Endings.

Hello all my dear friends and family, 

Well I had almost an entire blog on my last bush bush outreach typed, but all with a press of a button it was gone never to return. I have been so busy with finishing this school well I just haven't had the time or capacity to re-write it over. So much is going on. So I have decided to just give a quick testimony from bush then bring you all up to date with everything going on. 

This last time out in the bush was so great and easy compared to my previous teams I have lead into to bush bush. So many amazing things happened. The chief of the village came for breakfast after the first night. We blessed her, introduced ourselves, prayed and prophesied over her and the village, and gave her an audio Bible in her own language.  She wasn't a Christian, but an hour or so later she asked to receive Jesus into her heart. We saw many healings and got to bless a local church with manual labor by moving bricks from a field to where a new church was being built. 

One of the craziest things that happened for me though, was the morning we were leaving. Before breakfast we were all gathered around chatting and packing up while waiting for the water for our tea to boil. When all of a sudden we were disturbed by the sound of drums and chanting. We looked up to the area where breakfast was being prepared and a huge crowd had formed around the house. The drums and chanting got even louder. Once we had realized what was happening I had this righteous anger boiling up inside of me faster than the water for tea was boiling. The crowd was formed around these three witch doctors who didn't like the atmosphere we had brought with us and decided to try and counter act it, but it made me so angry that they even thought they had a chance against our God. I exclaimed "what do they think they are doing" out loud. One of my co-leaders, in an attempt to calm me down said, "Rachael, just ignore it and pray," I was not having that. So I marched right up to where the crowd had formed. I had no clue what I was doing, but all I wanted to do was to give them a good stare as if to say with my eyes "what do you think you are doing." The crowd saw me coming and began to disperse and laugh at my attempts to threaten them with my eyes. As the witch doctors began to leave to go to another house  I nearly bumped into one as he was turning the corner. I wanted to say so many things in that moment, but all my Portuguese left my thoughts and the only thing I could remember was "Jesus Te ama" (Jesus loves you), so I said it. As I shook his hand I heard God say "do not let them provoke you. Remember who carries more authority."   The man gave me a good long confused stare before saying something in Makuah (tribal Langauage) then moving on. I just told the team to continue to release the Kingdom of heaven and enjoy our breakfast with out any fear that they had any kind of power over our camp sight. That moment will stick with me forever. 

Graduation is in a few hours and that is a strange feeling. Harvest School 19 is nearly over just 3 more days until myself, my co-leader Natalie, and 8 students head to Thailand for a 21 day outreach! I am so excited, but also sad to be saying goodbye again! This school has sped by with no mercy. It seems like an age ago I was in Holland getting wrecked. As well as, God releasing my fist ever spiritual parents, Jason Lee Jones and His wife Regina, who have now been here in Pemba for the last few weeks pouring into me and the students.  I am so amazed by the family and community God has so blessed me with. Who he has been placing into my life to stand behind me and go before me. I am truly a blessed daughter! So thank you all so much as well for the prayers and financial support. It means so much to me in ways I am not sure I can express. 

Please keep me in your prayers. I need as much as I can get as the school is finishing and my team and I head into one of the darkest countries in the world. Pray for Wisdom, pray for Peace, pray for guidance and financial breakthrough. 

As of right now I have no ticket home for lack of finances, but I trust God and the direction He has given me thus far. Which is that when the outreach is finished I am to head to L.A. To visit my sister, who I have not seen in over a year! Spend 3 weeks to a month with her resting and being with Jesus while she is at work.  Then going to Colorado for a couple of days to go to my good friend Katherine's wedding. After that I will head to TN for just a month or so before heading to Brazil to live under some of my favorite people in the world, Herbert and Lorelie, to serve at an Iris Base there for about a month before heading  back to staff HS20 ( Harvest School 20) ( I am still praying about this step, but as of right now I am a yes until I am a no). That is the direction I feel like I have received from Jesus for the next 6 months of my life.  And I have no idea what it will look like or who will come into the midst of it, but God is in control and I will follow Him until the end. My life, not only my death belongs to the Him. 

I hope this update finds you all well. I really would like to know what I can be praying for you all about so respond if you have things you would like me to contend with you about!

May all the Glory and Praise be to Him who is worthy!

Much Love & Many Blessings. 

