Corinth!!

We were in Corinth/Loutraki for about 3.5 weeks and this was by far a little kiss from Jesus in between the two more difficult parts of outreach (Thessaloniki and Athens). The place we were staying at was an actual house and was really relaxing. While we were in Corinth, our daily schedule looked like this: We would wake up at 7-9 depending on how late we were out the night before, then we would have an hour of quiet time and half an hour to an hour of worship. After that, we would go into Corinth from 10:30- 2, we would have a rest time/ chore time until 5 or 6 and then we went to the church that we were partnering with and do worship and ministry with the people of the church from 5 or 6pm until whenever we ended up leaving, which would usually be around 10 or 11pm. 

We had some really good times while we were in Corinth and saw about 5 salvation while we were there. 

The first week we were in Corinth, it was raining pretty much the whole time, so we had to figure out a new method of ministry as we hadn’t really encountered rain in Greece before that. During this time, we did cafe ministry. There were loads of cafes all over Corinth’s main square, so we would pick one and then ask Jesus to give us words for people, then we’d write them down and give them to whoever we felt we were supposed to give them to. The next couple of weeks, it was pretty clear, though very cold, so we could go out and do street ministry again. We found that Dream Interpretation didn’t really work in Corinth as it was a much smaller, much more conservative town than Thessaloniki, so we found it much easier to just walk up to people and start a conversation with them. 

The second week, we broke up into groups to go around the city and my group met up with a group of kids who were about 12-15 years old. They were all very interested in what we had to say, primarily because we were Americans, but I ended up steering the conversation towards Jesus by asking the girls (there were about 5 of them around me) if any of them had any dreams that they wanted to know the meaning of. One of them said yes, so she told me her dream, and I interpreted it for her, and ended up telling her about how God wanted to have a relationship with her and really loved her. After talking to all of them for a while, I could tell that at least that girl was ready to say yes to Jesus. (YAY!) So I asked them if they would like to have that relationship with Jesus and 3 of the 5 girls (All 12 years old) said yes. So they did a repeat-after-me prayer, and afterwards were so excited because they said they felt peaceful and joyful all at the same time. I followed up with telling them to go home and read John 15 and read a little bit of it to them. One of the girls said “That is so beautiful!” and had such a wide-eyed, awestruck look on her face. They were so excited and so amazed to hear of Jesus’ love for them and that He wants to speak with them. They could not believe that God wanted/could speak to them, and it was so awesome to see them come to that realization. That night, we also saw 2 other young adult girls give their lives to Jesus. 

We had 5 salvations in Corinth and were able to speak life into so many people. It’s not even really about how many people will pray the prayer with us (though we LOVE and desire to see souls come into the kingdom) but how many people we were able to plant seeds in and love on. It was so good! We felt like one of the main things that God wanted us to do in our time in Corinth was to do ministry with the church. We felt like there was a big emphasis from the Lord to really build up and encourage the church to prophesy, worship, and continue where we would leave off. Our main contact, Yiannis, was absolutely amazing and is still one of our favoritest peoples ever!! :D We got to really bless him and love on him and he’s seriously one of the most holy people I have ever met. His dedication to the Lord was/is so inspiring.

One of my favorite moments in Corinth was when we were once again walking around, asking Jesus who He wanted us to talk to or pray for and Taylor when I saw an old homeless lady who was laying on the ground begging for money. She couldn’t speak English and we couldn’t speak Greek,  but we basically signed to her asking if we could pray for her and she nodded her head vigorously. Almost immediately when we started praying for her, she started weeping. We were just praying for God to encounter her heart and for general healing, as we figured maybe there was something wrong with her back since she was laying down. She calmed down and we finished praying for her, gave her some money, got up to leave, and walked away a few feet to tell our friend what had happened. While we were standing there we looked back at her and she was still laying there, bawling her eyes out. We immediately went back to her and tried to figure out why she was crying so much. She had her hand on her neck and was feeling around it and crying, so I asked her if I could put my hand there, and I felt that she had a good sized tumor on her neck, so we started praying for healing and as we were praying I literally felt the tumor shrink under my fingers. It was the craziest thing EVER. She started saying “Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord” in Greek and was feeling around her chest too as if to say she had had more tumors that were now gone! I asked her if she could sit up as well, because I believe she couldn’t, or at least couldn’t easily sit up before and she did so with ease. I was so filled with joy and her tears just kept coming. I gave her a huge hug and held her and kept praying for her for a few more minutes and then had to say goodbye. I was so amazed not only at how God had moved despite there being no intelligible words spoken between us, but also at the fact that He used Taylor and I to bring healing to this old homeless woman who probably no one pays attention to and impacted her heart so greatly that she was crying the whole time. It was a powerful moment that I will never forget! 

Our time in Corinth was absolutely amazing and we loved every minute of it! 

