“Why we love Rachel”

...was the theme of my birthday. I woke up early to start making my cake and throughout the kitchen found little notes saying why people love me from all of my staff friends. Later in my office I found notes from my students and from friends in the states. It was such a beautiful and full day.

At night for my party. Well, it was something else (thanks to Desteni). It started out with a continuation of people telling me why they loved me but then some of the boys starting confessing their love for me. It made me a little nervous until I figured out it was a skit, planned, fuew, I’m not getting engaged today. It was hilarious, they ended up having a dance off. (I highly recommend looking at the photos and make sure you read the comments for your maximum entertainment). Then people really told me why they appreciated me, and say happy birthday along with a movie of Abby and roommates singing me Happy Birthday. Then there was cake and more dancing (Christian style).

But I have to say the best part of my day was a pastoral time I had with my co-leader Katherine and three students in the evening. They are a bit behind on their devotional journals where they have to read and write about a chapter of the Bible daily. So we talked about responsibility and getting all they can out of the school.

Then we curled up on cushions in my office, drank tea, and read the Bible together. It was amazing. We all had new revelation into the passage (John 10) and our ideas would build on one another and I saw some of them get deeply passionate about the Bible for the first time. It was one of those moments that I will cherish forever, one of those “yeah, this is what I live for” moments. It was a beautiful day!