Love always,

Rachael Michelle Singleton

Holland. A Mission Possible Experience.

This has been a long time coming.  First, I wanted to update you all on my trip to Holland, but things are very busy here in Pemba and time has just been slipping further and further away!

Second, I wanted to update you on life in Pemba and the school, but I will get to that another time.

Being in Holland at the Mission Possible Conference was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever been apart of.  Really I wasn’t extremely sure why I was there, but God totally paid for everything, for me to be there, so I wasn’t going to complain.

The flights were long, but the team and I got to Holland with possessions in tacked. We headed to the conference site, about two hours from the airport. But, first we spent the afternoon in Amsterdam city exploring and eating amazing food. After living in Pemba for so long food becomes a big deal.

 Arriving to the hostel where we would be staying with 182 other Harvest school Alumni and guests.  We as Harvest School staff were in charge and put straight to work to help run the conference. And we didn’t stop.  It was 18-hour days from then on out. Organizing, making sure jobs were getting done, and people were where they were meant to be.

Despite all the hard work we were doing running the Iris side of the conference it was such an honor to be there and extremely humbling to be in the same room as some the amazing men and women of faith that were there.  80 plus nations represented at the conference as a whole and 50 of those nations considered closed nations. As in they are nations closed off to parts of the world particularly Christians and or Christianity. 

We had 50 plus Christian leaders from those closed countries come and risk there lives to be at the conference to share about the work they are doing in some of the most dangerous places in the world. Places where there are literally only 20 Believers in the entire country and if they are found out they would be shot.  How they sacrifice themselves daily for the gospel, how there people are being tortured and murdered for the sake of the name Jesus.

I cannot go into much more detail than that because if most of there governments found out they were there they would be killed.  That is the severity of the world we live in and it can be so easy sometimes to just look the other way or not think about the importance one little life can have.

Some of the big name people who spoke at the conference were; Heidi Baker, Philip Mantofa, Bill Johnson. Kris Vallaton, Lou Engle, Brother Andrew, Lauren Cunningham, Matteus Van Der Stein, and David Wagner.   The conference was a amazing and we had 24/7 prayer going months before and during the conference. 

It really made me think about my calling in life.  3 years ago when I was a student in the Harvest Mission school I told God “YES” my heart was screaming it. I said “to the darkest and Most dangerous places Lord and then Darker!”  However, since then I have been in process. God has literally been refining after refining me. Teaching me a servant heart. Showing me that laying down your life doesn’t just mean dying for someone, which I am willing and hungry to do! But sometimes it looks like dying to self first and obeying God No matter the cost. I want to be a Martyr, but I want to be a martyr that really lived out the gospel!  I want my life to have glorified My Savior in every aspect not just in my death!

God has given me a promise! “Ask and I will give the nations to you as your inheritance! “ And I know there is no Partiality in God (Romans 2:11, Deuteronomy 10:17-18). Therefore; I know I can trust Him to finish what He started. And I will glorify Him in everything even if it is not the glamorous and adventurous missionary story everyone wants.  

 I no longer want to sit around and play good little missionary when there are people out there who one have never heard the name Jesus and who are dying and sacrificing everything because they know the power in the that very name.  

 I know the power in that name and I want to start using it in more ways than just for myself. 

But Has put me in this season of planting and imparting that very seed of hunger and willingness into the lives of other Christians around me.

My life story my not be one of excitement or extreme trauma God saved me from, but He rescued me out of my own complacency and stagnancies. He saved me from myself. And Part of my destiny is calling people out of themselves.

 The conference stirred up a huge hunger inside of me to see God’s people come back to Him and know their Identities in Him.

God really started breaking my heart even more and confirming many things about my future to me. I had always felt called to war zones and to dark places, but never felt the okay to just run straight into any of it. As if I wasn’t qualified enough. However, God showed me its not about my qualification its about obedience. Which is something I always knew in my head, but fear gripped my heart.  I know now that obedience is so much greater than sacrifice.

I want to see a generation of soldiers, drug lords, pimps, and complacent Christians rise up and realize their real identity. Realize their Value. I want to see them worship God with there entire lives! I want to see these people Love the God of this creation!

I want to Challenge you. Go and Ask God for more hunger for Him. Then ask Him to use you. Then obey.  Sacrifice is the easy when we are in the midst of obedience.

