Thanksgiving time

Our family just got back from my Grandma's memorial service. It was a good family experience, we shared Thanksgiving dinner together and remembered my Grandma together. I am sure most people think along these lines on occasions like these, but my sister and I both have been thinking about what a wonderful person grandma was, and it makes us wonder how are we investing our lives. It is a good, thought provoking question.

While we were in western Oklahoma, we also visited the old farm, and.... cut down our Christmas tree! We used to have the tradition of cutting our own tree when we lived in Wyoming, but it's been years since we've done that. But this year, we ransacked Walmart for a saw. Then we cut this fragrant cedar tree and tied it on the jeep. It's always more fun to have a tree that has some history like this one.

Now it really feels like we're in the Christmas season! I love it!

Rachellium

My Christmas present from my sister last year was this amazing game called Rachellium. She invented it, made all of the pieces out of bottle caps and paper clips, and wrote all of the cards: humming, acting, drawing, and imitating the sound. But I've rarely gotten to play this marvelous game because I am rarely home.

However, for the holidays and my Grandma's memorial service, we have my aunts and cousin in town. So tonight we played. It was great fun, lots of laughs, and louder yelling than is ever allowed in the house. I don't think I realized how important it is to have a place where you can "let your hair down" so to speak. The place to let it all out, the place to be silly without it being embarrassing. But it is important to laugh, to feel free, to run around the living room acting like a skunk, to try and make the sound duct tape makes. I'm just so glad to be laughing again. Now it feels like I'm really home.

At Home

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me these last days and weeks. And now I am happily at home enjoying warm showers and home cooking.

It was such a difficult decision to leave Colombia, but I believe the right one. Our ministry, and my life, got to a point where it wasn't sustainable. The lifestyle just consumes; and I left depleted emotionally, physically, financially. When I could see that nothing was going to be made better by staying longer, for me or the ministry, I decided it was time to go.

I am home indefinitely, to get redirection, to hear from God, and to just live life. A major thing lacking in my Colombian life was not having relationships with people outside of our YWAM base. So, for now I hope to continue studying and learning, but at the same time develop relationship and friendships. It's a new phase in life. Changes such as these always come with a bit of pain, but also some excitement to see what things this adventure will bring.

In Need of Prayer

I have some huge decisions to make and am feeling the pressure. Please pray for guidance. With much love,

Rachel