Home!

"We're all in the red. The Uganda and Peru team is behind us"

Hi everyone!
I want to give another thank you for everyone who helped out! For every prayer! It was really needed! I can honestly say I never got sick while I was there:) Even with a cup of their water. Also, I survived the airplane! So that was great! I was very lucky to be sitting next to our nurse who allowed me to hold her hand at take off. She was very helpful and it was a incredible just to feel us gliding and thinking how awesome it is we were so high off the ground!

Our trip started in Trinidad, Port of Spain. We arrived at around 6:08AM. I definitely appreciated the weather down there:) It was amazing.. Humid, but amazing! The people were just as great though! Almost all of them were really friendly and very open to us. There wasn't much of a problem at all while we were there.

"Home"

We stayed in a gated community with Urban Ministries in Amira. It was VERY nice! I think I pretty much fell in love with it when I got there. And no, it wasn't because it had a pool either:P

Most of the first few days we spent here still had to do with "boot camp training" that we had started in Schroon Lake, New York. This is where we really got to know our directors and counselors actually. They were all really encouraging and just as excited as we were to start.

I asked one of the boys if we really stunk at cricket... He started to shake his head "yes" and then shrugged really fast and said, "I don't know!" Ha!


The Orphanage:


Rayanne and I

The orphanage was definitely an experience. We only went one day, and I really wish we had more time! All of the kids there were really smart! haha.. Some of them actually corrected me when I was talking? lol.. It was really great to meet the lady who took them all in to stay with her though. She was a christian and actually adopted one of the girls that was with them. The living conditions were a bit tight for them, but she's been praying that they could expand so if you're reading this.. That would be awesome if you could pray for them too:)
Leaving the orphanage:(


Baby Tree Frog:

On our way for open-air:

Open-air evangelism is always nerve racking for me. We had done it twice out of the streets and the photo above is where we had done it the second day. The night before we went to a street mall type of scene. There were a lot of drinking spots and a lot of Michael Jackson videos on the buildings.. So it was very distracting. Wherever we went in though, we had our little speaker, we made sure to pray every time we started and got our focus where we should have it. It always seemed very affective in some situations, but others not so much. As much as it seemed to be though we'll never really know if we were used to make a difference in their lives until we see them in heaven. I think it was good we had gotten that opportunity to talk, get to know, and share with them though.


Scenes and Things:

Overall, this experience was phenomenal! And I want to just give a huge thank you to everyone who allowed God to use them in this experience! The things I took from this missions trip are things that I'll take with me where ever I am to remind me of God's power, strength, comfort, and how much He can actually use us all in every situation we're in!:) Thank you again!

This is Rachel's mom. These are the first pictures I was able to see of Trinidad and their trip. I read that this was an open air evangelism opportunity where the team went into the market and passed out over 700 tracks, and did music and drama for the people there. They went up and down the street presenting the Gospel. Over 75 presentations were made and 9 decisions for Christ were made. I will have Rachel edit this post when she gets back to fill you in more. Just thought you would like to see what is going on as much as I did!





Rachel is the shorter girl in the middle with the red shirt on sharing the Gospel.

Thank you!

Thank you Jim and Sue Burchell, the Tylers, and Vicki Drake! It was really nice of you all to help out with this! I really appreciate the encouragement and the donation you made! It really helped out a lot!

Thank you!!!

Thank you so much Matt and Kristy! It was so generous of you guys to help me out! I definately was not expecting what you two did for me! Thank you again! You have no idea how much it meant to me! It's amazing I was just praying this morning about it and then my mom called me down to tell me about what you guys did! Thanks sooo much! My "favorite" cousins:)
Love,
Rachel

TY

Thank you Mrs. Rought! It was incredibly nice of you to donate!! Thank you sooo much! I really appreciate everything you've done for me over the years! :)

3 More Thank You's:)

Thank you SNMBC Mission's Board! It was a huge surprise! And I am so thankful for the church and for the support and encouragement you've given me over the years!
Thanks to Burman's Auto:) It was very nice of you guys to help out!
Thank you also to Lyle and Nelda Leonard! You guys are incredible! And I will praying for you guys when you go back to Papua New Guinea! (Sorry that your upcoming flight won't be as exciting as the first Nelda!:)

Thanks!

Thank you Mark and Heidi Stento and Mrs. Camacho for your support! I really appreciate this! Again, I cannot say it enough! Every prayer and everything you do to help out is very important and I thank you so much for it!