I have more I need to update about, but this was more important to my heart. I just got back from my weekend bush-bush outreach and I will have a blog up about that soon.

I love and miss you all. I ask only that you keep me in your prayers. If you feel lead to intercede for me and if you are willing please email me personally. I need you.  (Rachaels7@gmail.com)

Much Love and Blessings,

Rachael Michelle

All is well here in Pemba. I am a little behind on updating you all and I am sorry about that. Staffing takes up lots of time and energy and I finally have the time to sit down and write a real update.

 School is already finished with its second week! Students are getting charged up and are very much ready for all God has for them in this season.

 Before the school started I was praying and asking God what He had in this season I heard Him say, “I am taking this school from “there is always enough” to there is more than enough!” I know the students feel it now and as they continue to grow and change they will see the “more than enough” so clear.

 The school has been divided into 21 one color groups and are being sent out weekly and daily into the bush, village, and to the one in front of them. The color group I am leading was just got back from something we call emersion. Which is where we send out students into the village with a “mama” or a Pastor to learn about the culture and live for 24 hours with a Mozambican Family. Recently the government has not been happy with the masses of people that come in from around the world to attend Harvest School and has set up many rules that the students are required to follow. Yesterday before my team was heading out on emersion the government called and permitted us from staying the night because they said it was a holiday and it was to dangerous. However, we had a blast made the best out of the situation. The Mama we went home with was named, Philomena, and she has 4 children. We walked about 20 minutes through the village to her house and then spent the day hanging out, chatting, painting nails, and playing many games. It was very disappointing for the students to not be able to stay the night and really experience daily life with the mama in the village, but we did our best bless their family as much as possible.

 Please be praying for rest for me… I am in a really unnecessarily difficult season with God right now. I am longing to just go away with Him and not do anything else, but am really feeling the wait of responsibility of running the school, being a house mom, and a color group leader. I could really use prayer in this area. I am still in process of learning how to Rest even in the work… One thing I die everyday to.

 Also God has handed me an amazing opportunity to go to Holland in about 8 days for the Mission Possible Conference. I wrote something about it a month or so ago. Within 42 hours of last school God had completely covered all of the expenses for the conference and flights there and back to Pemba! I was so blown away and I cannot wait to go and tell you all everything that happens!


 At the end of this school I will be headed to Thailand to lead outreach until the 30th of December. I am so extremely excited about this. I know and can feel God has so much in store for my time there. I am still waiting on the finances to come in to actually buy my plane tickets, which are going to cost roughly $900.00 dollars to get there one way. I am still praying about what will happen after that, but direction will come in the right time.

 My hope, after outreach, is to join a small team that will be heading to a closed Northern Asian country in mid January. I am really asking for your prayers in this time. North Korea has been a huge desire of my heart for the past three years. I believe I will see and be apart of a huge revival there. I was told about a few people planning a trip and was asked if I wanted to join. I said “of course!!” Since then I have not heard any plans, but I am still in contact with the other people and will see them in Holland in just 8 days!! I do believe I will still go. And I would really love your prayers and spiritual covering in this time. I have waited sometime to tell people about this part of my journey because of the heaviness this country has had on my heart for so long. I really hope you all will be partnering with me especially in prayer! I believe God has put that country on my heart for a reason and as I grow deeper into Him my heart gets bigger for them.

 My life has one direction and one plan and that is to run full force into my God’s arms everyday. Wherever He takes me from there is up to Him. I am willing and everyday becoming more and more able. I cannot wait to update you more! Right now I am just living the dream life in Pemba. Pouring into 300 students from 42 different nations of the world and watching as their lives are completely transformed! Everyday I am so thankful for the life God has given to me. With out Him I would never be where I am today. I miss you all and love you all… I think about you all everyday. I am always praying for the amazing community God blessed me with and the family I have been placed in. Love and Blessings, Rachael Michelle Singleton
 

Held Hostage In Jobeurg

9 days in Joberg and a few weeks in America. 

I am sorry I have not been better about writing this sooner. The time just escaped my grasp to quickly for me to keep up. 

After my 10 days in the bush I was really tired. Physically and mentally. I was ready to be home in America with friends and family and feeling very blessed that I even got the opportunity to do so. 

