I am a Soldier.

Wow I have been in Africa for 16 days and it does not feel like that at all. I have 2 weeks left here and 9 days left at MICS and I am trying to take every moment in. I have so much to tell about what has happened in the last week. We have not had internet  since last Wednesday so that has been interesting. Joe, Sawyer and I went the entire weekend without internet and that was pretty hard but almost nice in a sense. I have had a lot more down time here than I thought I would have. The weekends are so chill and we get a chance to rest and be with one another and read and watch maybe a movie or episode of FRIENDS. I have really enjoyed just being here with Joe and Sawyer. That is definitley one of the reasons why I am here to be here for them and with them. The Lord has definitely brought me and Sawyer so much closer to himself and closer in our relationship with one another. It is so beautiful to see Christ work in all of us to bring His Kingdom come. I am teaching 4th grade Math and Spelling and it is really fun. I really like being in the classroom, and so far, the students are understanding what I am teaching. Christ is definitely humbling me so much through this experience and making me aware of how big and able He is to do ALL things. I have really been able to dig into the Word while I have been here, which has been wonderful. The Lord continues to show me new truths everyday, whether its through His Word, nature or the beautiful children I get to take care of every day.
We traveled to Choma last Thursday and needless to say that was one of the wildest, craziest adventures I have ever been a part of. On our way to Choma, we got on a bus that takes us supposedly to Choma but when we are almost out of Macha, we turn around and go back to where we started. We waited for about 30 min and then we were off to Choma with now a bus full. Halfway to Choma, our bus breaks down, they thought that it was out of gas but they tried to fill the gas pump and put the wrong fuel in the gas tank, so now the bus is way way gone. We got off the bus and waited for another 30 min. until a truck came and picked us all up and we got to Choma. We finally arrived in Choma at 10 am and we got on the bus at 6 am...it only takes 2 hours by public transportation to get to Choma supposedly...
Our first stop was a bakery called Wonderbake! It sold bread and pastries and the most delicious coffee you will ever taste!! We got to watch the news and that was kinda weird to not know what was going on in the world, we found out about the continued turmoil in Egypt and the devastating tsunami in Japan. After Wonderbake, we headed to the immigration office to get Sawyer and Joe's passports renewed and it only took 10 minutes!!! SUCH A PRAISE...because last time they went to Choma it took 2 hours! After immigration, we headed to a local bookstore where I got a surprise for my boyfriend and Sawyer and I got some really cool envelopes. After that, we went to the pharmacy and then to this awesome restaurant where we ate Crocodile! It was so great!! It tasted like a mixture between pork chop, chicken, fish all mixed together. After the croc appetizer, we went to the market. The market in Choma is pretty big and is located right on the train tracks. We got African fabric to make surprises for our friends with and Joe tried to find a Zambian shirt but none fit...the market environment was interesting...they were not to keen on bargaining and many many poor people lived at the market. It was very dirty and they sold smelly fish and other gross things like caterpillars you could eat! YUCK!! After the market we went to the local grocery store and got supplies for Marit's going away party. Marit is from Holland and has stayed in Macha for 4 months working for Malaria and AIDS research at the hospital. She is so sweet and we are going to miss her terribly. We also got some yogurt and "brown bread" while at the grocery store. The next stop was the Museum Restaurant. This was the coolest thing EVER. We got to eat in an actual African hut and we had grilled Tilapia, salad with avocado and yummy french fries. It was prob. hands down one of the best meals I have ever had. After lunch, we hurried back to the center of town to find that the bus to Macha was full. The only option left was to ride in a truck and the driver had no idea what time he was leaving...we ended up waiting for 2 hours and finally the driver came back with the truck full of 3 sofas and other things that he was going to sell in Macha. When the truck arrived, a swarm of people flocked the truck and were rushing to put their stuff on and get in. We ran over to try to get a spot and got in barely. There were prob. 30 people or more in the back of this truck, we were packed in like sardines! There were many men on the truck that were intoxicated and in particular one that I will never forget. He was a soldier that had just returned from trying to keep peace in Sierra Leone and was returning home to Macha. He kept asking Joe if he was a soldier and if he was able to adapt to the situation. Then he started asking me the same question over and over again. "Are you a soldier? Are you adapting to the situation??" It was hilarious. Finally me, Joe and Sawyer broke out with the song, "I'm in the Lord's army...YES SIR!" It was crazy to say the least. We finally got back to Macha well after dark and with much more stories to tell...
It is Day 2 today at MICS and I am fixing to go teach my Spelling lesson...thank you for your continued prayers for me and my team! Please continue to pray for healing for Gil and Rhonda. Gil had his first chemo treatment last week and it went well and Rhonda just had some surgery yesterday. They need your prayers.
All my love,
rach

AFRICA...THIS IS AFRICA...

