There is Freedom in the Name of Jesus

So, as I told many of you...I would keep you updated as to what happened to me in Peru.  I honestly can say I am a changed person and have only the Lord to thank for that one.  Of course, God used my team of amazing Christians from all over the United States also as they spoke what God was telling them into me.  I am a FREE and NEW person.  Clearly, my name is Rachel.  In the Bible, Rachel was a woman who was beautiful and Jacob, her husband waited 14 years to marry her.  She was an amazing woman who know God to the full, and she also was a mother whose desire was to see her children raised up on the Word of the Lord.  Why do I say this?  Well, here it is.  I fully believe that this is who God has called me to be.  There is a significance to why my name is Rachel.  Until recently, I've realized that this is the call that God has set upon my life.  It means raising youth on the Word of the Lord, whether it's my future kids or children who are longing for Christ.  I know this is what my calling is!  So this is just a little of what is going on within me at this point.

These are just a few things that have happened to change me into a different person.

• Lies have been broken.  I now know the truth.  For so long I was held captive to lies straight from the gates of hell, but throughout this past summer in Peru, God continued to speak into those areas and turned the dark to light.  It's amazing!  How can I not share this with people?  God is amazing!  When someone is asking for truth, I will share it...I don't care what others will say, I need to speak it out.
• Faith!  I have faith!  I have always wanted the gift of faith and God granted it to me this summer.  There were several times when people were healed physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc...  Up to Requena (our second village), I didn't think God would use me to bring healing to people.  Why?-it was a lie I was believing.  However, in Requena, there was a woman who had a crippled hand.  A couple of the teammates and I were praying over her and slowly, finger by finger her hand was restored to the original way hands are supposed to be.  Free to move and bend and work to bring glory to God.  Throughout the trip, I saw many other things come to be.  I am not saying that I am God, but am saying that through faith, anything is possible.  It's so sweet and all you can do is laugh, because God is amazing!
• Joy!  I have found that joy and happiness are completely different things.  I can be happy, but this is dependent upon circumstance.  Joy is not!  Joy is something that is found in your salvation of Christ.  You receive it once you become a Bible-believing Christian, yet you have the choice to live in or live in the dark.
• These are things I just need to share, because they are truth!  So here it goes!
• The joy of the Lord is my strength!  Nehemiah 8:10
• "The more truth you receive, the more joy you will find."-God
• I can either stand in the place of death and let the lies attack and plague me or I can stand in the light and know the truths and meditate on them day and night!
• Truth and joy are hand in hand.  So many times, when people are happy they say they are joyful, yet this is not true.  They are simply happy.  Joy is not a situation to situation type thing.  IT COMES WHEN YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE FREEDOM FROM THE SAVIOR!

So here's just a little of what God did for me this summer!  I have experienced God in so many ways that I can't even think living without him.  I am a changed person and I love life, even when obstacles come in the way.  I will not give up!