We’re in Athens now and have been for the last 4.5 weeks and only have about a week left of outreach, which is so crazy! I’ll be sending out another update very soon about our time here in Athens, which has been incredible!! I love you all so much and I can’t wait to see you all when I get home!

Keep praying for us that: 

-We would be healthy and safe 

-God would continue to increase our unity as a team

-We would see more salvations and changed lives

-We would be able to connect those that have given their lives to Jesus and we have developed relationships with with a good group of Christian people to fellowship with (be it a church or just a group of friends).

-We would be intentional in passing on what we have learned in the past 5.5 months to those who are able to continue it here in Greece that live here, speak the language, and love Jesus. 

-Financial provision as we move on the next season of our lives as missionaries or just in normal lives at home 

-Peace and reassurance as we get ready to transition from DTS life to life back at home

Thanks guys, God bless!

Rachelle

Thessaloniki!!

Hey, guys! Its been so long since I’ve written an update! I don’t even know where to begin with the amazing things that God has been doing in my life and in the lives of others since the last time I wrote, which was only about half way through Lecture Phase! CRAZY. I would love to write about every detail of every moment, as I am bursting to share with all of you, but… for the sake of your minds not being completely blasted… I will restrain myself. :P  

The rest of Lecture Phase was absolutely incredible. Moving from city to city every week made things soooo fun and interesting, but was stretching, as well. When I last updated, we were in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, where we had Marriette Louw speaking on Authority in the Spirit and one of our DTS leaders, Jaimie, speaking on The Word. 

Then, we went from Coleraine to Port Stewart, Northern Ireland, where Jaimie continued to speak on The Word, and was my absolute favorite location out of all of them! Every morning I got to spend time with Jesus sitting on/in the rocks on the beach by the ocean! It was FREEZING but WONDERFUL! So worth it. I’ve come to the conclusion that the beach, on a rock, is my favorite place to spend time with Jesus.While we were in Port Stewart, we also got to run a kids’ day camp thing, which was really fun! We facilitated games and acting out Bible stories and just got to love on the kids! It was really great. 

Then, from Port Stewart, we went to Sligo, Republic of Ireland and had Amy Sollars (an incredible prophetic voice and one of the founders of the School of the Circuit Riders) teaching on the Holy Spirit. This week massively impacted me and my walk with God in such a good way. It gave me so much more understanding in how to hear from the Lord and how the spiritual gifts that God has given me work. So many more awesome things happened in this city, I wish I could say it all!

Then, we went from Sligo, to a Monastery about 2 hours from Sligo (not sure what city), which was beautiful and so relaxing. We had Ray Hughes as our speaker for this week, teaching on the power of Worship and it was powerful! Unfortunately, this was the week that I learned that my grandma had passed away, so I had to fly back home for a week, and missed the next week where my team went to Kylemore Abbey in Connemara (near Galway) and had Andy Byrd as their speaker. I know that my decision to go home meant the world to my family, though and I believe it was good for me, as well. 

When I came back, my team was in Cork, Republic of Ireland, where we stayed for 2 weeks, and had some really great speakers and really cool encounters in ministry, leading up to our Outreach Phase. The first week, we had an amazing speaker named David Gava who was Zimbabwean and SO fiery and passionate for the Lord. I can’t even really say what the subject of that week was, but maybe somewhere like Faith and Hearing God? He was all over the place in a really good way! Then, the next week, we had Dan Baumann who has been imprisoned for his faith, but is so down to earth and just a true lover of Jesus. Both were so inspiring and perfect for us to learn from before going out on outreach. 

After that week, we all flew together to Noway as one last Hurrah before outreach called the School of the Circuit Riders at the YWAM Grimerud base! It was seriously one of the best, most equipping weeks of my life! I learned so much about the practicalities of leading someone to salvation and have seen so much fruit just from what I learned in that one week in Norway. It was soooo good, and so increased my boldness, and burst me out of my comfort bubble within the first 5 minutes of the school. 

After the week, our DTS split into three teams to leave for outreach with one team going to South Africa, one to Nepal, and our’s to Greece! And, just a side note, we as a DTS had a need of 20,000 pounds 2 weeks before the deadline for outreach phase and if those in need didn't have the money in by the deadline, they would've had to go home. We received all of it within 2 weeks, the last 4,000 pounds coming in within 1 hour of the deadline from random people. That's almost $40,000 in 2 weeks, and $8,000 in an hour. If that's not Jesus, I don't know what is.

It was so hard leaving each other, but we were all super excited, too. Half of our Greece team had to leave late at night to get the last train to the Oslo, Norway airport, and spend the night in the airport to catch a early morning flight to Thessaloniki, Greece. So 3 of my team members, and my friend Emily (who was flying back to the states early in the morning), stayed the night in the airport under the escalators, which was quite comical. It was like a really awkward, hilarious slumber party! We then had a 7 hour layover in Berlin, where we met up with the rest of our team and flew to Thessaloniki together.

