We are rejoicing in having our daughter Rachael back from her YWAM DTS program and home with us!! We thought we would let her share for this month's entry...
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| Rachael and her team with the staff of SHE ministry in Thailand |
Hello everyone!
I thought I would let you all know that I have finished the school and I am now at home in the Dominican Republic. I wanted to give you an update of my last month in Thailand and the transition back afterward.
As I told you all before, I was doing ministry in a very tourist area of Thailand called Phuket, and I was going out to meet and talk with prostitutes working in the bars in the hope of building a relationship with them, sharing God's love with them, and offering them a job outside of the bars. Yes, all of this was very new to me and I was really scared at the beginning, but God was so faithful to me and he gave me his heart for these women and the words needed in each situation. Through these nights out at the bars, being surrounded by so much evil, I actually encountered God in a completely new and amazing way. I realized that he not only equipped me before hand for the ministry he had planned for me, but he also walked with me and communicated with me through it all. It's crazy! I loved it! This ministry was by far the hardest part of the outreach for me, but it was also my absolute favorite part because I grew so much through all of it - the ups and downs, the joy and the sorrow, everything!
Our outreach ended in the first week of March and we headed back to Switzerland for a week of debriefing. I was so grateful for this time because we looked back on the whole school and reflected on the goals we made at the beginning, the ways we believed God had worked in us, and the areas in our lives where we had seen growth. I think for me one of the biggest changes I have seen in my life is the way I view God in relation to me. For a long time I knew a lot about God and his character and I could see him working in my life, but then I would still do many things on my own. It was like he had his job and I had my job, but they were separate. I relied on myself more than I wanted to admit. Over the six months and through various challenging teachings, conversations, situations, and talks with God, gradually he has been bringing me to trust him more. No, I'm not perfect. I still sometimes try to take matters into my own hands, but more often than not I am finding myself surrendering everything over to him before I try to have my way. And guess what!? He hasn't failed me! Not once! And he usually surprises me with the way he goes about handling everything. I end up learning a lot more. Anyway, that is one way that I have seen God work in my life during the DTS.
I was really blessed to have my parents and sister come to Switzerland for my graduation. I had planned on picking up my parents from the airport, and I was completely surprised when my sister walked up to me out of nowhere. I could not have had a better surprise! They got to meet all my teammates and leaders and see the base where I had lived for three months. Then after the school ended we traveled around Europe, visiting family in France and Italy and exploring Barcelona. I loved getting to spend that time with my family after being separated for so long. So that was the end to my time in Europe.
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| Reunited selfie!! |
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| Enjoying Europe as a family--french croissants!! |
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| Sisters reunited |
I want to thank you all so much for your support and prayers during these past six months. I know that this experience has been an incredible blessing from God and that he used you all to make it possible and to encourage me throughout. I would love to share more or answer any questions you all may have, so feel free to email me! I would also be up for meeting with you in the next couple months if you live in the Santiago area or this summer if you live in the States.
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| Saying goodbye to roommates (German and French) in Switzerland |
Really I cannot say enough how thankful I am for you all. Thank you so much! It has been wonderful to share this with you and I hope I will be able to see you all soon to thank you in person.
God bless!
Rachael Schwulst