My name is Rachel Lewis and I grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota as the youngest of three. I moved to Texas when I was 18 to attend Baylor University and then moved to Dallas after graduation to start a career in event planning.
In 2010 the Lord planted a desire in my heart to go to Kenya, Africa on a mission trip through The Village Church in Dallas, TX. On that trip my team spent two weeks working on the construction of Naomi’s Village Orphanage which was set to open in early 2011. We also spent many hours in a nearby camp where thousands of Kenyans were forced to flee during post election violence in ‘08. The heartbreaking stories I heard were endless and I left Kenya feeling completely overwhelmed with grief for those people. I knew before I set foot on American soil that I had to go back.
I returned to Kenya in July of 2011 and Naomi’s Village was finally open. The halls were filled with orphans delivered from unfathomable abuse, neglect, violence and the like. I instantly felt some relief from my despair for the children of Maai Mahiu and I assumed I would go back home and life would resume as normal.
When I returned to the States I started to read through the life of Jesus and I was reminded of His compassion for the poor, His love for the orphans and widows and His grace and forgiveness for the thieves, prostitutes and the like. As I read through the story of His crucifixion and the years that followed, I was reminded of the persecution and brutal deaths of first Jesus, and then His remaining disciples. Yet they never waivered, they never stopped spreading the truth about Jesus no matter what the cost, and as this reality started to set in, I became acutely aware that the life of a believer isn’t supposed to be easy. It’s uncomfortable. It’s sacrificial. It’s bold and it’s unashamed.
I had been back only a few months when the Lord placed the idea of moving to Kenya to work at Naomi’s Village on my heart. It was one of those unmistakable moments of clarity that only come a few times in your lifetime. One of my first thoughts was, “I am not worthy of such a calling and I am not ready to bare the responsibility of the word ‘missionary’” but the Lord knew that fear and He addressed it in a letter from the apostle Paul in First Timothy where he wrote:
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful and appointing me to his service. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
I spent several months praying through that decision and with every passing day, the Lord slowly removed obstacles and gently pushed me forward until I knew without a doubt, that He was calling me to give up my life as I know it and spend the next year living each and every single day as a living, breathing example of Christ’s love to those children.