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Counting Every Blessing

 

Group Photo at Laodicea



Hey Hey Hey!

It has been a while since I have written an update like this. Life has changed a lot over the past several months. I have sat down to write an update several times, but I have not been fully sure of what I wanted to write.

The last time I wrote an update was about a year ago when the decision had been made to leave Costa Rica early at the beginning of the pandemic. It seems unreal that it has been a year. Though there are many difficulties I could list from my own experiences this year, there are also many blessings. So this update is coming at you in the form of a list of blessings: 

1. After returning home from Costa Rica I found a job that I was able to work from April to August. I know that many people lost jobs through that time and I was grateful I was able to at least work part-time.

2. Over the summer I was able to travel and visit friends I had not been able to see in a very long time.


3. In August I started my job as a resident leader for OneLife Institute at their Black Rock site in Quarryville, PA. OneLife is a Christian gap year program that aims to "develop and launch servant leaders who live out their faith in every area of life". 

Staff Team


4. We have 38 incredible students. Even through COVID precautions, quarantines, and wearing masks, we have had a great year. COVID doesn't end discipleship. It doesn't take away community. It didn't take away our adventures, our classroom learning, or our leadership development. It could not end the sweet sweet times of uncontrollable laughter or the late night chats. It did not take away opportunities for service or for selflessness. We refused to let it take away our joy or our hope. Those things we found to be secure even in the midst of trial. 

5. We were able to travel to Montana in October, Washington D.C. in November, and Gretna Glen Camp in December. We hosted all of our sites (about 100 students) at Black Rock in January. In February, we traveled to Williamsport, PA to stay at Camp Wayumi. A couple of weeks ago we went to Turkey where we walked where Paul walked and visited many sites of the early churches. 


Tribal Council Meeting Room in Montana



All Sites Gathering 



This year might have looked different than I expected and there were many challenging moments, but it has been a year filled with many blessings. 

Thanks for reading this. I did updates like this regularly while in Costa Rica so I thought it would be nice to write one about this current year of ministry. 

A few prayer requests-
1. We would finish this year well! Graduation is May 7th!
2. That our Trek trip would go well. We will be backpacking for 5 days.
3. For summer plans to work out- housing and a job

With Love, 

Rachel Martha

And here are a few more favorite photos from Turkey. There are really too many to post here. 



At the hot springs in Hieropolis 





 

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