God's Voice Within the Mundane.........

Well, I know it has been awhile since I have written but for some reason I have been having some major writer's block. Sometimes I find that life is just simply life and that I have nothing specifec to share or say. I will say that I have felt just so blessed by God as Me and Anita are forming a program for children. Day to day, my life consists of cooking, cleaning, preparing lessons, visiting with friends, playing with my dog, reading my bible,going to the soup kitchen, texting troubled youth, playing with neighbor kids, going to church, teaching sunday school......or whatever else God brings into my path. Through all these "normal" things I see God very much at work and I find that it is in these simple things and in the natural flow of life that I see God at work and him telling me how he wants me to spend my time.

Baking Cheese Biscuits! I love to Bake!

Sometimes I forget to thank God for the normal......and then I remember a not so normal last year when my life was crazy and full of way too much drama. In that time I longed for silence, I longed for the normal. I longed for rest and no surprises.

 So as I sit here in the mundane at times, I am reminded to savour every moment. I know that when we move, we will be up against alot. Perhaps God is resting me up to prepare me for some not so restful moments ahead. When that time comes, I will be ready for whatever comes our way!

So for now, when we are working on this program for these kids that we love so much, I think of them. With every visual we are creating......I'm not just making a visual.....I am making a visual for those kids to teach them about Jesus, and to bring hope to a community that needs it. We have the time to make the best we can and those kids are worth the hours of planning and creating!



The Book of Exodus Complete in Visuals.....Alot of work!


Until we are there, I continue to pray for these little ones and pray to God that I will never forget the power of prayer. I thank God for my precious times with him whether its alone in my room or singing my heart out to him in church. This is all for him and I pray that I will have the grace and love to seize every moment no matter how normal it is. May my every breath be for Him and Him alone. I pray that God will continue to show me daily, the ways I can serve him more, and the ways I can bless others, whether it be an encouraging word to the corner store clerk,the person next to me on the bus, watching a stressed out mom's kids, hosting people in my home. whatever it may be, my challenge is to strive to serve in the normal and not just in the times of crisis or dramatic need. How can I simply be a blessing? This is what has been on my heart. There is no need to seek out extravagant ways......just to lend a hand to my neighbor in love.....this is what God's heart is and God's desire for all of us.

An Answer to Prayer!!!!

I just wanted to quickly post on my blog about the meeting I had with my pastor here this week! As me and Anita venture out into new grounds, and are in the process to relocating to the community where the soup kitchen is located, I have been praying so much that my church would want to be a part of it. I have always seen having a local church covering as not only important but crucial for general support but also for sustainability. Well, I was able to finally sit down and share my heart and share my vision and.....they agreed to be the backing of the ministry!!!

They will be involved in helping us find a house and also sending people from the church who would like to reach out in discipleship as well!. I can't tell you how amazing it is to feel supported not only from my organization in this but also from my church here. My pastor even started giving ideas of things that the church could do that I had dreamed about! I am truly blessed.

BUT.....it doesn't stop there!!!!!!! I also was able to share my desire to apply for a religious visa. In order to get this visa, I need to be sponsored by a local church.....well.....they agreed to help me in this process!!! What does this mean? It means that all the money I spend every year on renewing my visa every three months could go towards my ministry......it means that I wouldn't need to pay nearly 2500 dollars a year on health insurance as I can apply for a health card here! So you can see how this would be a great help for me!! Please keep this process in prayer as it can be tedious and there is never guaranteed approval...so please pray that God would continue to open doors in this! All I know is that things are going in the right direction. God is SO good!

What we are up Against

Hey Everyone! The last few weeks have been quite a journey and I can hardly believe its already time to move to Anita's apartment and then head to Canada for a 3 week visit! When I return from Canada the end of August, we will be looking for a place close to the soup kitchen. It's coming up so fast and the work here continues. Not only in creating visuals and program stuff but the work of ever seeking after the Lord and praying against the strongholds of the community, against the frequent spiritual attacks, and trusting in Him and his guidance in this leap of faith.

Through all the trials, one thing is sure, we are held in the hands of the almighty king. This last Saturday, God opened our eyes even more to see the struggles of this community. Saturday morning started off great and as usual with singing and asking the kids what they are gratefulfor. This week my lesson to the little ones was on the fruits of the spirit. I was so blessed to see them more relaxed and more attentive than usual. They were quite successful on remembering the fruits of the spirit!! I pray that these precious little ones can see the fruits in me. I long to shine God's love there to them and I can't wait for when I will be right there with them and can be available to them. I am so grateful to God that He helps me teach week by week.

