"Teacha, Teacha!"

"Teacha, Teacha!" This is how the students at FHS address me. Teacha Rachel is sometimes a litttle hard to pronounce so they just cry out Teacha. :-)

Wow... there is so much to tell. I have been in Namibia for 11 days now. And honestly it has gone by so fast. Amanda and I arrived on a Friday had orientation Saturday moved in with our Namibian host family Sunday and began our work at FHS on Sunday. We are living with a Namibian family. The dad is from Angola, the mother is from South Africa and they have 2 daughters our age. They are such a wonderful, godly family!! Each night we have family bible study together. The way that they constantly praise the Lord and thank Him for every little thing (whether it be safe travel for the day or just providing food for dinner); they are genuinely thankful to the Lord for everything. This has truly encouraged Amanda and I to be thankful for every blessing the Lord has given us in our lives. Through everything the Lord has been so faithful. This blog may sound so vague... but it is honestly because there is so much to tell.

I love working at FHS. I am helping to teach Grade 3 and Grade 4 students. Each morning we start the day like this... I say, "Good morning, class!" and in unison the class says, "Good morning, Teacher Rachel!" Then I say, "how are you, class?" And in unison they say, "I'm fine. Thanks. How are you?" The students are trained to greet their teachers like this everyday. Then we begin the day with a bible story. They are so interested to hear about God and His word. They are so hungry for attention and love! Anytime they get an answer right I make sure to tell them "Good job!" and encourage them. They need encouragement in their lives because they really don't get it anywhere else. When they hear an encouraging word, their faces light up!


The students at FHS are come from homes that have been affected by HIV/AIDS. These children are so young and yet they carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. My heart broke the very first day being with these children. The children long for attention and love. I know God is doing great things. I am realizing just more and more each day how I NEED the Lord for strength every single day (every single moment). Please pray that I will be filled with God's love to pour out on these children. They need the love of Christ and His salvation. Thank you so much for your prayers and encouraging words! I am so blessed by the body of Christ. We serve a great God!! Continue to walk faithfully with Him and serve Him each day.

Love in Christ,
Rachel

Isaiah 61

We're here!!!

PRAISE THE LORD.... we made it safely to Windhoek, Namibia around 1 pm here and around 6 or 7 am Memphis time. I just wanted everyone to know that we made it here safely. It really is amazing to think that we just flew half way across the world in the past few days.. CRAZY! We are all a little exhausted and jet lagged. So just pray for strength. Thankfully we have orientation this weekend... which should be a good time for us to relax and gain some strength.

Namibia is beautiful.. it really is desert land though. It makes me feel like I am in the Lion King though. :-) The Rineer family is the missionary family we are working with. They are so great! And their kids are adorable. I look forward to getting to know them and serving with them. Thank you again for all your prayers! I can definately feel them. God Bless each of you!!! I am so excited what the Lord has in store!