Compromise

Hope Church Camp was amazing! Did it rain? ;) I prayed for perfect weather and that y'all could have a campfire.

"TTFN! Ta-ta for now!"

*"All truth is from God" - this is a Quaker quote, but since God speaks truth, it makes sense. Plus, God uses other people, lyrics from songs, and I don't know, nature? to convict us of things too. 

Cake

One of my fellow interns had a birthday this past weekend. There's not much of a better excuse to have a party than that someone is now older (so now you're allowed to have a party every day).

Not much you can do short notice for a birthday, so Luisa, Marj, and I decided to make a Rubik's Cube cake. There's not much that I can say.... here's the 30 second version of the cake assembly. Sorry - it's a bit fast, but I don't know what else to do about it.

Something else we made, which I had never done before coming here, was stick bread. AKA, pizza dough, but baked over a fire with sticks for deliciousness. I can recommend putting Nutella on it and maybe some marshmallows. Some people also recommend Nutella and hotdogs at the same time... I'll let you decide, but yeah, I'll be silently judging you if you use hotdogs WITH Nutella.

It's really strange to me that's it's almost time to leave Sweden. I've really enjoyed all the time that I've had here. I don't know if I've learned loads, or if it's the start of learning something, or if it has just been a time to be filled up - 'cause that for sure has happened. Anyway, I'll probably reflect more on my next post. :) Have a great weekend, y'all! Enjoy some spikeball and the people around you!

Mushrooms

Pointer #1:
When mushroom picking, go with someone who knows what is poisonous

Pointer #2:
Don't eat the red mushrooms



Pointer #3:
Mushrooms with gills are more problematic the sponge mushrooms

Pointer #4:
Poison in sponge mushrooms won't kill you

Pointer #5:
Some of the gilled mushrooms won't kill you, but won't be good for you either.

My Testimony ~ Part 1

I have shared my testimony twice already since being here and tonight I will be sharing it again. The other day, I sent a copy of my testimony to Josh so that he could proofread it... I was kinda surprised when he said he didn't know it all. With that in mind, I decided that I would write out my testimony so that you could all know me better than you have in past.

The first time I remember someone becoming a Christian was when I was really young playing in the family room with Emily. Mom and Emily were talking and then Emily was praying and BAM, mom and Emily said that Emily was now a Christian. I remember thinking, "Oh, that's cool. I wanna be  a Christian too."

Sometime after this, I remember mom taking probably Sarah, Ben, Emily, Josh, (maybe) Grace, and me to a prayer thing in Portland. I didn't realize what it was all about. I remember some grandfather putting his hand on my head to which I responded to by moving. After this happened twice, I looked up to see him resting his hand above my head and this is when I realized that people were gathered in groups all around praying for people. I remember wanting to reach up and grab the grandfather's hand. "If you're blessing me, don't stop." I think that was my thought process.

Does God take your gifts and desire and turn them into spiritual gifts? I don't know, but I do remember one day listening to Patch the Pirate and hearing the song, Make Me a Servant like You. This is the first time I remember singing a song/prayer to God and meaning it sincerely. I wouldn't say I was saved when this happened but maybe that's just meat near the bones...


Despite these things though, by the time I was 8, I was known by close friends and relatives as a liar and a thief. After an occasion of lying or stealing (I can't remember) while we were on family vacation, I was sent to my room and told to wait for dad. When he came in, he sat down on my bed and this is what happened.
"Rachel," he said, "Your mom and I really love you and it hurts us when you lie to us and steal from us. When you lie to us, you lie to God. Your mom and I cannot help you. Your lies have built a wall blocking you from God, but he wants you." At this, he pulled up the sheet on my bed and separated us and started hitting it saying, "Rachel! Rachel! Where are you?"
I don't remember anything else from that conversation - Dad doesn't remember it at all. However, this conversation is one of the only ones that has stuck so vividly in my mind over the years. Isaiah 59:2 says that our sins have separated us from our God. I didn't know this verse till recently, but I'm so thankful that my parents read the Bible and then transcribed it, so to speak, to me - their visual daughter - so that I could understand more easily.

When I was 10 years old, my parents let me join a soccer team with my friend, Kelsey. During this time I realized a couple of things:
1. not everyone was home-schooled
2. not everyone had a mom and dad who weren't divorced
3. not everyone went to church
4. people my age said bad words
5. not everyone knew who Jesus was
6. I did not know if Jesus would save me

I was really scared - I knew I would die and I didn't think I was going to heaven. I knew that the Bible said do not steal and do not lie and I knew I was known for these things. I was guilty. I knew that Jesus had died on a cross to save me, but I didn't really believe he would. Finally, after probably 3-5 nights of crying myself to sleep asking God to save me, I went downstairs and talked to my dad.
I saw dad, walked over, and started crying. I told dad everything. He gave me a hug and spoke comfort and confidence to me. He was so confident that God would do what He said He would do. He must have told me, "Rachel, if you ask Jesus to save you, He will. He says He will and He does not lie." That night, Dad prayed and I believed.

That was a problem for me later in life. I think Satan used it to make me think I wasn't saved because of the verse that says, "if we confess with our mouths..." So later I did confess with my own mouth so that I would be able to confront it easier.

Thanks, Megan Joy, for sending me the photos. :)

The FairyTales

I think Sweden is the perfect setting for fairy tales. I find myself half looking for red mushrooms with white polka-dots and am shocked to find "regular" mushrooms.