I have been in Africa for 8 days and I love everything about it. The pace of Africa and especially the pace of Zambia is WAY slower than America and it's kinda refreshing. I have been able to rest much more than I thought. I had to wait in Lusaka until March 3rd until I got to Macha. I have only had 2 full days of school at MICS and yesterday was my first official day of teaching my 4th grade class math and Language Arts!! It was so fun and I really really liked teaching:) My kids understood everything I taught and did very well on their quiz! It made me so happy!! The kids have 2 holidays this week and today is Zambian Women's Day:) The kids are only staying Wednesday night this week and kinda gives Joe and Sawyer and I a little break. It has been awesome being able to just be with Joe and Sawyer and meeting new people in Macha. I met a missionary couple, Carlene and Anthony who are here and have 2 kids that go to MICS. Anthony is a mentor to the teachers in Macha and they are moving back to either Canada or Mexico in the next year. Marit is from Holland and does research at the hospital for Malaria and Moses is from Zimbabwe and Zambia is his new home now. Zimbabwe is under alot of political fire right now and their government is basically falling apart and Moses had to escape to Zambia to be safe. Marit is leaving in 9 days and we are sad for her to go. Rick and Tracy are from Australia and Canada and Rick is the pilot that flew me from Lusaka to Macha. They have a little boy named Matthew and another on the way. The culture diversity here is amazing. We are supposed to go to the dam today with Fannie one of the teachers at MICS and tour Macha. We are going to Choma on Thursday and riding the bus there. We have to be at the bus stop at 6 AM and are going to get Sawyer and Joe's passport renewed and going to the market and eat at a nice restaurant and coffee shop. It is raining now and thundering pretty hard but the weather lately has been so beautiful. I am so thankful for God's continued faithfulness and goodness that He shows me through my relationship with Joe and Sawyer and seeing the joy on the kids faces. I cannot wait to see and experience what else God has in store the next month. We have a saying here when something goes wrong or something unexpected happens we say TIA... This is Africa:) Thank you so much for all the continued prayers and support, they mean the world. I will post again soon!
much much love for my KING,
rach

IN AFRICA...WELCOME TO MICS!!

I am finally in Africa for the 2nd time and I am loving every second of it! I arrived in Lusaka on the 28th of Feb. I stayed in Lusaka with Sue and Joel Bolthouse and just slept and went into town and Sue cooked for me. When Rhonda and Gil arrived in Lusaka we had Ginny Fawl soup. It was interesting, very good actually it was mixed with an array of veggies. I left Lusaka on March 3rd and arrived in Macha around 11:30 and was greeted by Sawyer and Joe and the house parent named Yvonne and her baby Jarrah!! She is the cutest baby ever...seriously. She doesn't wear a diaper so we cannot hold her but I love to give her little kisses. I found out I am going to be teaching 4th grade math. If any of you know me that well I am not good at math at all so please pray for wisdom for me as I teach these little kids:) I am going to helping Mrs. Jane, who is the 4th grade teacher. Sawyer is teaching 5th grade math and it is so so good to be with her again. Joe is teaching 6th grade math and loving it; he is also a house parent for the 13 boys in boarding. Sawyer and I are the house moms for the 9 girls in boarding along with 2 Zambian women: Sylvia and Fannie. Fannie is a 2nd grade teacher at MICS. MICS is amazing. I am so excited to be here and to finally finish what God has called me to do. I am going to be helping with the activity room during the day and doing crafts and music and such during the week. The dorm rooms are like camp. All the children sleep in bunk beds and Sawyer and I share a double bed. The bugs here are ENORMOUS but many of them eat the mosquitoes so they are a good thing:)
We have a theme on Friday called Fabulous Friday and we have a different theme every week; me, Sawyer and Joe are in charge of them. They have had SNOW DAY, Valentine's theme, France and Spanish and today we had Stars and Planet day. We read 2 books about space and colored a worksheet on the 9 planets and read Genesis 1 and Psalm 8. We also watched a youtube video from Francis Chan and Luie Giglieo about how big the universe is and how small we are...but God still loved us enough to come and die for us and set us free from our sins. Seeing these kids and being in Africa has brought me so much joy and I can feel the presence of Jesus so fully here. I can also feel so many prayers surrounding me too. Please continue to pray for MICS as a whole as Rhonda and Gil are not here. Gil has stage 4 lukemia and they are getting more treatment for him. Jesus is amazing and nothing is impossible with HIM!!
--rach

