Open Hands....Together

I just want to share this news for the sake of all you prayer warriors out there.
I guess, though, I first off want to thank everyone for all of the love, support, and congratulations as Matt and I have begun our lives together! We are enjoying married life very much and have already learned a lot and look forward to spending the rest of our lives together as husband and wife :)

For the sake of a quick update, Matt and I are planning on staying around here for awhile now. We have both felt in these last couple of weeks that we are rushing things and have felt a still small voice saying "slow down". After much prayer and many long conversations, we both feel at peace with putting the application process with mission organizations on hold for awhile.

I also have been feeling a strong sense of calling back to the ministry I started working on over a year ago now, and more specifically to serve the siblings of special needs children. I am hoping to, in January or February, be able to start a once-a-month get together for siblings, so that I can serve and use my passion and experience while the logistics of a respite ministry are being worked out.

I am SO excited and each day have more and more of a passion for this ministry. Don't get us wrong, though, we are still so willing. Maybe someday down the road, God will give us a little "go ahead, you're ready now". For now, though, we are content staying here and using our gifts to cater to the needs that are still evident in the U.S..

Matt also got a new job at Gerber in Fremont, which is very exciting for us! All in all, there has been a lot of good things happening with us, and although it is sometimes hard to keep God at the center when we are so excited about our "plans" (psh....like those ever all happen anyways. I love that God has a sense of humor, and you'd think that we would have learned by now to totally surrender, right?)!

This song is the one that inspired the name of this blog, and to this day, brings me to tears every time I hear it. This describes perfectly what Matt and I have learned to do together, which, by the way, is very different than doing alone (but beautiful and humbling). We hope this song touches you :)

Again, we are excited to share this news, and love all of you for the prayers, support, and love that you have shown us!

Love & Prayers,
Matt & Rachel

Big News! :)

Hello all!
Matt and I have some big news that we would like to share with you now that things are moving forward with it a bit.

We have recently (2ish months ago) decided to seriously pursue moving overseas to do missions work. We both feel that we do not want to be comfortable, and would like to use the gifts that God has given us to minister to those who haven't had the chance to hear the Gospel, or help in the process of acceptance.

As of right now, we have no idea what country we want to go to-that is one thing that we are indifferent on. We just know that we want to reach the unreached, and he would love to use his gift of teaching (science, math, etc) and do some one on one discipleship, and I would love to work with special needs children, specifically the severely multiply impaired and babies.

We have just sent in our first round of applications to Serving in Mission (SIM) based in North Carolina. If our applications check out, our next step would be to go to North Carolina for a 4-day interview that involves consulting with a whole bunch of different departments there to make sure that we are a good fit for SIM, and vice versa.

SIM was originally known as Sudan Interior Mission, and they initially went in to Sudan at a time when the world said that Sudan was "unreachable". Now, they have expanded across the borders of Sudan into the world, and do "a lot of different things with a lot of different people in a lot of different places". This is one thing that Matt and I love about SIM. They aren't an organization focused on one area of outreach (i.e. medical, education), but instead they respond to the needs that are encountered in country.

We are so excited about this next step in our lives--as God is bringing us together as one through marriage, and we know that God will use and bless us through each other if we keep Him at the center of our marriage.

Don't worry though, we aren't leaving September 22 :)
This would be, at the earliest, next fall.

The one thing that we can ask for now is prayers for peace and for discernment if things continue to go forward with SIM. This can be a very lengthy process, and if things go well, there will obviously be a big need for fundraising. We both feel  at peace about this right now, but I know from experience that that feeling often comes and goes.

Thanks for supporting Matt and I in our marriage, and what's to come afterwards! We love you all! :)

--Matt & Rachel

Season of Changes

Hey everyone!

I have had  a lot of people asking me about how the ministry is going, so I thought I would give an update. This is most definitely not the update I thought that I would be giving.

Basically, I am going to ask for some serious prayers for guidance for Matt and I as we move forward towards marriage, and as that involves this ministry. We are in a process of discerning what/where we are being called to next, and so this has left things kind of on hold for the time being.

I don't want to say too much, as no big decisions have been made, but we would really appreciate prayer support from you-our friends and family.

Please continue to pray for the ministry, and that it will develop in the timing and way that only God knows. I still have a heart for this population, and it's killing me to be on hold with it, but for now, I feel that this is what God has for us.

Thanks so much for all of your support of Matt & I, as well as of this ministry.

Blessings and much love,
Rachel

His Heart

Friends and Family, 

It has been awhile since I have updated this thing, and so much has been going on in my life, so I thought that I would let all of you in on the excitement! ;) 

As I said in my last post, I am working on starting a respite ministry for severely and multiply impaired children/adults. My church has been an incredible support to me as I journey on this new and scary path. 

I am beginning to understand why not a lot of people have gone down the road to start a ministry for severely and multiply impaired individuals. It is hard, and it will be a long and sticky battle to finally get what I  desire and believe that God is leading me to do--to have official 501(c)3 status. The liability insurance will be the biggest battle, as it is expensive and because of the nature of the children that I will be serving. 

Nevertheless, I refuse to lose heart and give up. Right now, I am in the beginning stages of applying for non-profit status, which means that I need to put together a board of directors. I never imagined myself in this position--being an executive director of a ministry. The good Lord knows that I am not business-minded in any way, so that's one quality I am looking for in a few of the board members, as well as people who are passionate and willing to put one foot in front of the other, no matter how fast or slow the pace ends up being. 

Right now, I am asking for prayers above all (for my sanity, and for willingness to listen and follow God's call/will--however fast this ministry may happen). I tend to be a "jump on it" person, meaning that right now I would really just like to fast forward through all the legal stuff and just be able to love on the kids. But, that is not really a possibility right now, so prayers for patience would be welcomed! 

If anyone reading this has any advice whatsoever on the process of becoming a 501(c)3 or knows of anyone business-minded (or a tax lawyer), that would all be welcomed as well! 

Thanks for listening, and I assure you that I will do my very best to keep all of you updated as I embark on this exciting journey!! 

Blessings, 

Rachel