Leaping and Weeping

For those of y'all who don't follow Desiring God, let me catch you up to speed: Pastor John Piper recently stepped down from the pulpit after 33 years of preaching, teaching, pastoring, and caring for his flock. He wrote a blog post in which he talks a little bit more in depth about his thoughts on this new chapter and what he is praying about right now. It is a fantastic post that you should honestly go read right now. Seriously, though, my blog can wait. Come back when you're done.

"Now is the challenge is: Lord, show me the new configuration of giving and getting and burden-bearing. I do not assume that in this life there is ever a season when these are gone - not if we trust God and love people. They just change. There is too much lostness and pain and ignorance in the world for coasting." - John Piper

One of my biggest prayers since laying down Belgium and my flock at Northwood Univ. last year was that the Lord would allow me to shepherd another one. He has answered that prayer not with one flock, but possibly two. The closer that we get to Belgium, the more excited I get. The Lord is allowing me to help shepherd another flock with a solid brother- and sister-in-Christ. He is also setting things in motion to help form another Bible study with a group of athletic friends. Slowly but surely, He is showing me how to leap and to weep with folks in a new chapter of my life. He is handing me back my staff and showing me a pasture (or two) of lambs to walk along side.

I feel as if I am standing in the sunshine, looking out over green rolling hills dotted with little cotton-puff sheep. And for once, I feel as if my armor fits. Bring on the bears, the wolves, the rain, the rocky terrain, the thorny bushes. I feel like for the first time, I don't feel like Moses before the Burning Bush, telling God that He has the wrong guy. For the first time, I hear the Lord directing me, and I don't think He's a little crazy. I am well aware of my weaknesses, but I feel confident in the strengths and gifts that He has given me. Because at the end of the day, I don't have confidence in my gifts, but the Giver of those gifts, who will be with me as I follow Him up to the High Places. 

T-Swift

"T-Swift? As in Taylor Swift?" you may be asking yourself. "Really, Rachel? A blog post about Taylor Swift? A blog post about Taylor Swift in your Belgium Track & Field mission trip blog?"

I have a point, I promise.

All my life, the Lord has spoken to me through songs and hymns. I grew up not having a solid example of what a personal relationship with Christ looked like, let alone meant. But, the Lord is faithful and pursued me until He placed me at Miami University (OH) where I at last found Biblical community. Until that point, our relationship looked very different to most - He met me not only in my reading of Scripture, but also through old hymns. I learned to pray by memorizing old school hymns - "Amazing Grace", "How Sweet the Father's Love for Us", and my favorite, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". While I am not musically gifted (I make a joyful noise to the Lord when I worship, not a sound, melody, or harmony. Noise.), I do appreciate music and have a special place for it in my heart.

Right about the time spring had sprung in my life, I purchased Taylor Swift's most recent album, "Red". It's good, fun, catchy, dance-party-while-you-cook music. Kind of angry break-up music, but with some humor to help cut the sting. To sum up, absolutely not grounded in Truth. And, for someone who has never been in a relationship, not the first album that you would think that the Lord would use in my life. But God is funny like that and has used her album to walk me into spring. But the Lord has used every single song on that album to walk with me through the healing and processing of winter. All Truth is God's truth, even the tiny pieces buried in pop-country albums.

As the wounds and scars of winter fade, so has "Red" from the top of my "Most Recently Played" list. Then the roster for Belgium began to settle and introductions were made via email. One of the get-to-know-you questions was about favorite music, and Taylor Swift kept coming up. I just had to laugh. Of course she would. Because the Lord is good and faithful, meeting my sentimental little heart everywhere I go. It would seem that my springtime soundtrack will be overflowing into summer.

"But on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watch it begin again..." - T. Swift

Different

"Different" seems to be coming up in all aspects of my life recently. People, such as my friends, family, co-workers, patients, and random guys on the dance floor, look at me and exclaim (literally, exclamations all over the place), "Rachel! You are/look/seem SO different!" At first, I brushed it off as a strange, kind of awkward compliment. It seemed especially strange coming from various guys that I know. I mean really, who tells that to someone?

But I was curious as to what people were seeing that was so different. As I remembered comments, they started to take on a pattern - what was seen as "different" were my giftings from the Lord. How He has created me is starting to look very, very different to the world around me.

One of my prayers from the beginning, and I mean back in 2010 when I first went on this trip, was that our team would seem different. Not just in the sense that we are a group of ten American athletes dressed in bright colors and carrying 15-foot long pole cases around with us, but that there is something special about us. I pray that our "different"-ness is really Christ in us and in our group, and that people would see that and want to know more. And experience it for themselves.

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." - 1 Peter 2:9-10

Yes and amen! 