Teaching the Kiddies about the fruits of the spirit!

After the lesson, Anita noticed a lady crying in the streets, she thought at first that it was someone we know so she went to go talk to her. It ended up being someone else. She had just gotten in a fight with her husband and he was kicking her out of the house. In the series of a couple hours......she had stored her stuff at the soup kitchen, left with her kids and came back, left the kids with us....made up with her husband and took her stuff back to where she was. Cecilia told us how often this happens with them....that they often have violent fights but then make up....she was worried having the stuff in the soup kitchen.....it can be dangerous getting involved in such a situation. But God was there and it shed light to us on the parents of some of our kids at the soup kitchen and the violence they are often exposed to.


After that, we taught our youth group on prayer and then we headed up to see an older lady with a ministry in the mountains. I definitely was not prepared to what I would feel up there. We got there and I just did not feel at peace at all. I tried to shake it off but as it went on, I just could hardly stand to be there. Something was just off. I could feel major spiritual things up there that I rarely ever feel. What I felt was evil. As she began to pray over one of my friends, I was just freaking out....something was off....way off....but I was questioning myself why I felt such darkness. All I know is that there was an undeniable oppression up there. I could hardly breathe. This also shed alot of light on the area where we are serving.


Me and Daniel, one of that Lady's sons.


Yesterday, we found out that one of our kids was kicked out of school for selling drugs :( This was just another sad reality on top of the other events. He just seemed so sad and the kids were picking on him for that. It did give me some joy that he didn't seem happy to have that pinned on him. The truth is that these  kids don't want to be identified in that way. These kids really do want to be good in some way.

Last week, a teen from the community was texting me and he asked me. Do you think I am good or bad? I told him I didn't know. He told me that he used to sell drugs and rob people but that he was changing. He was struggling because the community was still seeing him as bad. I encouraged him to continue doing good and it meant alot that he was seeking encouragement and expressing a desire to be different. Please join me and Anita in prayer. Things have been intense but we still have very much felt God's presence with us and preparing us for our next steps. Please keep praying for this community, our kids, and God's provision for a house to rent in the area that we can also minister out of, and pray for us as we pray for the provision to move. We will be needing furniture and some household items. We lay all these things in His hands. Please pray!

A Witness of God's Work

Me and my parents, Anita, and Steph visiting a friend.

As usual another month has almost finished up with hardly a blink. My parents came to visit in May and I had the privelage to get some R&R with them going to the beach and the volcano and just admiring the beauty of Costa Rica. It was also so neat to just be able to show my parents my work here, my dream, and my heart. It's one thing explaining your passion to people but for them to come and be here and have it explained while standing in the soup kitchen is so different. It was nice to give them a glimpse into my life.

The day after they left, I went to go help as a translator for a medical team. We travelled around to some more remote places in Costa Rica for a week. It is such a blessing for me to translate once in a while for people coming from all different places. It's amazing the people God brings into my path and I see His hand in everything.

Evangelists Eric and Esmirna

Esteban, the boy I witnessed being healed.

While we were in a small town, me and Anita had the privelage to meet a couple from Panama who are evangelists with the gift of healing. I had never met a person with the gift of healing before so I wasn't sure what to think at first, but through talking with him and his wife, talking about their testimonies, I knew that they were truthful. I could very much sense the Holy Spirit in them and enjoyed a few conversations with them. It just so happened that on my 26th birthday, I was there in that small town, and after working with the medical team all day, this evangelist preached in this small modest country church. The most amazing thing is that it is on this day, that I witnessed my very first miracle. I witnessed a boy with one leg longer than the other grow to be the same length slowly as he was being prayed over. It was amazing and undeniable! I know that my God is indeed a powerful God but had never been able to say that I had witnessed a miracle.....now I can!!! It was a wonderful birthday gift!

After getting back to San Jose, me and Anita had another chance to meet with them and we were just so encouraged by them. We connected so much with them, that they really want us to go to Panama and visit them and their church. We are planning to visit them when I need to renew my Visa in 6 months. I think that this is very much an open door and a God thing.

