RETREAT, RETREAT!

It's been a while since my last post, but God has been steadily at work this month.  I just got back from a busy but wonderful 10 days in London!  I unfortunately didn't get to do any sight-seeing, but I did meet a bunch of great people, and I went on two retreats...in a castle!  :)

I left for London on the 16th of January and had a great flight---I didn't get sick!  I stayed with a Christian family in the community in London for the week, and they looked after me quite well and made sure I didn't get lost each morning.  I had some hand-drawn maps from the girls GAPping in London, but the woman I stayed with made sure I knew where I was going each morning before I walked out the door.  I would show her the map the girls drew for me, and then she'd take it and use a pink highlighter to draw in a faster, less expensive [usually just walking rather than the bus or the Tube (underground system)] route.  It was very helpful and I'm sure it saved me quite a few British Pounds.  :)  I spent the week with the London GAPpers, doing what they do and helping where they needed help.  

Some highlights of that week:  

• Reading my 'Jesus Calling' devotional every day and having it correspond almost directly with what I needed to hear from the Lord that day.  'Jesus Calling' is an everyday devotional written by Sarah Young.  She spent a great amount of time listening to the Lord and writing down things that He was putting on her heart.  I started reading 'Jesus Calling' on the 1st of January this year and it has been a key part of my personal prayer times this month.  Here's an example of when the words Sarah Young received from the Lord were just what I, too, needed to hear:  "You know that this day will bring difficulties, and you are trying to think your way through those trials.  Come to Me and relax in My peace.  I will strengthen you, [...] transforming your fear into confident trust."  Whoa.  Talk about perfect timing.  When I arrived in London, I ended up waiting at a Tube station for a little over an hour before anyone came to get me.  I had tried calling and texting the numbers that I had, but nothing seemed to be working.  I started really panicking and didn't know what to do in such a big city where I didn't know anyone and wasn't familiar with the area.  It ended up just being a big mix-up in communication with different people, and it ended up getting straightened out, but I do admit I was quite fearful.  It wasn't until later that night that I read the 'Jesus Calling' devotional for that day, and I wished I had read it earlier.  I couldn't believe that I let myself get so worried rather than placing my trust in the Lord.  He wanted to transform my fear into "confident trust" and I didn't let Him!

• Tagging along with Julia, a London GAPper from New Jersey, in her weekly service project:  Little Fishes Day Care.  I loved getting to play with little kids for a couple hours.  This day care took place at a small church and was quite different from any day care I'd ever seen.  The moms got to let their kids play while they mingled and had tea and coffee with one another.  I enjoyed chatting with the moms and listening to their children speak with their little British accents.  :)

• Cooking dinner for the girls' house (where the London GAPpers live) and a couple of their friends from the guys' house down the street.  Christina, the GAPper from Glasgow (Scotland), and I learned how to cook two whole chickens---and they turned out perfectly!  Nice and juicy and flavorful.  :)  We were quite proud of our culinary masterpiece.

• Having lunch at the Potter's house (a London community family).  I ate with a couple of the London GAPpers plus Christina, and we had some really great fish pie and some kind of red onion tart.  Very different but VERY delicious.

• Meeting a girl named Esther and sharing stories of God's goodness with her.  Elyssa, one of the London GAPpers, and I met with Esther at this cute little cafe near UCL (University College London) called Apostrophe, and we all shared stories of how the Lord has been working in our lives.  I think Esther is quite a new Christian, but I could really see that she was beaming with God's love and that was so exciting to see!  :) 

• Going to the Koinonia prayer event.  Koinonia is an ecumenical (Catholic/Protestant/Orthodox) Christian group of students, and it meets weekly in the student union at UCL.  It was very much like UCO (University Christian Outreach) back in Ann Arbor, but a much smaller group.  I loved my discussion group and was so inspired by everyone's stories.

Those were some of the highlights of my first 4 days in London.  On Friday the 20th I left for a retreat in Bucken Towers, which is a really cool castle.  We had a group of around 40 people (students + GAPpers) at the retreat, and it was a wonderful weekend.  The theme of the retreat was Joy, and I certainly did feel joyful. God really worked in my heart to set aside the concerns of the work of my GAP year and allowed me to just let it go and enjoy the weekend.  We had some great prayer and worship times, I got to know the UCL students and other GAPpers, and it was all-around an excellent retreat.  Here's some pictures from the weekend:

This is the castle we stayed in for the retreat!