Passport

My passport just came in today! I am very thrilled about that! I knew the Lord would work it out in His timing just like everything else!.. Now it just seems like I'm waiting for the trip! (Not technically though) I still have to think of packing and the weight limit on my shampoo:P.. That'll be interesting. Thanks again to everyone who's helped out! I can't say it enough!
Love,
Rach

Many "Thank you's!"

Hi again!
I just wanted to give a huge thanks to Keith Snell, Becky Stone, Mr. & Mrs. Sheldon, Mr. & Mrs. Detwiler, and Adam Rechnitz for helping on this trip! It really means a lot to me! Thank you all for being supportive and encouraging to me!

I wanted to give a quick update on how things have been going since I have been thanking you all for everything! Well, the tickets are bought, most of my papers are submitted, and my passport should be here tomorrow finally! It took quite awhile for it to get here, but the Lord brought it at the right time:) All of your prayers have definitely been here in the chaos of getting ready, and I appreciate all of them SO much! And everyone supporting has been a great encouragement! I thought I'd just share a couple verses with you that I thought was very cool recently (mainly verse 8 which I'll put in bold letters:P). It tied in with so many things I've been thinking about and trying to figure out:
Psalms 62:5-8-"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all time; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Thank you Mona G.

Thank you Mrs. Golobek for your donation. It was really generous of you. It will really help me reach my goal. Thank you so much!

Another Donation

Thank you Doug Bork from NJ for your generous donation!

Uncle Paul and Aunt Cathy

Thank you so much for helping me out. It really will help!

Thanks!

Thank you Lori G. from Ohio. My mom told me who you were. That was so nice of you to donate.

Thank you Uncle Joe!

Thank you

Thank you Victoria S. from New Jersey for your donation! I really appreciate it!

I just posted a donate button for my trip. You don't have to have a Paypal account to donate. It will take your credit card securely. Thanks again.
Love, Rachel

Another group, yeah!

My mom belongs to an animal group and I have 25.00 more dollars! Thank you!
Love, Rachel

Rochelle Lafer
Sally Fionte

My First Donations!

I am so excited to have my first donations for my missions trip. Thank you to my mom's scrapbook friends from Close To My Heart for their donations! These are who have donated to my missionstrip so far. Thank you all so much! I have 210.00 from you all! I will be sending thank you cards, but my mom says I have to make them so they may take a little while.
Love, Rachel

Tina Sutton
Christine Szczechowski
Donna Carr
Sue Schmid
Deanna Morill
Doresa Lambrecht
Tracey Stevens
Holly Murphy
Beth Murkowski
Geri Freeborn
Jean McNutly
Cherie Lynn Hagan

Trinidad and Tobago

I have been accepted by the Word of Life Outreach Program to head out for Trinidad and Tobago! I will be down there from July 11th-August 1st of this year. Before I leave I will be at the WOL Island Camp from June 27th-July 4th where I’ll be trained at their boot camp program. For the next 3 days, once completing their boot camp program, I’ll be trained; along with other teenagers from America and Canada, to learn different ways to minister to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. Once we take flight, our first week on this trip will include open-air evangelism, youth rallies, church services, music, dramas, testimonies, and ministering to different schools. The second week we’ll be conducting and helping at Vacation Bible School with the local churches for the kids.
I am really looking forward to this trip and I know it will be; and has already been, an incredible opportunity for me to learn, grow, and share my walk with Christ. Along with this opportunity though comes the responsibility. These responsibilities include raising both prayer and financial support. If you feel led in any way to support me in either of these two, thank you! The prayers and the money will help reach people in Trinidad and Tobago with the Gospel this summer, and I really appreciate every bit that helps!
In order to set out on this trip, I need to raise $2,850 for the trip alone. This includes air fare, ground transportation, food, and lodging. Other trip related expenses will also need to be raised. Some of those outside expenses will be ministry apparel, passport, money belt, and other travelling expenses WOL has told me about. I am a bit behind in my support because I decided to go a little later than was expected. I need to make up for that financially, but I know if this is a trip I am suppose to take, the Lord will provide for me. I do ask for the prayers none the less though! If you can support me financially, I have a link that will bring up a slip that includes where you can mail your gift to WOL directly. If you itemize on your taxes they will send you a receipt. You can also send any donation to me directly as well and I can deposit it in my WOL account if that is easier. You can use the Paypal link that I have on my blog. Thank you again and I really do appreciate the support!
Love,
Rachel