The Method of Missions

Wow my devo has been so right on lately!  LOVE how the Lord speaks to us!

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . . —Matthew 28:19

Jesus Christ did not say, “Go and save souls” (the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God), but He said, “Go . . . make disciples of all the nations . . . .” Yet you cannot make disciples unless you are a disciple yourself. When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, “Don’t rejoice in successful service— the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me” (see Luke 10:17-20). The missionary’s great essential is remaining true to the call of God, and realizing that his one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus. Remember that there is a passion for souls that does not come from God, but from our desire to make converts to our point of view.

The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary’s own personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28). Our Lord unwaveringly asks us that question, and it confronts us in every individual situation we encounter. The one great challenge to us is— do I know my risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit? Am I wise enough in God’s sight, but foolish enough according to the wisdom of the world, to trust in what Jesus Christ has said? Or am I abandoning the great supernatural position of limitless confidence in Christ Jesus, which is really God’s only call for a missionary? If I follow any other method, I depart altogether from the methods prescribed by our Lord— “All authority has been given to Me . . . . Gotherefore. . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).

What is a Missionary?

Jesus said to them again, ’. . . As the Father has sent Me, I also send you’ —John 20:21

A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.

Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails. We tend to forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary work is not primarily the elevation of the people, their education, nor their needs, but is first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ— “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19).

When looking back on the lives of men and women of God, the tendency is to say, “What wonderfully keen and intelligent wisdom they had, and how perfectly they understood all that God wanted!” But the keen and intelligent mind behind them was the mind of God, not human wisdom at all. We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment.

First Week!

Well I cannot believe I am actually in Romania and that my first week has come and gone.  It has been great catching up with old friends here and hearing about all that the Lord has been doing in Brasov since I moved back to California in 2010. Fall is in full swing and the colors are simply beautiful, I'm just sorry I have not been able to take very many pictures! I arrived in Brasov on Monday night.  I was welcomed by a big group of old and new friends who were celebrating Canada’s Thanksgiving Day.  The next day I had a meeting with a few people and Sarah, the founder and president of Firm Foundations, the organization I am working with.  Sarah has been asking for me to come back to Romania for years and I am so thankful the Lord opened up the door for me to come now.  We had a good time discussing the goals she has for the After School Program.  That night I went to look at an apartment, but unfortunately it was not a good fit for me.  So the apartment hunt continues while I stay at the hostel run by Firm Foundations.  It will be so nice to have my own place again, I have been living out of a suitcase for almost 2 months now and I am longing to completely unpack and be settled. On Wednesday I was out for my first day in Budila, the village where we run our After School Program.  I was out there from 9:30-5:00.  It was a great day observing Ioana, one of our teachers and helping a few of the kids who needed extra help.  On Thursday I did the same, this time observing some of Juliana’s classes and helping the kids who needed some more help.  We are blessed with a great building that has been newly renovated with 3 classrooms to use. Friday I had a meeting with Juliana and Ioana.  As the After School Coordinator I wanted us to all be on the same page and to really praise them for how amazing the program is going.  I am so impressed with what they are doing with the kids.  After observing them for the 2 days I wanted to go over some ideas I had for the program and to hear their ideas for how we can improve.  It was a really great meeting. I feel so blessed to be working with these 2 ladies and I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do.  That afternoon I went to Budila for a couple of hours to work on the files for the kids.  There is much organizing that needs to be done, and lucky for me, I love to do that kind of stuff! Next week I will have my own classes.  I will work with 12-18 kids a day who need the most basic help and are not able to keep up with the children in the other classes.  We have some 5th graders who can barely write and cannot read, as well as some kids who I am sure have learning disabilities and are very behind the rest of the children.  On Thursdays I will run a Reading Group in the afternoon.  Fridays will be my day to go to the Children’s Hospital where I used to work, to work a shift in the Play Therapy Room of the Neurological/Psychiatric floor.  I will work in the afternoon at the office of Firm Foundations on paperwork and planning for the next week’s After School Program classes. Things are so busy here already!  Please keep me in your prayers that I find an apartment soon.  Also for my health, I have already come down with a cold and am exhausted.  Please keep my re-adjustment into Romanian life in your prayers, as things are much slower here, and I tend to be a fast paced person.  Please pray for my kids in my classes and all the children in the After School Program as well as Juliana and Ioana who are working with me.  And PLEASE pray for my driving, I go to pick up the car I will be using tomorrow and I am nervous about driving with a stick shift especially here in Brasov, the land of crazy traffic circles and hills!  I have not driven a stick shift since 1998 and I’m a bit nervous about the whole thing, especially because it is the Foundations car. I know God is faithful and He will provide what I need!   Normally I will write an email once a month, but I wanted to let you all know that I arrived safe and the exciting things that lay ahead.  Thank you for your support and prayers! Grace and peace, Rachel If you are interested in supporting me financially, click HERE for more information.

