October.

I love October! I have several reasons why. The first reason is that it's the month of my birthday...yay!! I may be a little bias. And this year it's a big one folks. The big 25...yikes!

I also love October because it's the month when we celebrate thanksgiving. Granted we should be thankful all year round, but the same is true of every holiday. I still think it's nice to set aside special time for it so we can truly reflect and thank the Lord for his endless blessings in our lives, as well as enjoy a big turkey dinner (or whatever you eat at thanksgiving) with those you love.

Finally, I love October because that's when I feel like it's truly autumn. September is still a changing season, November is building up to Christmas and we see snow, but October is the climax of fall. Leaves are at their brillant best with their range of gorgeous colours. And when you walk in the midst of them it's like you're walking in one of God's masterpiece paintings.

So, happy first day of October everyone. I woke up this morning thankful and happy that this beautiful month is here. I encourage you all to spend some time with the creator of it all today and to maybe even walk in one of his breathtaking paintings. :)

Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. Psalm 33:8-9

With love,

Raquel

Beautiful people.

I have been incredibly blessed and inspired recently by two women whom I have never had the pleasure of meeting in person, but I've gotten to know a little bit through their writings.

Since returning from debrief I read a book called Authentic Beauty written by Leslie Ludy. Leslie invites and challenges young women to live set apart lives for God (or as she tends to refer to him our Prince). She reminds us that no human being could ever fulfill us like Christ alone can and that we can never truly enjoy human relationships unless our relationship with our real Prince (Christ) is the number one relationship in our lives. God has been using Leslie Ludy to invoke an even greater desire in me than ever before to live a life that is set apart for Him. Being set apart doesn't just mean being a Christian, it's so much more than that. It means being different even among Christians, it means seeking complete holiness in EVERY area of my life. I'm reminded right now of the verse that says "everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial" (1 Corinthians 10:23). What wise words. I have a list of new goals. I'm going to start being more radical in my life. Time is precious and I want every day to reflect more and more Jesus. I don't just want people to think "oh there's Raquel a nice Christian girl," rather I want people to say "there's Raquel a set apart woman of God."

Another beautiful woman of God who has blessed my heart to no end is author and speaker Beth Moore. Many of you may be familiar with her and her Bible studies, but although I had heard of her before, it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I became more familiar with her. My Bible study group and I have been going through one of her studies called "Stepping Up: a journey through the Psalms of Ascent." This study explores Psalms 120-134. These are psalms that traveling pilgrims would sing as they travelled to the great Jewish festivals. I have been so filled with joy and inspiration as I watch the dvds and do my homework. I love the title of the study because it's very symbolic of where I'm at right now. God is calling me to step up. He's beckoning for me to come closer to Him.

God is so good. I love how he uses people in our lives, sometimes people that we have never met and maybe never will on this side of heaven, to draw us to himself.

May He be praised!

Raquel

Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. Psalm 134

A New Season

As you can see I decided to change the layout of my blog.

I love symbolism, and I wanted my blog to change in order to reflect the change of season in my own life. As many of you know I have returned from spending almost a year in Panama and now I am in a season of waiting. It's interesting I was telling my sister Natalie today that I feel like the theme of waiting has been a constant in my life. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always like waiting but I know it's necessary. Afterall, the Bible tells us "to be still and know that I am God," Psalm 46:10a. So that's what I'm doing now; I'm being still and getting to know my God on a deeper level. For a while now God has been whispering to me that it's time to go into deeper waters with him, that I've done enough walking and now it's time to start running with Him. He has given me new specific prayer requests to pray over my life as well. I'm excited! Yes, at times it feels like the waters ahead are deep and scary, but I know Jesus won't take me to those waters without him going with me. And it is only Jesus that can give me streams of living water (reference to John 7:38).

"...Be still and know that I am God..." Psalm 46:10

Oh Canada!

Hello friends,

I am once again in the land of the maple leaf and Tim Hortons. I just realized that I have been in Canada for a little over a week and have yet to blog about it. Yikes, I apologize! My team and I returned to Canada July 4th and then headed off for a few days of debrief in Crieff Hills, Ontario. I am slowly getting back to the swing of things here and have begun meeting people for coffee dates. If you are in the Niagara region and would like to hear about what God is doing in Panama feel free to send me an email or give me a call.