It was built in the late 12th century and among it's "notable visitors" are Henry III, Edward I, Richard III, Lady Margaret Beaufort, and Queen Katherine of Aragon (who lived there for a year!)

Me with some of the girls.  

(Marisa - Belgian GAPper, Annette, Finja, Clare - Belgian GAPper last year, and me)

We did henna for our girls event!

(Lucy, Elyssa, and Julia)

And we learned how to make Moroccan pancakes!  Yum!

(Elinor, Meghan, and Finja)

Henna hands!  :)

Some good impromptu jam sessions were had...

(Kate, Lucy, and Giles)

After the Koinonia students left, the GAPpers stayed in the castle for two more nights for our GAPper retreat.  We had some really great talks and had lot of time to share with one another different experiences of our GAP year these last four months.  The talks were about how the last four months have gone, how God has been working in our lives presently, and looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future.  We also had a lot of great worship and prayer times together.  And fun, of course!

Me with some of the GAPpers...

[Kate (Belgium) & Elyssa (London) in front, me and Julia (London) in the back, Christina (Glasgow), and Audrey (Belfast)]

Oh you know...just hanging out by the fire eating ice cream :)

(Clare, Julia, Chrissy, Christina, and Elyssa)

Girl pile.  This is the way most of our girls' sessions ended up.  Either this or a dance party...

(Clare, Audrey, Elyssa, me, Camille, Christina, and Julia)

Cool view of the sky during my reflection time outside!

A couple of the Belgium GAPpers plus some GAP directors

[Sam (director in Belgium), Daniel (GAPper in Belgium), Joe (director in London), and Javier (GAPper in Belgium)]

Dance party!  What fun :)

(Me, Christina, Audrey, Julia, Chrissy, and Kate)

All of the girl GAPpers plus Rachel, Ruth, Ania, and Clare, some helpers.  :)

I had a great 10 days in London.  No, I didn't get to see Big Ben, the London Bridge, or Buckingham Palace.  I did, however, experience great joy and peace with the Koinonia students and my fellow GAPpers.  I enjoyed meeting and spending 5 days with some really great men and women of God.  I had some wonderful prayer times and experiences of God's presence...AND I stayed in a castle that was once occupied by a Queen.  I think that's better than any glance I could have had at the popular London tourist sites.  :)  Praise God for His faithfulness!

I'm back in Dublin now...home sweet home.  It's great to be back and hear the familiar Dublin accent again.  And of course get all the slagging for my American accent.  :)  I enjoyed having dinner with the Mahony's again tonight and getting to sing Leanne a bedtime song.  

Next on my agenda is the Women's Heart retreat that I'm leading music for this weekend.  I'm looking forward to another great retreat and experiencing more of God's love.  I'll also be doing manicures at the retreat, so you can bet I'm pretty excited about that!

Coming up is the Kairos Weekend for 17-25 year olds from all over Europe.  It's taking place in Dublin from the 10th-12th of February, and I'm on the planning team.  Please pray for the participants and all that are on the planning team.  :)

I hope you all are doing well and being blessed in abundance by God.  I'm keeping you all in my prayers!

New Year, New Blessings

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe that another year has gone by.  I remember clearly spending last New Year's Eve in Kendallville, Indiana with my best friends Lina and Jennifer.  This year I'm in Dublin, Ireland on my GAP year.  It's crazy how fast time flies.


