Travel and First night. July 3-4

So we have Internet access so I will be posting a little. Most post will be after I get home so I can put some pictures with the posts :) My friend Leanne and I flew from Seattle to Detroit which was a 4 hour flight. From ere was the longest plane ride, 8 hours to Paris. There we had an hour and a half layover were we met up with some our team from Kentucky, Kristina and Niki, right before we were about to board Mari, Janet, and Rebekah appeared! It was about a 6 hour flight to Lome and we were delayed about 45 minutes because waiting for 3 passengers and when they didn't come they had to get there luggage off. We got off after that and finally landed in Togo!! :) We got off the plane and took a shuttle bus to the airport then had to wait in line for quite awhile to go through passport control. It was about 7pm and it was already dark, but still very humid, which was something to get used to here lol. We got our luggage and went through customs. Daniel Kpowbie our host and leader in Togo picked us up with a van and 1 other vehicle. All our luggage was secured on top of the van and off we were. It was about and hour drive to Daniel's house. The ride was exciting, many car but many many more motor bikes zooming in and out of traffic. People were street side with booths set up to sell. There was so much activity. First Night When we arrived there was a group of women and children to greet us and Leah and Roger also who had arrived the day before. It was so great to see them since the last time I had seen them was 10+ years ago! Our bags were unloaded and put in our rooms...Leanne and I are roommates! The room was tile floor, cement walls, and had 2 windows. There were some nice spiders and a lizard crawling around the walls. We were served by Daniel's wife and friends. They cooked a wonderful meal of veggies, rice and fish. Taking a cool shower before bed was amazing after traveling for 24 hours and because of the humidity. There is only one temperature for the water. We blew up our air mattresses and hung our mosquito nets and fell asleep. I'm back in Africa :)

Travel

Departing from Seattle at 2pm on July 3 with a layover in Detroit and Paris I will arrive in Lome, Togo on July 4th at 6:05pm! About 19 hours of travel with an 8 hour time change. Please pray for safety and health! I am to take malaria pills and last time I had bad side effects.

It is an overwhelming wonderful feeling to have so many people tell me that they are praying for me and my team. I'm very blessed and God is so faithful! :)

I know the Lord will hear all prayers and His will will be done in Togo during our time there. I will have alot to write about upon my return and am thankful for all who continue to follow for updates. Pray for the hearts in Togo who will hear the words we speak and that God will give the word He wants us to speak ;)

This is short for I am tired and need some sleep before leaving for the airport in 7 hours :) Signing off until July 16.

The Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does. Ps. 33:4

Leaving for Africa on Tuesday!!

Just about 3 more days until LeAnne and I leave for Togo, Africa! I'm ecstatic! It is so amazing that God has provided for me to go back to Africa after a little over a year since being home from South Africa. Above is a team work schedule for our trip! 12 days in Togo total. The other 2 days are traveling there and back.
I have been so blessed by the support and prayer from everyone. Continue to keep us in your prayers! For travel safety, health, and the people that will hear the Word...may they be encouraged!

Visa Approved

10 days!!

I can't believe in a little over a week I will be in Togo, Africa with some pretty amazing people! :D God has been incredibly faithful in providing the funds for this trip! Thank you everyone who donated, I'm so very blessed. It is greatly appreciated if you will continue praying for me and our team as the time draws near and while we are on mission and traveling from July 3 to 16.
Our team of 9 has had 2 conference calls together over the last month praying together, going over the trip details, etc. It has been awesome and I'm looking forward to working together with this team for the furthering of His Kingdom! We are all excited to be a part of MASTER Provisions first team to Togo with their new partner -- SEC-Togo or Lifewind International. You can find out more about it here! It is very exciting :)
 Our Leader in Togo: Daniel Kpowbie, father of 2 girls, and his wife, will be our hosts and we will work under Daniel’s authority.  Daniel is a dynamic and Spirit-filled pastor in West Africa and in great demand for training and implementing CHE (pronounced CHAY) – Community Health Evangelism.  Kristina worked with him for a week in Niger last summer and recommended that we forge a partnership with Daniel and Lifewind.  Our first container of clothing and shoes arrived in Togo in March and 25 ladies now have good full-time jobs to distribute clothing.  The second MP shipment to Togo on June 16th will be the 500th shipment in MP history.  Each shipment contains about 34,000 pounds of clothing, shoes and other needed supplies.


So it's June 22 now and the 500th shipment was sent! Check it out ---> click here

I will be posting more next week with our itinerary, specific prayer requests, etc. Stay tuned!
Love in Christ,
Rachel

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45 days and counting!

45 more days until I leave for Togo, Africa!!!

At the end of April I received an e-mail from Roger at MASTER Provisions with the info on our itinerary for Togo! I was so excited to see the flight schedule, it was just another step completed towards Africa! And last week I sent in my passport and visa application so please pray that that will be approved without a glitch.

Also, Roger sent a short description of each of the 9 people on our team going to Togo :) I can't wait to meet everyone. On Monday we are having a conference call with everyone so then I will be officially "meet" the 4 other ladies I'm not acquainted with yet :) We will be discussing the trip in more detail and brainstorming for the evangelistic outreach. Everyone on this trip lives in Kentucky besides myself and my friend who is going, and we're from WA :) We will be meeting up with part of the team on our connecting flight in Paris, France.

On the funds front I have just $1,000 more left to raise! Praise the Lord! I'm so blessed and thankful for the people who have become part of this mission through their donations! Thank you! I'm also extremely blessed by the prayer support as well!