AFRICA once again... HE IS FOREVER FAITHFUL

I cannot wait to get a plane tomorrow and go back to Zambia. I am in Macon at my grandparent's house watching Secretariat with my aunt and my cousins and awaiting 7:15 pm tomorrow when I board the plane to Johannesburg. It is a 17 hour flight and I do not have first class this time but I am still so excited! My uncle is amazing and worked out all the flight details and everything. I am so ready to see Sawyer and Joe and finally meet Rhonda and Gil. Keep praying for Gil. Him and Rhonda are going back to the states to get treatment for Gil's illness. I also cannot wait to meet the boys and girls that I will be able to tuck into bed at night and teach everyday. I am also excited about visiting Victoria Falls and going on a Safari. I will dearly dearly miss my family, my friends and my boyfriend. My dear friends are going to write me emails and letters which I cannot wait to receive. I got to skype Sawyer two nights ago and found out about what to expect and cannot wait!!! Africa has been a desire of my heart for many, many years and the Lord has granted me that desire not one, but two times. The Lord has been so faithful to see me through this trial my family and I have had to face and has taught me so much. One it has humbled me and shown me that the first time I went to Africa it was mostly about me and some about Jesus. The second time around it's all about Jesus and none about me. He has provided every dollar. He has provided every flight. He has provided every detail, every need and even every want. HE IS FAITHFUL, and WILL REMAIN FAITHFUL. HE IS LORD OF ALL.
I cannot wait to serve HIM and HIS precious children in Macha, Zambia. More posts to follow.
<3 rach

HE PROVIDES

wow...what can I say?
HE IS JEHOVAH JIRAH, JEHOVAH RAFFA!!  HE IS GOOD, SO GOOD.
The Lord has blown me away by his provision in the last two weeks. I was really under alot of stress financially and did not know how I was going to be able to get back to Zambia. I was praying, Lord, not my will, but yours BE DONE. And leaning on the promise of His Word where it says, He will accomplish the things that concern you. I had just found out about the prices of the flights that I needed from Johannesburg to Lusaka and then Lusaka to Macha and they were more than I had expected but I was still trusting that the Lord would provide a way and He SURE DID. I was able to have enough money to get all the flights I need to get to Macha and I am leaving from Atlanta at 7:15 Sunday night. I will arrive in Johannesburg 5:15 pm the next day and then hopfully get to Macha that night or in the morning. The Lord has been so good to Sawyer and Joe while they have been in Macha as well! Sawyer sends me email updates frequently and just posted her pictures on facebook of Africa so far. That truly blessed me to see pictures of where I am going to be spending the next month and a half. God knows exactly what you need and when you need it! I also got some very exciting news today. I received a phone call from a dear friend, Laura and she told me that I got the job at Camp Highland this summer and can work as a Counselor if I still want the position and I literally screamed with excitement! Camp Highland is an outdoors camp located in Elijay, GA up near Jasper where Sharp Top Cove is. Camp Highland is where my best friend, Liz Patton has worked as a camp counselor for two years and so has my boyfriend. My boyfriend and I met at Camp Highland this past summer. If you know me, you know that kids are my passion and I am going to be able to work with them 24/7 for the whole summer!! YES! I know that it is going to be challenging at times but I know this is what the Lord wants me to do and I am so excited for this opportunity. He is so faithful and has guided and carved out every step of the way. I am so excited about this new journey I am about to embark on...HERE I AM LORD, SEND ME!

Bieber FEVER...

