Isaiah 49:13-16

Shout for joy, O heavens;
rejoice, O earth;
burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his
afflicted ones.

But Zion said" The Lord has forsaken me.
the Lord has forgotten ."

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child
she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of
my hands;
your walls are ever before me. . .


I love this verse. We cans see God's compassion and love for Israel.  He never forgets, and he carries his children. In his love for Israel we can see his character for those of us that have been grafted into this very family. If a mother cannot forget her own child, how could God forget us? And he has tatooed  Israel into his hands, and us if we have made Jesus our Lord.

He looks at His hand and sees "Rachael Needham" (or insert your own name), and thinks, "oh yea, my beloved...I remember her...how could I forget...I love her"...

I love you Jesus

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

As I was sitting, listening to the Lord, trying to figure out this season that I am in...I heard this:

Grandpa James, and Ira James 

" Rachael, I am breaking you free from fear of man. BREAKING YOU FREE, from fear of man. I am chiseling you out of that iceberg of paralysis. 
Remember, my daughter, you have a big Daddy in heaven who has ALL the authority.
And this big daddy, is your defender. He backs your decisions. By the blood of Jesus, he puts his seal of approval on over you. He backs you up, and will defend every accusation."

I am reminded that,He knew what He was getting into when He called me. He is not shocked by my weakness. He is not shocked by my brokenness. And only He sees the end from the beginning.

A Change in the Wind

I recently made one of the hardest decisions of my life. That decision was to not go back to Guatemala this next year. I did not take this decision lightly, and it was not with out hours of counsel from friends, family, and most importantly God. I had many sleepless nights. I cried out to the Lord for months about this decision, even before coming home.  I was so afraid of what people would think or say, that I was paralyzed for a while, to make a decision.  But, after much time, it was only 3 days ago, that I finally heard His still small voice with compassion, and love. He flooded my heart, and room with peace, as I felt a renewed call to my family here in St. Louis. I felt a call to love them, rightly...not as a backseat to "my ministry", or "my church friends"...but to put them before those other things. 

    Yesterday, I sent a letter to my financial supporters to let them know the upcoming changes. Here is an excerpt from that letter. Please read:

It has been a wonderful year! So much has been accomplished. Hundreds of diabetics, people with hypertension, pregnant moms, and malnourished children have passed through our clinic, and have been helped. The widows of a local village, now have a group to gather, and make baskets to sell. We have counseled many situations, and have prayed for healing for many others. We have even seen many come to Christ! What a beautiful thing!

When, I went to Guatemala last year, I went out on an indefinite Journey. I didn’t know if it would be a year, or forever. I told the Fickers, “I will be here for at least a year”. I said that because that is all that the Lord would allow me to see. I knew for sure at least a year.

   I had a prophecy years ago, when I rededicated my life to Christ. This prophecy came at a time that I had never thought about missions. In the prophecy, I was told that they saw me going back and forth from a country.  At the time I had no idea what they were talking about. But now, I am beginning to understand what that looks like.

I say that, so that you will understand the new season I am entering. I am definitely connected to Guatemala in many ways. But it has been confirmed through prayer, dreams, and in my heart, that I will be taking a break from living there.  

I believe that God has a unique calling for each one of us. My unique calling will not look like someone else’s calling. Some missionaries stay forever, others go back and forth, others do short term, and others fund the mission!

I will leave you with this quote:

Mother Theresa was asked how to best promote world peace. Her answer was, "Go home and love your family."

This is the direction I am hearing from the Lord at this time, and I know my ‘family’ of friends, relations, brothers and sisters in Christ, will support and love me in return. I love you all.

For any questions or concerns please contact me at Rachael.needham@gmail.com

With Love,

Rachael Needham

2013

  I've been home now for a month, connecting with friends and family.  I've also been home waiting on the Lord.  I've been praying, watching, and waiting for what he is doing in my life in this season. I just want to be obedient to Him. So far, I've made 2 trips to Kansas city, and have sat in the prayer room for hours, so that my heart will be soft, and my ears will be open.

  I'm unsure of what this year holds for me.  But, I DO know that last year was an amazing year.  It was a year full of new and exciting things, and growing closer to the Lord.  I got to share part of my time, and life with 10 beautiful widows of a very remote village. It was pure joy to share a group with them.

It also was pure joy to pray with hundreds of sick people in clinics. It was also pure joy to see some very malnourished children go from weak, and unhealthy to strong, and smiling. And to see hundreds of pregnant women well taken care of by our prenatal program. Wow! What a year!