You go mushroom hunting and find the blueberry forest. I have decided that if I go for a walk I must bring a bucket just in case to collect strawberries, blueberries, or mushrooms (if I get taught what is poisonous and what is not). And another beautiful thing I have really been appreciating is butterflies - they are everywhere. 

I went for a walk today and kinda got lost. I found out that I really do panic kinda easily when I'm away... in the woods... and no one knows where I am... oh well, I survived. I felt a little like Merida from Brave walking through the forest - it felt like I would walk upon a little cabin (I did, in fact, when I was lost) and meet either a witch or a bear or something fairy-tale-esque.

I will be posting my testimony here at some point. I've given it twice in two weeks and will be giving it in a week or two during a German teen camp - I guess it will either be translated or I am just gonna be super impressed (again) with how fluent people are in speaking/understanding a foreign language. Anyway, I realized that I haven't told many of you and it might be nice. Soooo - that's all for now, folks!

Sweden

The 4th of July never ended for me, but the 5th of July started at some point for me over Canada. I haven't traveled every year of my life and definitely not across the Atlantic Ocean every year (though I think I'm trying to make up for that now), but never before this trip has the sun never set for me. It was very strange, but really cool all at the same time.

I arrived at 16:00 in sunny Copenhagen. Everyone was out and about enjoying the irregular sunshine and, so that I would sleep well that night, Julie and I joined them walking along the cobblestone streets with my suitcases. (For planning on being gone for 14 months, a backpack, a carry-on, and a suitcase weighing 48lbs isn't shabby at all.) It was really very nice to get to chat with Julie again, see her home, shower, and eat Danish food. (Danishes are not called danishes here, but something like German Bread. Julie didn't know if they were actually German or Dutch.)

July 6th I left Denmark to go to Holsbybrunn, Sweden. I didn't quite realize that the two countries were separated by water, but it was quite the experience taking a train across part of the North Sea. Despite not knowing Danish or Swedish, I wasn't have issues traveling because literally, even the Grandma on the train spoke English with me. But you cannot imagine my shock when I saw the principal from my school at Capernwray, England on the same train as me going to Holsby as well to lecture my first week! It was a huge relief especially as we missed our last train by like 2 minutes. Derek was great though, "There's a bus leaving in about 15 minutes - our train passes will work for our ticket."

So that is that. I have been at Holsby since Saturday evening and have felt very blessed by all the people here. Some of you know that I was hoping that I would find a Mary to balance my Martha personality. I didn't meet someone who I would say is definitely a Mary, but I think she's a more mature Martha working a good balance of human being-ness and human doing-ness.

Highlights:

1. Every night, a group of Interns gather and say 3 things they're thankful for and then we pray. It is such a good exercise to "Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings, see what God has done," everyday. It gives you such a heart of thankfulness.

2. There is a Swiss family here and their two children speak French and only a very little Swiss German (which apparently, is almost impossible at their language level for the German speaking Germans to understand). There is one other intern who is fluent in French, and then there is me who speaks enough French to speak to children. It has been really fun. I bet I sound so strange to them, but I love it when they respond to me.., in French!

23:48

3. Some of you also may know that I love the cello. ;) While the school doesn't own a cello, there is a family with four children (all good soccer-lov'n kids) in which the oldest daughter does play the cello. I was never told the mom's name, but she said they could look into renting one from a guy in their church. I think I will like this family.

4. Seriously, I have felt really blessed by these people here. I was really kinda surprised at how quickly they welcomed me into their group - into their family. They've all been working with each other for about a year.

San Jose

Happy Fourth of July, y'all! Love this place so much and am so thankful to call the USA, PNW my home.

Great Grandma Nancy 

I got to come down to San Jose, California on Saturday to visit Ben, Bethany, and my nephew, GRANT. It was lovely to be able to see them in their new home where the sunshine on your shoulder makes you happy.

Grant and I got to spent a lot of time together and I wouldn't exchange my clothes getting wet due to his spit-up target practice for anything. We also started learning lots of songs that Grand-Keri taught Ben and I when we were kids. I think he's getting used to them. ;P

Last night we went to Hot Pot. Ben had told us about it when he came back from his trips to ChongQing, China. I had no idea how good it was nor that I really would love it so much. But hey, first time for everything.

I was super thankful and surprised that there was actually a good deal of down time between feeding Grant and running around San Jose. If I had stayed home for these past five days, I think I would have felt kinda weird having nothing planned, but it was good to just be still for a bit.

Yep, he has the cutest Elvish ears
and I hope he always takes good care of them. :)

It's really kinda strange that I'm about to start another adventure. I knew when I came home that time would go quickly, but I am still shocked at how quickly it went. I leave soon, not a couple months, not a couple weeks or even a couple days. How 'bout a couple hours? Craziness! Can't wait to start!

"I'm leaving on a Jetplane! Don't know when I'll be back again." 

Ok, I have a general idea. :)

Enjoy the fireworks, all! Happy birthday, USA!!!!

Try Again

I have not been blogging since Russia - back in the good old days without Facebook or Instagram. However, I'm kinda done with both of those social media options. My plan is to be using blogger while I'm away traversing the European Continent.

I make no promises of posting weekly, but if I think I've done something fun, out of the ordinary, or an occasion where many photos were taken, I'll post... maybe.