Our first handmade visual!!! The story of Jonah!!

Since that trip, me and Anita have started working on a children's program and preparing to move to the community where we work. We are working on different info to create a website in the future. We are making alot of visuals to help us to teach kids bible stories etc. Being low on funds, we are creating our own and are realizing how much can be done with so little, and just how much fun it can be! So right now, we are spending a lot of time preparing to do more ministry in Los Guizaros. We have been in a few meetings with Cecilia, the lady who started the soup kitchen, sharing our heart and vision. Things have proven to be a bit tough in this area as we would like to start a ministry apart from the soup kitchen that works hand in hand. We are praying that Cecilia's heart will truly be open to the idea of having two separate ministries working together to better the community and bring people to Christ. Please pray for this, we know that God is calling us to this, but we want to do this with understanding and harmony with the soup kitchen. We know that God is in charge and we continue seeking him in this process and seeing the doors that He opens. Please pray against any division that could come out of this.

Me and Anita teaching the youth at Guizaros

The kids at Guizaros praying for me.

So as you can see, God has been doing some pretty amazing things here in the last months. I find many times that so much has happened that I can't fit it all in one blog. I cannot even begin to express the ways God has been working in me and also in Anita. God has been really been confirming and reconfirming things with us and we continually feel his nudge simply saying that its time to step out in faith. Pray for us in this process and pray for the help we need to get this going. Thank you for all your prayers and support, I feel very blessed. 

Rising up and Going Higher

The last two months have gone by so fast and its time to update you all on what God is doing in me, where he is leading me, and what he is leading me to do. It is time to rise above the dissapointment or discouragement I have felt and its simply time to step out. I will not let the trials/hurts I have faced, rob me from the vision and passion that God gave me years ago. Its time to step out in faith recognizing that my God not only guides me but it is he who sustains me. Nothing is impossible for my God.

The Community of Los Guizaros

Many of you know I have been going through a bit of transition in ministry here on this side. I have been in search for quite some time now for a ministry that has a heart for the less fortunate communities of San Jose and a heart for a ministry of Discipleship. A heart for Incarnational ministry. I have been praying about this for quite some time and through praying both me and Anita have felt the confirmation that it is time to be leaders and move forward with the dreams and visions that God has placed in both of our hearts. I think that we have both been afraid to step out and were hoping to partner with an existing ministry. It dawned on us that it is time for us to take leadership in this and pray for others to come alongside us. This is where you all come into the picture. We need your prayers as we look into our options and move forward.

What is our vision?  Our vision is to live where we have been working at the soup kitchen in Los Guizaros and continue to work with the soup kitchen but also start a ministry that focuses on the discipleship of women, girls, and children. The discipleship would stem from relational ministry within the community and focus on the teaching of the word and encouragement. It would be a ministry of prayer, a place where the hungry can come and seek God. Our dream is to bring change to this community, to break the chains and strongholds that keep the people of this community lost.

Through working at the soup kitchen the last two years, we have seen the youth starting to stray starting around age ten in the soup kitchen. The pressures to do the wrong things are so strong in this community. We have often thought....What if there was a place that they could go and interact in a healthy way. What if we weren't there only on Saturdays, but there during the week to encourage and reach out to the people? What if this ministry could eventually grow to the point where we could have teams come and maybe even offer classes on childhood developement, or basic classes for gaining work skills like a sewing class, like financial planning, like learning the basic skills for work. What if even local bakeries etc, would train responsable youth work skills etc. We know this is a big dream but if this will happen it will be through God alone. Our desire is to do something sustainable in the community, where what we do could have a chain effect. We believe that the only sustainable ministry really starts with discipleship. God says that his word never comes back empty. (Isaiah 55:11)  If the people of this community come to know Christ in a real way, we believe this could spark a real change in the community. Where leaders of change could be formed to continue the ministry to those around them.

Anita, little Michelle, and I

Please pray for me and Anita as we continue seeking after God. We don't have all the answers, there are still alot of question marks but we feel God pulling us to rise up, and go higher, trusting that God will fill in the blanks and carry us. It is not through our own abilities that this dream comes, it is through faith in an infinite God that compels us. We trust that he could use us to bring people to experience intimacy with Christ which is the only thing that can transform and bring lasting life and change.

