Spring 2019

Hello friends!

First off, I just want to say how sorry I am for taking so long to send out an update. I’m realizing that I’m not great at keeping in touch – even more so during times of stress and transition. I wanted to send out an update and mainly say THANK YOU! I cannot put into words how thankful and touched I am by your continued support throughout the years. Thank you for supporting me last summer and allowing me to go to France to help at Camp des Cimes, and to Slovenia to serve missionary kids/teens in Europe. It was incredible to see God’s hand at work in the lives of so many young people. Even in the more difficult moments of the summer, I kept thinking to myself: “I don’t deserve this”. Serving these young people and witnessing first-hand the power of God is the greatest privilege and honor. It’s a gift I am undeserving of but immensely grateful for. In this gift, I am also amazed at the Father’s love and faithfulness to me. Thank you for being a part of that. Thank you for believing in me and in my heart’s desire to see young people come to know the love of Jesus.

So where am I now?

Well, I finally graduated from Liberty University in December (yay!) I moved back to France on New Year’s Eve – just in time to celebrate a new beginning. I’m in France for 3 reasons:

1) To be close to my boyfriend whom I’ve been dating long-distance for 2 years.

2) To start the process of gaining French citizenship. It’s a long process, and I don’t expect to be French any time soon, but this is a starting point.

3) To help out at camp, and try to establish some roots for the future, as I plan/hope to live in France long-term.

I’m currently living at camp and working online as an English teacher. I’m enjoying my job and being able to help at camp and reconnect with old friends here in France. But the transition hasn’t been all easy. I think part of why it’s taken me so long to write this letter is that I really am at a loss for what to say. Post-college is a weird time of life, and I definitely didn’t expect the confusion to hit me so hard. I miss the routine of college, I miss the people, I miss the security of living in a country that I have permanent residency in, I miss the stability – ultimately I miss having those seemingly controllable factors in my life to comfort me. I find myself back here in France with very little under my control. And that’s hard for me because I tend to want to plan & organize my life pretty tightly. If you have some time, I would really appreciate your prayers regarding my ability to surrender and trust in the Lord during this season. Sure, there are definitely some real unanswered questions in my life right now – I wish I knew what I was doing next year, I wish I had a visa that allowed me to work in France, I wish I knew what God wants me to do with my time here. But more than answers, I need faith. Faith that allows me to see beyond myself, and surrender the control of my life into His most capable hands.

So I guess that’s it, friends! Thanks for being a part of the adventure. Thanks for reading & for caring. Today is the first day of Spring. I found my first yellow flowers bursting up from the dry ground. It’s a reminder to me of the promise that is in the air for tomorrow. I hope it brings a little hope into your life too.

Happy Spring everybody!

Much love ~Rhea