Hi friends, 

Merry Christmas! Hope the Christmas season is treating you well. I’m not going to successfully catch up on an entire year in one post, so suffice it to say that it was a busy, fun, new, tiring, worthwhile spring/summer/autumn! 

Stage'n'Slam 2014- many of these are Wyldlife kids now!

One MAJOR highlight from the summer, though, was Stage ‘n’ Slam, which is a day camp that we run in Edinburgh. All in all, there were about 125 teens that came throughout the week! There is an awesome program of art and sports sessions in the first half, and then “club” (music, games, skits, silliness, and a talk about Jesus) and discussion time in the evening. Fifteen teens became Christians by the end, which was incredible! Most teens who come say that this is one of the best weeks of the year for them, and now I can see why. It is an intense, unforgettable week!

The other summer highlight was Summer Buzz, which is Liberton Kirk’s holiday club (vacation Bible school). The theme was based around the Commonwealth Games, which were happening simultaneously in Glasgow. As the Children’s Worker, I was the organizer this year- daunting but exciting, as this is a big outreach event for the church. We had about 40 adults and teenagers (some who had JUST become Christians at camp!) involved as leaders, and had about 100 elementary kids throughout the week. Their enthusiasm is so infectious- it was a high-energy week! 

Back to "normal"....Onesie Club!!

In September, we all settled back into the rhythm of our weekly clubs and Connection Groups (Sunday evening discipleship group). This also meant that I had been through an entire year of ministry, so I was doing things for the second time instead of the first- what a difference! Brad and I started Wyldlife club up again, and I’ve been spending more time in the local high school as a chaplain getting to know the S1-S2 (junior high-aged) kids. Many of them went to Stage’n’Slam last summer, so it’s been nice to now have a point of connection. The more time I spend at the school, the more opportunities open up to help out with things, like morning assemblies, a singing group, and classes, to name just a few! It’s been a great way to get to know kids and show God’s love. 

Family visitors in July! :-)

Another thing that happened over the summer is that I increased my hours with Young Life International, which was a big goal for the year! Between monthly and one-time donors, I have funding through this April, and will do some ongoing fundraising to maintain part-time employment with them. If you would like to support the work over here in Edinburgh, please see below! Also, Young Life is non-profit, so you will receive a tax-deductible receipt for your donation. I’m so grateful for all of the prayer and financial support for the Young Life job, and also for my other part-time job at Liberton Kirk. It keeps me busy, but God has so clearly led me to both jobs!

So all in all, ministry is going well, though there are always moments of wondering, doubt, exhaustion, and homesickness mixed in with the highlights. It's still hard to be away from family and life in Ohio, especially with little nephews and nieces arriving and growing! Hopefully when I go home after Christmas I'll be able to meet my new nephew Cole, as well as see all my family. I have been amazingly blessed to have been able to go home a few times since moving here, and this summer, my dad, three siblings, and a friend all visited me, so there is a lot to be thankful for. 

I think that's about it for now! Oh, I know- one thing that would be great to pray for is the next two weeks, as they contain MANY Christmas events, last clubs, school performances, concerts, etc., and will require a lot of energy to do well! On Wednesday, we're having our Christmas Wyldlife, so I'm praying that many kids will come to it and have a great time. It is such a busy time of year (as you're all well aware!), but we really are trying to keep Christ at the center of all that we do. 

Thanks, friends- wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Edinburgh!

With love, 

~Rachel

P.S. "For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11  (love this verse!)


To support financially:

Online
From this YL page, click "A YL Staff Member's Ministry", search for "Willis", and I'm near the bottom of the list. The options to give are via credit card or bank account, and can be set up as a one-time gift or monthly. 

By check

A check can be made out to "Young Life", with a note in the memo line for X2162/Willis. The first one can be mailed to me at my home address in Ohio (please email me for this!), and it will be recorded and forwarded to Young Life. 
If you have donated before, you may send any further gifts (made out to "Young Life" with an X2162/Willis memo) directly to:
Young Life Service Center
Attn: Income Processing
P.O. Box 520
Colorado Springs, CO 80901

Please feel free to contact me with any questions about giving! My budget for April 2015-April 2016 is approximately $1,750 per month, of which I currently have $625 in monthly giving. I hope to bring that up to $875 monthly, and ask for one-time gifts from others to make up the difference. Any amount helps greatly- thank you!

Spring update!

Hi friends, 

Hope you’re doing well! Spring has definitely hit in Edinburgh, and there are daffodils and crocuses in abundance. It sounds like winter is still hanging on in Ohio though- I saw some posted pictures of snow and ice just a few days ago. As far as weather goes, I definitely picked the right year to move! :-)

 I’m not sure how long this update will be, but I’ve needed to get something up here for a while. Lots of good things have happened in the second half of February and March. Our new Wyldlife club is becoming more and more established, and Brad, myself, and the other leaders have gained a lot of confidence in how we run things. We’re blessed with about 6-8 other regular volunteers, because with our young age group (11-13 yrs), it takes many hands to keep things running smoothly. Sadly,

Our Wyldlife team- amazing volunteers!!

our plans for a separate Wyldlife camp in July have fallen through, as there just aren’t the numbers for it this year, but they will be able to go to the Middlepark camp in Wales with the rest of the YL clubs. We’re praying that fifteen Wyldlife kids will sign up for this camp, which would be amazing!