Ending on this note, I would like to share with you a vision that God gave me before I came to Costa Rica. It is something I have been brought back to as I have been facing my fears and as my faith has been continually tested. I hope it encourages all of you to dream big for Christ and to rise up and go higher with Him.


Climbing The Wall.

 As you read this, picture Jesus as the Belayer and God at the top of the wall.



I'm climbing this huge wall in the dark, I'm getting higher on step at a time. As I go, the footing seems more complex, I don't know where I'm going and then.....I look down. I'm afraid, do I keep going? I'm already at a place where its a far fall.

I think about retreating when I hear a still small voice call my name. Its okay Rachel, I've got you, keep going, you can make it to the top. I slip and gasp in fear. I'm thinking, I can't do this, its just too much. Too risky. Life's better on the ground where I'm in complete control, or perhaps I'll just stay low on the wall, that way if I fall, it won't be too far of a fall.

That's it God, sure I trust you but I just can't make it to the top. Can't I just stay here? I see a light shining at the top lighting my way, the steps become clearer and honestly I'm drawn but still I struggle to believe that if I slip, Jesus will hold me up and I won't fall all the way down. The voice continues. You can do it. You have no idea what I have planned for you at the top. Each step ahead is a part of my will for your life adventure, a life purpose.

What about hurt God? What about pain? Yes, Rachel, you will encounter the tougher parts of the wall, yet they lead to so much more than you know. It's tough, but do you really want to live life wondering or live your life half way? You see, the world wants you down on the ground with everyone else, but I have called you to live higher than that and indeed its great.

But Lord, its so scary to be set apart, it seems so illogical that I would allow you to carry me when I could stand on my own two feet, or if I at least stay low on the wall so I could survive a small fall..... right here where I am at. How do I know if I'm taking the right steps? Your light guides the way but doesn't show the steps to come. What if I hear you wrong and then fall all the way down?

Rach, I will never leave or forsake you, even when you make a mistake, I will catch you, though you may fall down a ways, I will never let you hit the ground. I am your great pursuer and I will never leave you alone. Seek my face and trust me and just let me do the rest. Trust that I can take you as you are and lead you down the path that I have planned. Always know that I am there, even when I'm silent.

I believe that this is God's heart for all of us. We are all afraid of failing and it keeps us from attempting to do more for our king. God has really been showing me that its my heart and my sacrifice that he desires...that even if I set out to attempt something big for God and it doesn't work, that he will still be pleased with me. Let us remember not to bury the things and talents that God has given us but to put it to work. He will not be pleased with the servant who doesn't do anything. It is better to try and fail, but step out in faith, then to do nothing. (Matthew 25:14-30, James 2:14-24....focused on verse 18-19, James 4:13-17....focused on verse 17.)  If you would like to read Anita's perspective and heart in this pursuit, you can go to http://www.mightyawakenwithchrist.blogspot.com/. I find that both blog entries compliment the other.

Letting Go.......

Hi Everyone,

I know that it has been nearly 3 months since I have written on here. It has been a really hard last 3 months with so many struggles and so many tears. For one....letting someone dear to me slip through my fingers in obedience to God. I have been through more than I am willing to put on my blog but in short.....God in this last week confirmed the need for me to make a really tough decision....the tough decision to ask the girl to leave that has been living with me. After a year and a half of connecting and pouring into this girl, sharing wonderful moments, sharing pain, and ultimately living a soap opera, God made it clear that it was time to shut the doors and allow her to suffer the consequences of her own actions.

Yesterday was the day I finally fulfilled what God has wanted me to do for quite some time......let go. I was just led astray by my desire to see restoration, for my desire for things to end well and my desire for a miracle to happen. Time and time again the truth started hitting me......Rachel.....people only change if they want to or if they have to. Through some spirit inspired messages for me through my pastor, I was finally given the strength to do the right thing.

Last Sunday God gave him a specifec word for me without knowing anything about me or my life.....his message was this...."Rachel if one door is closed or closing.....there are seven open doors" In this moment I knew what the closed door signified. Later this week on Wednesday...God gave my pastor another word for me (this has never happened before in my life) He told me that God wanted to ask me if I preferred him or the people around me. He also said that God would fulfill peace and justice for me, that an angel has been protecting me from alot of things, that God was giving me new giftings, that he was opening a ministry for me and that God wanted me to know that I was not alone. I know this may sound general but it related point by point specifically to what I was praying that day. He then placed his hand above mine and I could feel a sensation go through my hand and through my body. I knew that his words came directly from God.