Finally out of Pemba I landed in Johannesburg. I had an over night layover until my next flight so I made plans to stay with another staff members family, who have a ministry in the city, over night.

The family was amazing and so generous! They drove me back to the airport the next night. Because it is so much cheaper I typically get buddy pass tickets when flying home from places. A buddy pass is acquired from someone who works for or is retired from certain airlines and are given extremely discounted prices on flights, but they are standby tickets. Before now I had never had a problem getting onto a flight and have even been given a first class a couple of times. However, a fire had broken out a month or so earlier In the Nairobi airport causing all flights through that airlines terminal to be redirected in Johannesburg. As well it was school starting season so many people were flying back to America to go back to school. Causing the air traffic from Joberg to America, specifically to ATL, to be extremely over crowded. Making everyone on standby the absolute last priority.  

I arrive at the airport that night very expectant to get on, but that is not what happened. And that was not what for 9 more nights.... 

The first night I ran into one of the students from my 10 day bush team, Julian. He was also flying standby back to ATL and it looked like we were stuck together. We called some friends we new and they were so kind to pick us. Day after day... After day we were so hopeful of getting home. Our friends picked us up and drove us back to the airport every night. Never complaining or asking us to get a taxi. Always willing and when we didn't get on they would pray with us and thank God for another night together.... It totally wrecked me. I have never felt so taken care of in the midst of such emotional trauma. I have also never lived out that verse in proverbs that says "hope differed makes the heart sick." I learned all to well exactly what that verse meant. 

God was totally teaching me something... I just had no clue what it was, but I also felt the peace in not knowing and that one day I would.

  

I was going stir crazy and my soul was just longing to be back in America.  I felt totally useless emotionally.  I was spent and really the only thing I had to lean on was God.  Every morning I would wake up and say “thank you God for this day, thank you that you are in control, and thank you that I can trust you.”  It was the only thing that kept me from going completely mental.  And I am not exaggerating on that.

While there, I didn’t just waste my time away.  I was given many opportunities to pour what little I had left into the city of Johannesburg.  The place where Julian and I stayed the majority of the nights was at a rehab ministry for people who had been hardcore drug addicts and are now clean, but struggling and who want to give a year to God to receive more healing and understanding.

Living with those people made my life seem so ridiculous and the way they were so generous with their space and time was completely the heart of God. Papa Dennis the father of my bush co-leader and the owner of the ministry let us come with him to share with the homeless and feed the men on the streets looking for work.  He also gave everything he had to us whenever he could.  He is such a beautiful man and it was an incredible honor to be with him and his family.

We also got to go to a lion park and pet lions! 

On that same day Bob Johnson (Bill Johnson’s brother) was doing a conference in a neighboring city.  We decided to go and they were going to go “treasure hunting” after Bob spoke.  Dennis, Julian, and I were hungry so we decided to go find something to eat and then go to the lion park. We were asking God where we should go and we landed at this strange gated German restaurant called “Marco Polo”.  

We drove in the gate and the first person to walk up to us was a prostitute.  Quickly we realized we had just driven into this brothel, bar, and restaurant, where all of the workers were in prostitution.  I sat down with the woman who first approached us and she began to tell me about her life and kept asking if I was okay.  I think she was concerned I was mixed up with the wrong crowd.  I told her I was great and very safe.  She told me how she wanted to quit drinking and smoking.  I was able to pray with her for that and chat with her for a bit before she wandered off to where the guys were looking at the menu.  Papa Dennis was able to release the Father’s love to her and really just be a papa to her when no one else ever had.  We also met the owner who was a very old rich German man and he was very confused by us which was funny, but he told us to come back anytime!

After 10 days and 9 nights in Johannesburg trying to get home I told God that if I didn’t get on this flight I would assume I wasn’t meant to go home and I would just get a new visa for Pemba and head back there.  Even though I knew God had told me I was to go home, I began to really second guess what I thought I had heard.  My body physically broke down that night at the airport.  I could no longer hold myself up on my feet.  Tears were flooding my eyes against my own will and my breathing increased drastically. I couldn’t take the stress of it all anymore and I was at my breaking point.  I pleaded that God would have mercy and do something, anything, to put me and the 20 others who had been waiting, on that flight.  And He did.  Everyone but 5 people got on that last flight.  I had never been so happy in my entire life, for anything.  I had never wanted to leave a country so badly.