But, here it is...2013. A new year. A fresh start. His mercies are new every morning. And I believe they are new every dawn of each year. Lord, have your way in 2013!!

December

Juana smiling with her new sweater

(I had this blog written up, but forgot to post it until now)

We had our Christmas fiesta for the widows.  It was a time of celebrating what has been accomplished, a time to reflect, and a time to look towards the future.

A church in Pennsylvania, through our good friend Adrienne, donated a large sum of money to buy the widows Christmas gifts.
It gets rather cold up in the mountains of Chiminisiguan, so we bought them warm sweaters. We were also able to buy them food, nice baskets, sugar, soap for washing clothes, body soap, and some other useful things for their homes.  

The women were so grateful, and even smiled.  By the end of the party they were giving us whatever they had on them, food, baskets, hugs out of gratefulness. 

It's was a good year...and I am truly blessed to have been able to be apart of these women's lives.

These are a few of the things for which I give thanks....

Mom and Ira

1.I am so grateful that I was able to take a quick trip home! Not only, did I get to see my dad in Florida, but I also got to surprise my mom in St. Louis, for her 60th birthday! We celebrated with a party of friends and family at my brother Jon's house. 

Kara and Ira

 2.Kara,my sister-in-law! She gracefully, and joyfully made all of mom's party preparations, and decorating. She is such a lovely sister to have.  I also got to spend lots of time with their son, my nephew, Ira James! He is 1 year and 4 months. He is the cutest little boy I have ever laid eyes on. He has red curly hair, and rosy, red cheeks. 

3. I am grateful that God made a way for the widows from a local village to earn an income. Rosemary's Grove is a very unique store, that has a variety of purses, jewelry, and other things from all over the world. All of the products are fair trade and help support people in poverty. This boutique now sells our very own widows' project baskets! I brought these baskets in on my trip, and now these precious ladies will be able to sell their pine needle baskets in this store! This will help support the women earn an income to help support their families.

4. I am grateful to be back, safe and sound in Canilla'. We had clinic today, and we have clinic tomorrow. We are one less person because Katie is visiting family in the States. Then, when she comes back I will be coming to St. Louis, again, in December, for Christmas. 

5.Finally, I would like to thank all my friends and family who support each month through prayer and finances. I am so grateful for everyone of you. I really couldn't do it without you. Thank you.

Blessed be Your name, On the road marked with suffering, Though there's pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name

This is Maria.

On a crisp, fall feeling day in the village of Chiminisiguan, "Maravilloso es Dios. Maravilloso es Dios" softly, sung, danced in the atmosphere, bringing a spiritual warmth upon the clinic. It was one of the widows singing a beautiful song to Jesus in our last meeting. The woman was Maria, a widow who lost her husband 8 years ago, and has 8 children.  What a beautiful thing for a woman who lives in poverty, and who has suffered the pain of loss to praise Jesus in the midst of it all. But, not only that, she was praising Jesus in the midst of a village that seems spiritually dark. Of the 9 women, only 3 of them say they go to church. So to break into praise in the midst of the group, was truly a holy moment.   
  We had our 4th Widows'/women's meeting on Tuesday.  As you can see, it started with a flicker of light. The women, once again, came with enthusiasm, interest, and baskets. It was really a kiss from God being in the midst of that meeting. I can not explain to you what I feel when all the women are there, huddled around the fire place meeting together for a purpose. As I watch them, I see this great potential for a group that would give these woman a safe place to feel loved, and encounter Jesus, together in unity. As I watch them, I feel this great love welling up for each one, and compassion for each one that only comes from God.... And, as I watch them, I also feel the huge weight of responsibility of helping lead God's beloved ones into something new. If often feel so incapable and ill-equipped to do this group well. I found myself asking "what is the purpose of this group, what is the goal? And how are we going to get there?". I know God loves these women. I also, know he will hold me accountable for how I deal with them. He after all, looks after the widow and the orphan. So pray for me please. Pray for wisdom and revelation. Pray that I could do this well. Pray for these woman as well, that they would encounter the love of Jesus.



 Just FYI:  Our cup overflows with these beautiful baskets.The ministry bought every last one of them. The plan is to sell these baskets to fund this project for these women. So when I come home for the holidays, I will have tons of baskets for sale:) If you need any Christmas gift ideas :) They are beautiful, and come with a tag that has the picture and story of the woman that made the basket.)