Speculoos

If you hang around me long enough, you will hear me talk of Speculoos. It won't take long until I bring up my favorite Belgian-discovered treat, and I usually end up professing my love of Speculoos, not merely talking about it. I don't talk about my favorite chocolate bar (Lion Bar, found only in Europe) in the same way that I do about Speculoos. What puts Speculoos on such a high pedestal?

Before moving on, you should know something about me (if you don't already): I am incredibly sentimental. I attach a memory to just about anything - food, drink, person, song, clothes, random inanimate object, CrossFit movement - and like a little elephant, I don't forget that memory. Play the song "I'll Be Your Crying Shoulder" by Goo Goo Dolls and I'll tell you the story of how my roommate and I knew that we were meant to be friends. Show me a hockey puck and I automatically think back to the time I took a road trip with four hockey guys from Miami to watch a UFC fight in Columbus, Ohio during my spring break senior year. Venison reminds me of Dublin, Canadian flags of Italy, and French restaurants of the time I got lost in Frankfurt by myself coming home from a Christmas Market.

Back to Speculoos vs. Lion Bars. The first time that I ever traveled abroad, I went to the UK for three weeks and discovered Lion Bars. I tie Lion Bars back to the moment where I finally flew out of my little cage and didn't look back. It was a wonderful trip and therefore, Lion Bars are a wonderful reminder of that adventure. But at the end of the day, while my first time breaking out of my cage was incredible, it was missing something. I have since walked the streets of London and Dublin, and I think back to me. It ended with me, my happiness, my experience.

But when I think of Speculoos, I don't think back to just me; I think of God. Speculoos is distinctly Belgian in my mind, specific to the region of Belgium (the Dutch-speaking Flanders) where we spend a majority of our time. When I eat a spoonful of Speculoos, I remember the hostel where we hold our daily morning quiet time; cook meals with new friends from all over the globe; have conversations about God; live in Biblical community with a team of new brothers- and sisters-in-Christ that we just met. When I spread Speculoos on fruit, I think back to all of the lunches that I packed to keep me full at various track & field meets, meeting athletes from all over Europe (and Asia!) and sharing the Gospel with them. And when I get a particularly crunchy spoonful of Speculoos, I think back to the nightly Speculoos ice cream runs that we made after dinner, spending quality time as a little team. Speculoos, unlike Lion Bars, invokes memories that do not end on me, rather on God. Through a spoonful (or eight) of Speculoos, He reminds me of the adventure that He is allowing me to have, that He is calling me to join the fun and adventure, of the Great Commission.

When I started having strange reactions to flour/gluten in July of 2011, I had to give up Speculoos. I played around with my diet and came to the conclusion that I was sensitive to gluten. For a year and a half, I didn't touch anything with gluten in it. And during that same year and a half, the Lord asked me to walk away from Belgium and the memories that I had made. I operated as if the next time I would see Speculoos would be in heaven at the Wedding Feast. I mourned Belgium and I mourned Speculoos. But God, in His goodness, gave me back both Belgium and Speculoos. He is letting me return to Belgium and I can eat gluten (just not rye) without issue. The fast is broken, and the celebration has begun!

Spring

Today, February 6th, 2013, marks the exiting from a one year period of a season that can only be named "Winter".

This past season of Winter was a hard one. Granted, my only experiences of a harsh winter have come through books (the Little House on the Prairie series) or my four years at Miami (OH), so I know that I may not be the best judge. But, as a Texas girl, anything that isn't 40* and sunny in January is a bit harsh in my book.

The Lord has been speaking to me that Spring is next."Spring," I kept hearing, "Spring is coming." That was in January, and so I expected January to bring with it Spring. But it never came. All that came was a two day flu and an eight day sinus infection. "Soon, very soon," followed after the bout of illness. Again, it wasn't Spring; this time it was the smashing into tiny pieces two very large idols that had formed in my heart - the idol of having roots here in Dallas and the idol of ever separating from my dear friends. Praise God that He is a jealous God that will not have His beloved children chasing after temporary pleasures and fleeting happiness. He is a God who wants us to experience joy, deep and everlasting joy. But smashing idols is a messy and painful business, not Spring.

But now Spring is here. I don't know what Spring will look like, but Spring is here. And that means a time to thaw out after the hard freezes of Winter. Seeds are planted in the springtime, and what looked dead is suddenly bursting forth and flowering with new life. It is a time to tend the gardens, protect the lambs, and begin again.

My prayer is that Belgium (and the rest of the post-Christian western Europe) would experience Spring. I want the seeds that have been planted to take root and explode. I want the so-called (and accurately named) dead churches to be brought back to life. I want to see the part of the world that birthed so many wonderful theologians and missionaries impact the world again as it did in the past.