I think God was really showing me that my home was in Him and nowhere else.  That He was my safety and my place of rest—no one else and nothing else.  No person, not even my own strength could get me where I needed to go without His hand on me.

I got less time at home than I thought I wanted, but it was exactly what I need.

10 Days in The bush

As Harvest School staff we are required to lead an outreach after the school. This school I co-lead with Some Mozambican pastors and another staff member a group of about 17 people into the Bush bush of Mozambique. 

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. To be Honest I feel like I never do. That is the cost of saying yes to God and it is so worth it even if it has its challenges. 

Bush bush was not my fist Choice, but after a very intense chain of events I felt most peace in it!

We saw many, many amazing things, but overall the outreach was very hard as a leader. Mozambican culture is very different from the "western, white man" culture and a lot of issues were formed between the Mozambican leaders and my Harvest School co-leader and I. There are many things I would do differently.  Our last night we stayed at a Longterm missionaries home in the Far north of Mozambique. Called Mocimba de Paria about 7 hours from Pemba. We stayed there our last night as a resting place before going back to Pemba. There in Mocimba we had a meeting with all the leaders. A lot of false accusations were made and the amount of miscommunication that we had no Idea was going on come out. I was not sure any of it was handled well during the trip from either side, but I learned a lot about myself and how much I need to only lean on God to show me how to handle situations and lead not lean on anyone else even if they have more experience. 

Despite my leadership abilities being thoroughly tested we had an incredible team. Everyone was always so willing to serve and bless and there was no complaining everyone was so passionate and understanding even when translation was lost and plans changed. And plans were changed, constantly. 

Being in the bush is not easy if you haven't lived in that environment before. You are sleeping on the ground in tents, you stay covered in dirt, a bamboo covered Latrin is the only bathroom options.... And showers.. Well it's almost easier not to even bother. The bucket part isn't what's hard it's worrying someone is gonna walk in on you at any moment or that they can see through the thin layer of grass, capulana, or tarp that is used to separate you from the many people standing around.  Also the packing up moving every other night can where are on you and if that doesn't the hours at a time truck rides on dusty bumpy roads, and the steady delicious menu of rice and beans or tuna spaghetti should do it, despite all of that not one complaint was made. 

That is why my team was amazing! 

 

      We stayed in 4 for different villages all in the far north of Mozambique only an hour drive to the Tanzania border. Villages that Iris Ministries has never been to, or have been denied access, Places where Heidi and Rolland have gone and been stoned for trying to share Jesus with them.  Everywhere we went was completely new territory. The hunger we saw from those people, after being allowed access from the chiefs of the villages, was the most humbling experience I have ever been honored to witness! 

 

    The first village we stayed in was called Matombalalay. Mama Rosa, a long term Iris Missionary who lives in Mocimba went to this village alone with a district pastor just a few weeks before we came. While there she simply shared to Gospel with the village and she saw over 130 people receive Jesus that night, including a witch doctor who threw up whole tree when prayed for!  When our team arrived, only a few weeks later the village had already built four walls for an Iris church to be planted. That kind of hunger is not as common in these areas of "people of another faith" and we were all very touched and decided to spend more time there than planned. 

The next couple of places we went were places that we had not planned to go before hand, but leaders from those villages came to us, traveling miles and miles at times, begging that we would come to there village and share. I wish I could express how huge that is. Every where we went we saw radical amounts of Salvations, witch craft being burned, people being healed, demons fleeing, churches being built up physically and spiritually. The breakthrough was amazing! We grew close as a team despite all of the drama between culture differences. We were so blessed everywhere we went! In the last village we went to, called Nemo, in the province Mueda we stayed for 3 nights. People flocked our camp sight night and day. People asking for Prayer and wanting to join our "church" the chief even offered up land for a very small price to build a church. How good is God!

Along the way in a village we stayed in for 2 nights we visited a historical Mozambique sight. A giant "hole" in the earth where during a war over 700 Mozambicans were slaughtered. Pushed down this hole to their death. We went there and rebuked the spirit of death in that place. Because Mozambicans still believe there is an evil spirit there that will push you down the hole if you get to close.