I want to begin this new year by telling you all a story.  Something amazing happened to me at Spirit Radio (where I work twice a week here in Dublin) a short while ago.  December 14th, to be exact.  Actually, a couple of good things happened.  The day started off well...we had a staff prayer time in the morning and I got to play guitar for it.  The theme for that day's prayer time was the "abounding grace of God."  Rob, our CEO, was trying to think of a song to go along with that theme, and I suggested "Your Grace is Enough".  Rob didn't know how to play it, so I stepped in.  We had been praying a lot during that time for our listeners and that our support team for the station would continue to grow.  Just after this prayer time, one of the radio presenters told us some cool news:  we had received a text message from someone DURING our prayer time (probably during the song) and they requested us to play "Your Grace is Enough" on the radio!  We all thought that was pretty sweet.  :)  Then, later that afternoon, I got a phone call.  I picked up the phone and answered with my usual, "Good afternoon, Spirit Radio," and I was hit immediately by this guy's fire for the Lord.  He asked "Who am I speaking to?".  When I told him my name, he said, "Oh Rachel!  Do you believe that God is good?  Are you on fire?  Can I get a 'hallelujah'?"  I couldn't believe it.  This was by far the most unusual phone call I'd ever gotten...but I can't say I didn't like it.  I answered his questions with a smile on my face because, well, I do believe that God is good.  I even shouted "Hallelujah!" into the phone.  :)  He then told me he wanted to pray with me.  He got real quiet for a moment, but I could hear him softly praying.  He said, "Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord...", and then he told me he had a word for me from the Lord.  My mind automatically went to "Okay, this guy's going to come out with some crazy story that he probably tells everyone...'Jesus loves you'...blah blah blah."  I didn't think he actually had a WORD from the LORD!  He brought up something that I had been storing away for a long time...something I didn't know was in my heart still.  Something I rarely talk about.  Someone I rarely mention.  My first boyfriend.  Nothing seriously bad happened, I just don't like to talk about that relationship.  I was immature, and the 'relationship' was merely based on the excitement of having a boyfriend.  It only lasted about two months, but it moved quickly in those two months.  I just feel like I could have spent that time a bit more wisely.  I don't have regrets in my life, but this is the one thing I look back on and think, "I really could have spent those two months more wisely."  At first I couldn't believe this guy was bringing it up, so I tried to deny it.  But he said it again, "Your ex-boyfriend.  The one back in the States."  It hit me then like a slap in the face, and I quietly said, "Oh, yeah."  He told me, "You need to forgive him.  You need to let it go and stop letting it affect your future.  It's affecting your outlook on life and will affect your future relationships."  Wow.  Talk about deep.  I hadn't realized that I was still holding on to this.  I replied, "Okay."  And then the man on the phone said he wanted to say a prayer for me.  He prayed that God would release me from this burden and help me to let go of it.  He also prayed that I would be able to grow here and live my life in freedom, doing what God called me to do.  I thanked him for his prayers and hung up the phone.  I felt so strange then...like someone had just punched me in the gut, but also like someone had just lifted a bunch of weight off my shoulders.  It was then that I started laughing...and I couldn't stop.  Laughter is one of the signs of the Holy Spirit, and I knew that as soon as I started giggling.  A minute later, my favorite Spirit Radio song, "Glory Glory", started playing.  It's a real 'get-up-and-dance', 'snap-your-fingers' kind of song, and hearing it at such a perfect moment made me laugh more and feel even more uplifted.  I thank God for sending this man to me to remind me of this burden I'd been carrying.  I would have hated to have gone into the new year with that burden still in my heart.


Such a long story, I know.  But I tell it to you all to encourage you to bring any burdens that you have to the Lord today.  Let Him heal you and free you from them.  I have already experienced so much joy and peace from letting go of just this one thing.  You may not get a phone call like I did, but God has other ways of reaching us.  It could be a song, a book, or a conversation with a friend.  It could be a TV show, a movie, or a billboard on the highway/motorway.  Be open and ready for what God may be trying to speak to you!


I had a very nice New Year's Eve celebration last night with Ciara (my "host mother")'s family.  We all got together and had some munchies, played Dance Central on the Xbox, and enjoyed some piano, guitar, and violin performances, as well as some Irish folk songs and a couple of poetry recitations.  We brought in the new year with some Christmas carols and a prayer, and then tried (and failed) to send 12 Chinese lanterns up into the sky.  It was too windy for them to fly properly, and we got much too close to lighting one of the kids on fire.  We settled for sparklers instead...a bit safer.  Overall it was a great evening and I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to spend it here in Dublin.


I'm looking forward to this new year.  I'm expecting great blessings and I know the Lord has a lot in store for this next part of my GAP year.  I leave for London, England on the 15th of January and I will be there until the 25th.  I will be attending a "mission week" from January 16-20th, where I will take part in training and service with the GAPpers in London, followed by a Life in the Spirit seminar from the 20-22nd.  I will conclude my time in London with a regional GAPper retreat from the 22-24th of January.  Please keep me in your prayers for this next month as I prepare to go to London, and of course while I am there.


To my wonderful supporters---if you have not yet received a Christmas newsletter from me, be on the lookout for a New Year's newsletter some time this month with a summary of these past 4 months of my GAP year.  I love you all and truly appreciate your support.


I'll leave you with a few pictures from our post-Christmas walk up Killiney Hill.

                              I absolutely LOVE the way the sun is shining here!

Love these girls...

(Leanne, Ciara, me)

Leanne was teaching me her ways...

                                                               ....and her goofy faces....


I love my Dublin family, I love my GAP year, and I love you all.