Spring has sprung. 

Support Letter

Here is my official support letter for the trip this year. Please contact me if you have any questions! 

I can officially announce, with great fanfare and much ado, that the AIA Track & Field: Belgium trip is happening this July! This year is already proving to be an exciting year. Our ten person roster is already halfway filled, and formal recruitment hasn't even started. As of right now it is myself, Jodi (AIA staff), two pole vaulters, and a hurdler. We have several other folks interested, including a student athletic trainer. As recruitment kicks off, I will be excited to see how the Lord fills our remaining spots, or if He decides to add more athletes to our roster.

Our adventure this year is lining up to be just that - an adventure. We are extending the trip to last the full month of July, as opposed to the three and a half weeks that it has been in the past. There are more meets that we are looking to compete in, including the Belgian National Championships at the end of the month. The total number of meets we are looking to compete in is now close to eight. The biggest adventure, and one of the biggest prayer requests, concerns my leadership role this summer.

First, a quick backstory: Athletes in Action holds an all-staff conference every two years. This mandatory meeting is for everyone on staff with AIA. They usually hold it at the end of July or early in August. This year, they are moving it up to the beginning of July. As a full-time staff member, Jodi is required to be there. At the moment, there are two ways this scenario can play out. The first being that Jodi puts in a special request to be allowed to not attend the conference and travel to Belgium on this project. The second way is that Jodi goes to the conference and meets up with the team when it finishes. Until she joins the team, I would be the one leading the trip. I'll be honest: that is very scary. But, also very humbling that she would think so highly of me to trust me to that degree. Our prayer is that Jodi be granted this special leave of absence from the all-staff conference, and if not, that He would prepare me to lead well in her absence.

Regardless of my position at the beginning of the trip, my role will remain the same as it has been the past two times I have traveled - team athletic trainer, team chef, team mom, co-Bible study leader, and end-of-the-trip debriefer. While 2012 was a tough year, especially tough when it came to walking away from my little flock at Northwood, I have realized how much I love and have a passion for teaching/shepherding athletes, a passion that I would not have realized had I not walked away from the trip and my old job last year. I consider myself very blessed to have another opportunity to return to the country the Lord has given me a heart for and to shepherd athletes again.

I also praise the Lord that my new job at Airrosti Rehab Centers has allowed me to take a full 31 days off from work with their full blessing and encouragement. I know that many people cannot say that about their employer, and I am very fortunate in that regard. Part of me still cannot believe it.

To wrap up, I have three prayer requests, the first regarding Jodi's permission to travel to Belgium and miss the all-staff conference. The second is for our team overall - that our roster would fill up, that everyone's support raising process would go smoothly, and that the Lord would begin to prepare us for the summer now. The third is that you would prayerfully consider partnering with me financially for the trip. I have a support goal of  $3,500 to reach by June 1st. This covers all airfare, in-country transportation, food, materials, gear, entrance fees to meets, and lodging. I would love to share more about my heart for Belgium, and for athletes, in person or via technology (Skype, phone call, ect). If the Lord does lead you to give, there are two ways:

:: Send me a check made out to Athletes in Action with my tracking number (#5571387) in the memo line.
:: Give electronically at https://give.ccci.org/give. Enter my tracking number (#5571387) and select the amount.
*Note: All gifts are tax deductible.*


Alles voor Christus,
Rachel

Lucky Number (20)13

Let's try this again...

Last year was rough. Scroll down a few posts for the recap of why Belgium didn't happen last summer. To sum up my past year, I would have to say: a CrossFit WOD (workout) involving a lot of burpees. So many burpees. Over and over and over and over again.

I also learned a lot about the concept of first fruits. Biblically, first fruits were given to the Lord as a sacrifice. They were given from the first harvest, the first livestock slaughter, and they were given with a joyful heart with thanksgiving. It was an act of trust to give back to the Lord your "firsts," trusting Him that He would provide enough to make it through the seasons. I laid down my first real job, first flock of athletes, first people group that the Lord has called me to reach, and various others. But this act of surrender is not about letting go, but of receiving. How much more can I now receive after I have obediently surrendered to the Lord? My hands were emptied, and the Lord doesn't take away for the mere act of taking. He is a good God who loves His children. He will always fill the empty space with Himself. And that is always worth the surrender.

I am excited for this summer. The trip is going to be a bit longer than in the past, running closer to a full four weeks as opposed to the three weeks that it has been. We are also pole vaulter-heavy again this year, meaning that I won't be at a loss for stories, as traveling with pole cases around Belgium provide plenty. And plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

Jesus. Sports. World travel. Cooking for friends.

The perfect July.