Hello all,
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Many thanks for all your continual support in prayer and love and also for your encouraging Bible verses and words, it’s been a real blessing to me.
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Mid season is upon us and we have a lot more guests. I’ve enjoyed it being busier and having younger people around. Last week I was doing the teens work, which I’ve really enjoyed. I did Bible studies with them every evening on Jesus in the Old Testament, which they seemed to have got a lot out of. One night my friend Billy (who’s a Muslim) sat down and started listening. I was talking about Joseph; he asked a few questions and soon disappeared. Later when I asked him if he had been genuinely interested of just having a laugh, he said he wanted to see what we were talking about from the Bible. I’ve been really excited as to how much God has used me amongst the guests and young people here. One night I was chatting to one lad who’s 18 and he opened up to me about how he felt distant from God, I was able to chat with him and prayed for him. Please pray for him as he goes back to a lot of choices to make as to if he will follow God or the crowd.  I’ve had a lot of opportunities to chat with the teenage girls, through hanging out, we’ve spoken a lot about purity and living full heartedly for God, please pray for them too.
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We have two new team members for the waterfront; Lara (21) and Bailey(48).  Please pray they settle in ok, as there have been a few bumps in their intentional first few weeks. My job has become a lot busier with the numbers increasing. I’ve had to ask the rest of the team to help me share some of the work load; it was hard for me to admit I couldn’t do it all myself, but God really challenged me to speak up. I’m so glad I did though, as now is far less stressful. We now share the evening entertainment between us which has taken a massive weight off my shoulders and means I can relax a bit more in the evening. Please pray the team will continue to be willing to help me with this.
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I feel very settled in the community here. I know a lot of the locals and feels a lot more like somewhere I belong rather than somewhere I’m visiting. I’ve been attending the local Church in Bodrum, which I’ve really enjoyed, and made some friends there. They recently had 5 baptisms and hearing their testimonies of how God had revealed himself was amazing! I’ve also felt a real sense of purpose for the area I’m living in, and on my days off in the evening I sometimes go prayer walking and wait and listen to the Lord. One night I was walking through a crowded area of restaurants and just felt God’s immense power on me and I started praying in my head for anyone I saw that God would meet with them; it was pretty bizarre but amazing! Please also pray God would lead me with working out His calling on my life. On these evenings I’ve started to hear God speak and give some direction, and I am hungry for more of this, confirmation and working this out practically.
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God has been really using me amongst the Turkish staff here. I’ve made some good friends with them. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with one of my good friends Billy. The other night he was telling me how when our meetings are on he sometimes feels the power of God. Please pray he comes to know Jesus. His fiancée, Serap, is another of my good friends in the hotel also and she often opens up to me. The other night when chatting she told me that the Turkish staff see I am different and am true to what I believe in the way I behave, which was really encouraging.  Please pray I will continue to be a light to this couple and God will bless our friendships. My boss, Nuket, smokes a lot and has a many health problems; one night when we were hanging out by the bar I challenged her as to how she had really bad asthma yet still smoked.  The next morning she said she knew she would die if she continued and asked me if I could help her give up smoking, I agreed. She has now cut down from 30 to 3 cigarettes! I keep her cigarettes and only let her have the number we’ve agreed that morning. Please pray God helps her give up completely and she will come to know Him as the giver of life.  I have also developed a good friendship with the owner of the hotel - Mahmot. Nuket and Serap were saying it is a big surprise to everyone as usually he doesn’t like the English staff, this is the very first time he has!
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The English team continues to have its ups and downs and to be honest I’ve found it really hard and frustrating. I don’t really have any good friends amongst the English team, which can make things feel lonely. This week we’ve got a really good ministry leader which has helped a lot, he’s here for another two weeks, which I’m happy about. He has challenged the team and individuals and been a real blessing. Please pray the UK team get on better and God is the centre of the team.
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Please pray for my health, I have had a few problems over the last few weeks. I unfortunately got heat stroke and was weak and sick for one week in which I lost a lot of weight. I have now learnt my lesson and am very strict with not sitting in the sun between 12-2pm! Sleeping in heat of 30c with no air conditioning and 3 girls in one room can be uncomfy to say the least and has affected how much sleep I’m getting. Thankfully we now have a fan, which helps, please pray we all sleep better now.
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Please pray for Turkey as a nation, I believe God has got big plans for this nation and will bring about what He promises with the 7 churches in Revelation.  Please pray for more boldness for me out here.  I do not want to be governed by the fear of if people get saved they could face death and I could too if I’m leading them to the Lord. I know God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear but perfect love which casts out fear, please pray this emulates out of me.
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Keep in touch and check out my blog: www.rachy4jesus.blogspot.com
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Much love,
Rachel XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
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