Oh, like baby, baby, baby Oh! Baby, baby, baby... ok so I think I have a case of bieber fever! I just went to see Never Say Never with one of my best friends, Heather! It was a blast! The film was GREAT and was a documentary about Justin's life and it was a legit 3D Concert. I am now pretty much obsessed with his music and like Usher a little more too:) He is so cute and my brother actually got mistaken in a bar for Justin Bieber haha!!! I want to go to one of his concerts with some of my friends I know...I sound like a 15 year old girl and I love it! His music is legit and makes me feel like im in middle school or high school again:)
Here's the lyrics to my favorite of his so far...
Ohh wooaah (3x)
You know you love me,I know you care
Just shout whenever, And I'll be there
You want my love, You want my heart
And we will never ever ever be apart

Are we an item? Girl quit playing
Were just friends, What are you saying
Said theres another, Look right in my eyes

My first love broke my heart for the first time,
And I was like
Baby, baby, baby ohhh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
I thought youd always be mine mine

Baby, baby, baby ohh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
I thought youd always be mine,mine (oh oh)

For you, I would have done whatever
And I just can't believe, we ain't together
And I wanna play it cool, But I'm losin' you
I'll buy you anything, I'll buy you any ring
And im in pieces, Baby fix me
And just shake me til' you wake me from this bad dream

Im going down, down, down, dooown
And I just cant believe my first love would be around.

And I'm like
Baby, baby, baby ohh
Like baby, baby, baby noo
Like baby, baby, baby ohh
I thought youd always be mine, mine
Justin Bieber Baby lyrics found on http://www.directlyrics.com/justin-bieber-baby-lyrics.html

I have the FEVER!!!

and the best thing is that he loves JESUS!! keep it real JB!!
-rach

im running to YOUR arms...my heart will sing no other name JESUS

Jesus is all we need. His grace is sufficient for us. He is our ultimate lover and redeemer. HE IS THE CHRIST, the SON OF THE LIVING GOD.
I have to admit it was kinda sad not being with my boyfriend yesterday for Valentine's BUT he called me on His way to class and I had a wonderful date with Erin. It was fabulous! We had good conversation, tomato soup and burnt grilled cheese thanks to me:) I had a great afternoon walking at the pier and taking a nap and watching a movie. Then off to CONVERGE to practice for worship last night. I did not realize how much I have missed my CONVERGE body and being part of something bigger than myself. I love worshipping God, especially with people who are genuine worshippers. God is so worthy of our worship and worthy to sing our praises to. Madhur spoke on Acts and the significance of the church and the body of Christ. Very powerful and challenging. Just what I needed. He spoke on the importance of the body of Christ and the command that Jesus gives us at the end of Matthew and in Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."
It is a command to go and teach and preach the gospel. You don't have to literally preach the gospel, if you are a believer but you need to show the gospel in everything you do, who you are and how you live your life. It should all radiate the KING of KINGS. O God, I pray that I will preach Christ crucified and raised as long as I live and I will be worthy of you. Jesus I long to be with you but in Phillipians Paul says, For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I will ever praise you, O God you are my God...
I cannot believe it but 9 days from now I will be headed back to Zambia!!!! PRAISE JESUS. The waiting has been the hardest thing for me but I truly believe that God called me back to the states for such a time as this. I have been Esther and been in a waiting room and now it is time to live out the Great Commission, not only in my life now, but in Africa too. I am so excited that He has allowed me to go back and finish what I have started. Please continue to pray for Sawyer and Joe and Joel and Sue Bolthouse and Rhonda and Gil Krause. Rhonda and Gil are going to have to return to the states for treatment for Gil's cancer but we will stay until April 7th with all the teachers and students. So I will be in Macha for a month and a half. Pray for traveling details that they will work out and I will have enough money. If you feel led to donate or to pray please respond with your address so I can send a prayer card. Also if you feel led to contribute financially, my address is 12 Country Club Ct. St. Simons Island, GA 31522 and you make the check out to "Rachel Harden". But most of all I need the prayers! Pray for safety and for the Lord to continue to prepare my heart for the environment I will be entering. That i will have enough strength to be a living, breathing example of the gospel daily, that Jesus would live through me and I would glorify HIM in ALL I do. Thank you so much! Know and believe that Jesus' loves you more than you could ever imagine. HE has wiped your sins as far as the east is from the west. When he looks at you He sees His SON. Live your life for Him for He is worthy!
I am running to You Jesus!
-rach
9 days till Zambia, 4 days till Jackson:)
I'm one happy girl:)

                                       Rachel, me and Joe! cannot wait for our reuniting!

                                                     Quick and I on our first date:)

                                              MACHA, ZAMBIA HERE I COME!!!!