TONIGHT!

Hours away!!!!

Praising the Lord that I am flying out tonight.  

Can't wait to get things going!  

Prayers are appreciated!

Tomorrow....Tomorrow!!!

Hello friends and family!

I really cannot believe that I fly out for Romania tomorrow night.  It amazes me that it has been 3 months since the Lord confirmed to me He had for me to move back and join Firm Foundations with their After School Program for the Roma (gypsy) children.

So much has happened in the past few months and there were more than a few surprises with my health and a tooth problem that left me wondering if everything would be finished by the time I flew out, but the Lord has been faithful to take care of everything.  I had a little scare last night when I thought part of my new crown had chipped but it was only an extra little piece of the cement holding it on that had chipped off, and the dentist was kind enough to come back to the office at the end of the day to make sure everything was ok for me.  What a ride this has been!

I know that hindsight can always show us things so clearly, it is so awesome to sit here now and to look back at how the Lord arranged things for me.  Things at work, things at home, things with my health, and even having me do a lot of house sitting at the end to earn some extra money.

There were lots of goodbyes over the past couple of weeks with friends and family.  This is always the sad part of moving, while it is so exciting to be going back to Romania, the sad part is always all of the people I leave behind.

I also at the last minute decided to take my last week off of work, instead of working basically until I flew out.  It has been really nice to spend time with my parents.  On Wednesday we drove all over San Pedro and I was able to see the house and apartment they lived in before I was born, we had lunch at nice park in Palos Verdes overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a light house.  It was fun to hear all of their stories about life when they first met.  We also had a nice trip up to Big Bear the other day and yesterday my mom and I spent the day at the Getty Museum.  It has been really nice and super important to me to have that quality time with them.

But now the time has come for me to leave.  I want to thank everyone who has helped support me through prayer, encouragement and financially.  I have been blessed by more than a few surprises from friends and friends of friends or friends of my family who have supported me.  I think the hardest and most humbling part for me of being a missionary is needing to be supported financially.  I LOVE being supported with prayer and encouragement from friends and family, but it is hard for me to accept the financial support.  I know I just need to get over that, as I have always loved supporting other missionaries, it just feels so different being on this side of it.  So thank you, thank you, thank you, to each and every single one of you who has helped support this move and who has committed to supporting me on a monthly basis.  The Bible says that those who go out to battle and those who stay behind supporting those who have gone out, should equally share in the reward.  To those of you supporting me, know that your reward in heaven is waiting for you, and that the work I will be doing with the kids in Budila would not be able to be done without you.  You are not only contributing to me, but to those kids, and to their future.  Thank you for believing in me, and believing in what the Lord has in store for this project! I am so excited to be able to share with you as the time goes by, all that is being done.  I expect the Lord will do great things!

Please keep me in your prayers.  I fly out tomorrow night and arrive in London on Sunday.  I will spend the night in the airport and will fly out to Romania on Monday arriving Monday afternoon.  I will be picked up by a driver who will drive me from Bucharest, up the mountain to Brasov!  Please pray for the Lord’s hand of protection over me and my suitcases, and that everything will go smoothly.  Of course please pray for my parents, it’s never easy to send your daughter off to another country.  Please pray for Romania as it shares a border with the Ukraine and there is still much tension going on there.  And PLEASE pray for an apartment for me!  I have not found one yet, but have a Romanian friend who lives in Brasov helping me look!  Ultimately, please just pray for the Lord’s will to be done in my life and in this journey ahead.

Being in another country can get kind of lonely, even though I have friends in Brasov, so please don’t forget about me!  I would love to hear from you, even if it’s just a short “hello”.  Feel free to email me or friend me on Facebook.

May the Lord bless you all!  I look forward to hearing from you!
Grace and Peace,
Rachel

For more information on how you can support me click here.

1 Day!!!

1 Day left, I fly out tomorrowwwww!

Lord, I give up
All my own plans and purposes,
All my own desires and hopes
And accept Thy will for my life.
I give myself, my life, my all,
Utterly to Thee
To be Thine forever.
Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit.
Use me as Thou wilt,
Send me where Thou wilt,
Work out Thy whole will in my life
At any cost,
Now and forever.
- Betty Scott Stam (Martyred in China, in the 1930s)

2 D A Y S !

The time is going by so fast!  2 Days left! I fly out Saturday night!

"We should always look upon ourselves as God's servants, placed in God's world, to do His work; and accordingly labour faithfully for Him; not with a design to grow rich and great, but to glorify God, and do all the good we possibly can."

David Brainerd