One really encouraging thing over the last month has been some very focused team meetings. The six of us (Andy, Alex F, Alex R, myself, Anna, and Brad) have spent some time evaluating our gifts and communication styles, studying how we work best together, and talking about the best ways to take our area ministry forward. The team dynamic is quite different than it was a year ago (it’s jumped from two to six!), so this time to talk things through has been really helpful. We’re praying that with God’s help, we can really play to our strengths and divide our work and ministry up accordingly. 

Anna and I visit the Girl Guides to prep for the Youth Service

I’ve also felt more established at the local high school, and have found it easier and easier to spend some time there at lunch talking with kids and staff. If that sounds intimidating- it is! :-) But God has already provided some strong relationships with kids that come to our weekly club, and that has helped me get to know other students. And last week, I volunteered to help with some classes in the Religion department, which helped me meet new students as well. For me, a classroom setting is a more natural way to interact with kids- plus I got the chance to teach a bit! The teachers I’ve met have been so receptive to me as a volunteer, and very open to support in the classroom. Sometimes I still can’t believe that I’m not waking up to teach at CCS, though!

The children’s work at Liberton Kirk is going well, and we’ve been doing some very fun things recently. Last week, we had the Youth Service, which is geared toward all of the uniform groups that use space in the church to meet weekly. The uniform groups are somewhat comparable to the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts, with various tiers and sections. All in all, there are sixteen groups, which is probably over 250 kids! The youth work team visited each group and did various

activities with them on the theme of “starlight”, which then tied into a themed service this past Sunday. We planned a service with music, a game, some short talks, dramatic readings, etc. that centered around stars in the Bible. All in all, though it was quite a bit of work, it was very rewarding, and I think all the kids there had a good time!

Learning about Lazarus! :-)

As a church, we’re looking at the Beatitudes at the moment, and have a few more weeks of studying that passage in Matthew. In our Sunday clubs, we’ve been learning a Bible story that relates to a Beatitude each week. One fun twist is that each group is filming a different Bible story, and we’ll put them together at the end to have our own little DVD about the Beatitudes. So far, it seems like the kids are enjoying that, so hopefully we’re all pleased with the final result. If nothing else, we’ll have made some great memories!

On a personal note, I’m trying to be more intentional about getting into the city and beyond to do a bit of exploring. It’s such a historically rich area, and I want to take advantage of that while I’m here! I’m a new member of “Historic Scotland”, with an annual pass that lets me into lots of castles, estates, abbeys, etc. Two weeks ago, I visited North Berwick, about 30 minutes away by train, and spent the day exploring the town and nearby ruins of Tantallon Castle. It was a fantastic day! And on Sunday, I spent a couple hours in Edinburgh Castle, which I’ve not been to since I was fifteen. I’ll definitely be back there to explore that more, and other sites around Edinburgh as well. 

Tantallon Castle, North Berwick- amazing!!

It’s been seven months now since I arrived in Edinburgh...not sure if it feels more or less than that. The strange thing is having a life here so completely separate from everything back home- from CCS snow days, to a new nephew, to my little sister’s basketball games. Facebook and email make it easier to stay connected, but it also reminds that I’m not there for any of it. Definitely still working through that, but I can also say that my relationships here have deepened, as I knew they would with time. It’s a very relieving thing to feel known more- to have people start to associate me with drama, coffee, teaching, Hamlet, castles, etc. And with a flat of my own (and Anna’s!), to have more chances for cooking, hospitality, friends, movies, staff meetings- we think the space is being very well used! It’s such a confirmation that this is where God has each of us for this season, and we’re so happy to share it with others. 

Some other really positive news is that I’m now at 81% of my goal for raising support to be on staff with Young Life! At my last writing, it was 46%. I will say that the goal has been adjusted to simplify my budget as much as possible, so that’s one reason for the big jump. But either way, I’m delighted that I only have $340 more per month to raise- that seems very

achievable! A huge thank you to all who have been praying for this and/or able to support in some way- I am just amazed at what has already come in. Even $10/month makes a surprisingly big dent in that monthly need. If you would like to help in the final push towards 100%, I would love to talk with you about that! Please email me at rachelewillis@gmail.com, and we can set up a time. I know for some it may just be simpler to support directly, and that can be done in one of these ways:

Online

From this YL page, click "A YL Staff Member's Ministry", search for "Willis", and I'm near the bottom of the list. The options to give are via credit card or bank account, and can be set up as a one-time gift or monthly. 

By check

A check can be made out to Young Life, with a note in the memo line for X2162/Willis. The first one can be mailed to me at my home address in Ohio, and it will be recorded and forwarded to Young Life. You will receive back a receipt and an envelope addressed to YL if you'd like to donate again. Please email me for my home address at rachelewillis@gmail.com (thanks for understanding Internet privacy! :).

Thanks for your prayer for the work over here- though it seems like there is so much to be done, I have to remind myself to take a step back and see what God has been doing, and who He has brought here from a different country to do ministry in this area (three within the last year!). I’ll probably never really know exactly what impact I or another team member is having, but there is actually a lot of “fruit” growing in the relationships with people here. Being a friend who cares and can talk with a young person about Jesus is really what it’s about.

Thanks, friends! Hope that the Lord is blessing you where you are at. It is always great to hear from people, and to connect somehow across the ocean. 

God bless you!

~Rachel