 All these things brought me to this decision.....and without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever had to do, letting someone go that you love knowing that they have nowhere to go, knowing that they will suffer greatly, and knowing that they don't have much or any support from family or friends. Its hard for me to do this and to stay firm and not cave into taking her back. I know that God has led me to step out of the picture and let her learn to depend on God and allow her to unfortunately learn the hard way. Allowing her to stay would only hurt me and her more.

Anyways, please keep me in your prayers as it is hard knowing that she is not in a good place right now and that her needs are not being met. I feel at peace with what I've done but it will take me awhile to heal. Please pray for her to come to repentance and to seek God and for me to have the strength to not help her beyond God's guidance. Pray for me as God is in the process of connecting me to more ministry and for focus on what he wants me to do. In a later post I will update more on my ministry progress. Thanks for joining with me in prayer and support, without you guys, I wouldn't be here. To all of you who are in the process of making a tough decision, trust in God, he has his ways of bringing us through. Feel free to email me with any of your prayer requests at rachelyrach@gmail.com.

Events and Ministry Possibility!!

I know that it has been a while since I have updated my blog....it seems that the last months have gone by particularly fast and have been busy. I have also needed to sort through some things emotionally before I felt that I could write on here. I have been feeling for the last months so much spiritual attack and have felt almost crushed by so many things going on here that I wasn't sure how to even begin to write. Now I feel I can write again and keep you up to date on what's going on here. Through all these tough road blocks, one thing is sure.....Satan will not have his way, and I refuse to be taken out by anyone but God. I continually hold onto his strength.

 This month, I have been planning my own Christmas activities here in Costa Rica as I will not be in Canada for Christmas this year. One of the things I did was hold a cookie painting/ tree decorating party for Marilyn's family and cousins. It was great! We ended up having a huge flour fight and all ended up covered from head to toe in flour!!

Last week, me and a few friends went down in front of hotel well known for its sex tourism/illegal activity to just pray and see what God had for us there. We stayed there from 9pm-4am and were able to pray and chat with the different characters that hang out there. It was an interesting experience to be able to see them just as people and less so as drug dealers, prostitutes, and male prostitutes. I couldn't help thinking to myself in the moment.....here I am on the shady corners of San Jose talking to drug dealers about the best meat/worst meat to eat and eating carrot sticks.While I was out there, I couldn't help but question whether our presence was really worthwhile and whether having rather trivial conversations with the people there had any value at all.

In the end I realized that it wasn't really about exactly what we did or how "focused" it was but that we had sent aside that time as a sacrifice to God and to perhaps be a light on a corner where that is hard to find. When it was around 3am, after talking about meat and chinese food, Andy a drug dealer on that corner started to talk to me about God. He ended up asking for a church to go to. In that moment, I realized that even if nothing comes from it.....the 20 minutes talking about God and praying made it all worth it. It gave this corner a group of faces and personalities to specifically pray for. A corner of broken, lonely people that God cares about and wants to reach.

This week I finally got to see the teen girl drug rehab centre and just observe the program. This is something I have been praying about for a while now. I have felt for some time now that God is calling me to focus on discipleship and teaching the Bible and heard that this ministry was specifically looking for someone to do that. I have so far been quite impressed with this ministry and will be continueing to observe and pray for the meantime. Their program for this area is to run a group Bible study and then do individual sessions with the girls where they can discuss their thoughts/questions about God and the Bible. This is a passion of mine and will see if this is where God would like me to serve.

Please Pray!!!
1. Pray for me as I have been feeling really discouraged and overwhelmed. It is really hard to work with youth at risk and have been feeling so weak and just attacked by Satan. I'm dealing with so many teen issues that I never anticipated. I'm feeling a bit naive/innocent to work with teens who have been through so much. Pray for strength, wisdom, and guidance.
2. Pray for Marilyn as she will be starting school next month and just pray for her relationship with God. Also pray for the money to pay for her GED/English program for the year ($800.00) This will cut her completion of high school from 3 years to 1.5 years and get her on the road to independence.

Thanks for all your prayers and support, I simply couldn't do it without you guys. I truly pray Gods blessing over this Christmas season. Let me know if I can lift you up in prayer.