Prayer requests:

• God will provide the remaining funds for this mission trip.
• Our visa applications will be approved.
• God would blessed our time on the conference call on Monday. Discussing the trip and work on lessons for our evangelistic outreach to the women and children in Togo.
• That everyone will be given ample amount of peace and calm as the travel dates get closer.
• All other arrangements, packing, etc. will fall into place smoothly for everyone.
• May all hearts become teachable for what God will be doing in Togo.
• Pray for the director in Togo, Daniel Kpowbie, who will be our team leader.
• Pray for Roger Babik leading MP's first trip to Togo.
• Continue praying for the people in Togo who we will be engaged with that God will begin working on their hearts.
• May we focus on actively being on mission with the gospel.

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Love in Christ,
Rachel
Isaiah 26:3

Mission trip July 2012 Update

Unrest and civil war in Mali has the potential to spread to Niger. So MASTER Provisions has moved the mission trip to Togo, Africa!

MP has a mission partner in Togo and they would love for our team to work there! They do church planting and Community Health Evangelism work in Togo. We would focus on evangelical outreach to children and families in and around the capital city of Lome. The director there was thrilled to have this oppertunity to host MASTER Provisions group for the FIRST team from MP in Togo!

A few changes though. The dates of this trip will be July 2-17 and the funds I will have to raise is now $3050. I'm so thankfully for the generous donations so far and am blessed to say that I just have to raise $1,839 (this is already deducting the first deposit I made myself :) I am also extrememly blessed to have the commitment of your prayers! I know God is at work in this! If you are lead to support me finianically the infomation is here.

Roger from MASTER Provisions informed me that this was the first time in leading 34 international trips that this has happened in having to make a change! But that this change is firmly in God's control and out of his. Praise the Lord!
In my own devotions God has encouraged me that I can't control events! When changes happen I can lean on my own understanding all I want, but that will just bring stress and confusion. Leaning on God's providential control brings me peace and is the only way to escape the devil's temptation to have me doubt.

God's will controls all that happens. Instead of being unhappy that the plan I had was changed I am thankful that this is where God wants me to go...Togo!

I dare you to move

Support

Greetings!
After returning from 5 months in South Africa volunteering at Lambano Sanctuary a home for HIV+/AIDS children in 2011, I had been praying about what the next step God wanted me to take regarding Africa. I've had a passion for missions overseas since I was young and particularly for the country of Africa and the people for 3 years. I'm excited to go to Niger for a 2 week medical evangelism trip with MASTER Provisions July 3-16, 2012! I know I can count on your prayer support and if God leads you to support me financially you can send a donation for the furthering of His Kingdom to me at:

Rachel Young
5844 Mountain Lane Rd.
Peshastin, WA 98847

Or through PayPal. My e-mail is quietdignity87@hotmail.com

The cost of this trip is $2,800. I have been working hard to save, but of course a trip like this requires financial help from a number of people! I have already covered the first deposit on my own. My next payment is due before May 1 and then the last one before June 15.

Become a fan of MP on facebook here.

May God bless you for your time, prayers, and support :)

Love in Christ,
Rachel

You will keep in perfect peace
   those whose minds are steadfast,
   because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3

Off to Africa 2012

It is hard to think that at this very time last year I was just arriving in South Africa to stay 5 months. It sometimes doesn't seem like it happened! But it did. The things that I experienced and learned there will always be near my heart, good and bad. The journey God led me through when I came home, the stretch and molding to put my tryst in Him daily!

Something I read in my bible study this week from 1 Thess. 1:3 where Paul was thanking the Thessalonians for their faithfulness and it has challenged me to live out as them and...to remember to work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and have endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Keeping this in mind I have made the decision to go to Niger in July! I feel the Spirit leading once again just like before with South Africa. Another amazing thing is a friend in a bible study I go to has decide to come as well! It is such a blessing to go with people I know this time! I'm excited once again. 

I laugh because God is always faithful...and how silly I am to worry or think less like I was for the last half of 2011. God is probably laughing too ;)

Niger July 2012

I have been praying about what God wants me to do next... after coming back from South Africa it's never been the same and have felt like a short-term mission is what He may be calling for. I still have Lambano very much on my heart and would like to return there for an even longer time period in the future if that is God's leading.

I recently came to realize that a family we went to church with when we lived in Kentucky has grown their organization called Master Provisions to reach countries in Africa! When they first started over 15 years ago they were just in Ukraine and I remember helping them pack clothes in containers to ship over there.

One of their short term mission trips is a medical evangelism trip to Niger in July with Master Provisions. It will be for the first 2 weeks in July and I will be doing a variety of tasks like charting vitals, working in the pharmacy, cleaning and cooking, holding babies so people can obtain their weights, crowd control, prayer, evangelism, laundry, etc.

"We started this partnership with Niger Christian Mission back in 2006. We entered into a 7-year strategic project that we call a Sustainable Community Project, where we help them to become self-supporting. One area in our partnership is medical care. Until the permanent medical clinic is built, we have been taking medical evangelism teams over every 6 months to work in different areas where Niger Christian Mission has a presence. In an Islamic nation, community care or development projects relating to medical, food and clean water are bridges of friendship used as a platform to share Jesus."

I would appreciate your prayer support as I consider going on this trip as the next step God wants me to take. I will have to decide by April. I feel it is, just thinking about it gives me a spark I haven't really had since South Africa :)

In Christ,
Rachel