We also were able to visit the Tanzania river border and go for a swim! Which was a total blessing. We were pretty dirty at this point..

Over all the trip was an amazing learning experience! We were so blessed to be chosen to go to those places! And I do pray one day I will go back! 

I want to thank everyone who prayed for me during those 10 days. I and my team really felt your covering. Not once was there any fear invited in. A bit of a stomach bug was passed around, but other than that we really felt the spiritual covering as we went in for His glory. 

So thank you for your investment. You were definitely there with us and our stories are yours as well! 

Love and blessings,

Rachael Michelle 

Undone

Hello all of my beautiful friends and family. 

I figured I would write this now since August is coming fast and I will probably not have time to write one until the end of August. 

First and more most thank you all so much for how much you have believed in me, prayed for me and supported me as a take a step into my life as a missionary. I truly do believe this is the life God is calling me into.  Thank you for trusting that I do hear Gods voice even when I have no clue what He is doing. 

So as pure usual my plans have changed. As they tend to do when Holy Spirit is in charge. I am no longer leading the outreach team after this Harvest School to Peru. I will be leading a much bigger team into the bush bush of Mozambique for 10 days. This decision was one of the hardest ones I have had to make this year, but I feel complete peace in my spirit about it.  

     My team and I will be going to 3 different districts in Mocimboa De Paria, one of which is a completely un-reached village! One that Iris Ministries has never been to before! I would absolutely love to be cover in prayer for these 10 days. We leave on August 9th and will be back on the 18th. If you feel lead to cover me in prayer for these days please let me know!

An update on the Holland Mission Possible Conference in October. I initially wasn't sure if I was supposed to go to this conference. I had thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity and was right up my ally as far as the heart of it, but I decided to give it to God and if He wanted me to go He would have to take care of it, I wasn't going to stress over it. 

            The very next day after I told God I would go if He took care of it. A close friend sent me more than I needed to register (and registration is not cheap)! That was a complete and total blessing! Then just a few hours after that I had another friend offer to buy all of my air fair for the journey from Africa (which is where I will be staffing Harvest School 19) to Holland and back to Africa! That blew my mind! Within 24 hours I had the whole trip completely paid for! GOD IS SO GOOD! My first official time in Europe! 

Now here at Harvest School we are down to our last 2 weeks! Which is completely mental when you think about how fast 3 months has gone by! 

       Students are getting completely wrecked by God as well as us staff.

One day as I walk into class I was told I would be sharing my testimony and I would be doing it in 10 mins..... Naturally I was a little freaked, but I just began to pray and ask God what He wanted me to say. I asked him what the theme of my testimony was and I felt him say "My faithfulness." So I ran with that. I opened my Bible right to Romans 2:11 which says "there is no partiality with God." And right there was what I was gonna share on. Once I got up their my heart exploded and God filled my mouth. I was not even sure all that was said, but God used every bit and afterwards I had many people coming up and asking me to pray with them and people telling me that what I shared was really impactful for them. That was so encouraging. 

 

Here In Pemba the GTM (Global team meeting) is starting to today! Which basically means all of the leaders of Iris and partners with Iris from all around the world are all gathering here in one place for a meeting to talk about all that God is doing and dreams He has promised them. Which is an incredible honor to be in the same place as people who are literally changing the world.

 My girls in my room and I have become so close and I am really sad I have to see them leave! They have blessed me so much and I have learned so much from them. We have all become so close and I can not wait to see and hear how God uses them in their lives and their families. 

I feel like my life is getting ready to take off. Over the past year I have gotten so many words about country hopping Nd God sending em here then there... So far they have proven to be real. Also David Wagner was here 2 weeks ago and he prophesied over me that God was given me four hot spots in the spirit, but one Home. Which of course I feel is Tn and the hotspots could be a number of places and I can not wait to discover them! Bring it Lord.

There is so much more I would like to share about what God is doing, but I feel it is not the time or season to release anymore information about what is next. 

I love and miss you all so much! 

I would love to hear from any of you that is willing to share with me about your lives and I always love getting feed back. 

For more updates/quicker updates you can follow me on Instagram: IamRachaelMichelle

Twitter: Rooroorachu

Or find me on Facebook: Rachael Michelle Singleton

Love & Blessings, 

Rachael Michelle