MOVING!

“Go home to your friends,

and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you,

and how He has had compassion on you.”

Mark 5:19b

Hi friends! Well I want to first thank you all for your prayers while I have been home. As you know, when I first moved to Romania I had signed up to go for 2 years. My 2 year anniversary was this past November. Since then I have been seeking the Lord as to whether He had for me to stay in Romania longer or to return home.

I have really used this time at home to seek the Lord’s will. WELL….about 3 weeks ago I had felt that the Lord confirmed to me that He had for me to move back to California. I wasn’t sure however on the timing or what I would be doing when I returned. I just felt this incredible peace that He had for me to come back to Cali. Then just this week the Lord has opened a door and a job was offered to me! I couldn’t believe it! At the same time I don’t know why I was surprised at all. The Lord always provides for me, I guess I just didn’t expect Him to provide a job for me before I moved home! So I will be moving home to California in June.

I am so thankful to God for always taking care of me. My good friend Frances was praying about me the other day and the Lord spoke to her saying “She is mine and I will take care of her.” This spoke so much to my heart, these past two years the Lord has done so much to reveal Himself to me and to show me how real He is and how faithful He is to take care of me. Hearing Frances tell me that and then having a job offered to me before I even began looking is just one more testimony of how good He is!

So how am I feeling about all this? Well, of course there is sadness. My time in Romania was filled with so many amazing times, as well as hard times. Such good memories, I feel like I have lived a lifetime over there already. I learned to trust the Lord and to not put my trust in man alone. I learned that I need to love people even when they are hurtful and cruel and to love those that society doesn’t even want to acknowledge. I have made so many amazing friends. It brings tears to my eyes to know that I won’t be seeing those friends everyday anymore. I know I will be able to visit someday, but it still makes me sad to think about leaving my kids at the hospital and my friends and the country and language that I love. I am however, also very excited about all of this! I know that the Lord would never call me home and then leave me hanging. He has already shown me this to be true. I am excited to see what He has in store for me when I return.

I will continue with my updates even after I return home for a while. I do still ask for your prayers. While it is awesome that I will have a job to return to, I know that the transition from life in Romania to life in Southern California will not be totally easy. This past 1.5 months since I have been home, has revealed to me that the culture here in California will take some getting used to again for me. I feel a little out of place here. But still have the peace from the Lord on coming home. So please pray that the Lord will help me to readjust to life here in So Cal. Please pray for my time in Romania and all the people I will need to say good bye to. Finally please keep my moving back to California in prayer. I am thankful that I will have a job, but I will not be able to get my own place right away, and so I ask that you pray that I will save up money quickly enough to be able to get my own place in His timing in order to finally be settled and not living out my suitcases and of course just for His guidance as to when to move out on my own and where to move.

More updates to come, but I just wanted to send out this letter to let you all know what was up with me!

If you have supported me at all this past year by sending any donations to Calvary Chapel WestGrove or are going to before I return home, and either did not receive a receipt for your donations or would like a receipt, please contact me and I can send you the paperwork to either access your donation receipt online or to receive one by mail.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support and I will be keeping in touch and updating you on my time in Cali at the end of the month!

Grace and Peace,

Rachel

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