God has been teaching me and reminding me of beautiful truths lately, which I hope to blog about later. I am excited to spend a summer resting in Him. Honestly, I'm just excited to fall more in love with Jesus. I can already feel it happening. Anyway, I can't wait to share some of the things I learned at debrief in another blog entry. I just wanted to inform you that my team and I are safely back in Canada and thank you for all your prayers.

To Him be all the praise!

Raquel

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

Aqui Estoy (Here I am)

Aqui Estoy (Here I am)
Por: Jesus Adrian Romero

No quiero perder las cosas que me
quedan por hacer las cosas que me
quedan por vivir en Ti.
No quiero olvidar las cosas que planeaste para mi
los sueños que me diste lo dare por Ti.

Coro:
No tienes que buscar a nadie mas yo quiero ir
Aqui esta mi tiempo, aqui estan mis horas
Aqui estoy Yo

Mi vida es para ti y en ti la quiero yo invertir
Aqui estan mis manos aqui esta mi voz
Aqui estoy Yo
Aqui estoy Yo

Listo quiero estar, los dones que me diste voy usar
los años que me has dado vivire por ti
Voy a conquistar la tierra que me diste
y sin dudar hare lo que me pides vivire por ti

Coro
No tienes que buscar a nadie mas yo quiero ir
Aqui esta mi tiempo y aqui estan mis horas
Aqui estoy Yo

Mi vida es para ti y en ti la quiero yo invertir
Aqui estan mis manos aqui esta mi voz
Aqui estoy Yo
Aqui estoy Yo

News about the Dominican Republic partnership.

As many of you know my team and I along with Panamanian students and staff went on a mission's trip to the Dominican Republic back in November 2008. It was the first Panamanian missions project to the Dominican Republic to help with movements of evangelism and discipleship on the campus there (Universidad Autonomo de Santo Domingo, or UASD). Panama has a partnership alliance with the Dominican Republic similar to the partnership alliance that exists between Canada and Panama. The next mission's trip to the Dominican will be from February 13 - February 28, 2010. Please be praying for the details of this trip, including the students that God has set apart to go. It's exciting to witness Panama as a sending nation!

While we were there in November we were always being filmed as part of a reality tv show that was being made. The purpose of this show is to demonstrate to the rest of Central America how to do a Missions project, as well as to encourage other countries. Everyone had a blast filming! It definitely made our trip extra special and fun. Last week we received an email saying that the trailer had been finished and had been posted onYouTube.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrAhkJ1-Fsc

I hope this wets your appetite for what's to come! I am looking forward to seeing the completed product! Enjoy! :)

Home

(Chorus)
In this life, you're the one place I call home
In this life, you're the feeling I belong
In this life, you're the flower and the thorn
You're everything that's fair in love and war

Head Over Heels (In this Life)
by Switchfoot

I have been wanting to blog for days but I couldn't bring myself to do it. My hesitation was that all I could think of to write about was how I have such mixed feelings about going back to Canada. Alas although I wanted to try and write about something different I can't help but blog about this transition. Honestly, I have been feeling super sad these days. Yesterday I told my teammates that I felt like I had a black cloud over me that I couldn't shake off. And being the wonderful team that they are they prayed for me. I began to pack today and it felt very strange. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm dreading returning to Canada; it's just hard to wrap my mind on the fact that I have to close the chapter on a season of my life that was very special to me. But that's life I know. It's weird though on Wednesday we were celebrating Karina's 25th birthday, yet it was also Steve's last day in Panama with us (he had to leave a week earlier than the rest of our team because his brother was getting married the next day). Contrasts have been a familiar theme in my life lately. Joys mixed with sorrows. I'm emotionally drained as a result of it all. Please lift up my team and I in prayer as we are all learning how to say goodbye.

Something God reminded me of yesterday morning is that home is where He is. My true home isn't Panama or Canada but rather my home is found in Jesus. I am always at home wherever I go because I always have Christ abiding in me and he goes with me everywhere. I take comfort in this, especially these days when I feel so lost at times. In this life Jesus is the one place I call home.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9

One of our last team photos in Panama