Thessaloniki was a very interesting city. I really liked it, I’ve really liked Greece in general, but Thessaloniki was the medium sized city out of the 3. I didn’t really have any expectations going into it, so I was pleasantly surprised by almost everything, but there were a few things that I didn’t expect like how intense spiritual warfare that we encountered was, how hot it was, and how open people were to the Gospel. 

The church that we were staying with was absolutely amazing and one of the things that we’ve heard very strongly from the Lord for our time in Greece is that He wants us to be building up the Church, because there’s not a YWAM base here and the new believers need discipleship, so that begins with the church. 

We were in Thessy for 4 weeks, and I helped on the worship team with the church we were staying at by singing and playing piano every week. It took us the first couple of weeks to settle in and get a feel for what God wanted to do in Thessaloniki and in Greece, as a whole. One of the divine strategies we heard from the Lord was to do dream interpretation as a segway to share the Gospel. There is a very evident New Age vibe in Thessy and its predominately a night culture. So, we tried out doing dream interpretation on the Monday of the last week, and saw 2 salvations in one day. The whole rest of the week, every night we went out to a main hang out place to do dream interpretation, and saw 11 people saved in that one week. GO, GOD!! :D 

One of my favorite testimonies from that time of doing dream interpretation was when these two 19 year-old girls came up to us to get their dreams interpreted, one of which was into some very dark stuff, but was very interested in the Jesus that we were talking about and was asking a lot of questions. While I was talking to her friend, two other guys came up to another girl on my team, Taylor,  and the girl who was into dark stuff ended up translating for Taylor and leading both of the guys to Jesus through translation. I think that is just one of the craziest things ever. Unfortunately, she didn’t get saved, but her friend who I was talking to did!

We had the opportunity to do so many other awesome, and spiritually significant things in Thessaloniki while we were there, as well. We got to join with missionaries in Greece and do a prayer walk weekend, and as a team we prayed at and anointed (with oil and honey) multiple historical sites including the ancient ruins of the fortifying wall that surrounded ancient Thessaloniki and the adjacent watch tower, a very significant site called Liberty Square where Jews were gathered and shipped off to Auschwitz, and multiple Orthodox Churches. 

We also went to a Roma camp every Tuesday and Thursday and played with the gypsy kids, helping the missionaries there with preschool and other extracurricular activities, as well as just loving on them. We also got to meet up with people who gave their lives to Jesus and disciple them a bit, as well, which was really awesome! 

We really got to love on the people of the church, as well, by really serving them in whatever way we could. One of my favorite things about outreach so far, though, has been praying for and loving on the homeless beggars all over the streets. There are so many refugees from Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, and Nigeria and its absolutely heartbreaking hearing their stories and seeing the desperation and hopelessness in their eyes. 

Jesus did so much in Thessaloniki and it was so awesome! Outreach has been so great, and I can’t believe that there are only about 7 weeks left, then I’ll be home. I’ll post an update about Corinth as soon as I can!

I love and miss you all! For the next 5 weeks in Athens, we’re in very tight quarters (yay for bonding moments!! :D), living at the House of Prayer, in a very sketchy area of the city. Though those things may seem negative, I am actually really excited about it all! There are so many ministry opportunities here, and I can’t wait to see what God does in us as a team, and through us to others. 

Prayer is still needed, though, so please pray for unity within the team, and that we would grow in love for each other, that we would really be able to bless this House of Prayer that we’re staying in, and that we would all be safe and always in tune with God’s heart and what He wants to do in this city! Thank you so much for all of your support prayerfully and financially! You guys are awesome! :)

Love, 

Rachelle :)

    

Where to Begin...

Well, the last month and a half has been eventful in the best way possible to say the least.

So far I have made at least 50 new friends (YWAM Ireland staff, my DTS, Kerygma DTS, and other random people along the way), walked 55 miles in one week, been to at least 10 new Irish cities, received massive inner healing from Jesus and Tom and Donna Cole, learned about the bigness of God from Andrew and Terry York, Celtic Christianity from Brother Thierry and Jonny Clark, and Spiritual Authority from Marriette Louw, slept on Church floors and extremely springy beds, shouted John 15 while standing on a bench in the middle of the town square of Coleraine, ate Chinese food in Ireland (what?!), and learned that I'm going to GREECE on outreach for 3 months! :D

So, to break it down, but not give TOO much information, the first week of our DTS was just an orientation week, but the Lord was already starting to do a lot in my heart. I'd say what He did this week was probably the most significant thing He's done so far. When I first went into this DTS, I was really struggling with fear of rejection. This fear had really taken root in my heart when I was in 4th grade and endured some pretty intense bullying, and had since struggled with it pretty much any time I got in any social situation. I would worry that people would think I was strange, or that I wouldn't fit in if I was myself, so I basically would sit in a corner and watch. I knew that the things I was worrying about weren't truths, but were lies that I had come to agree with over time. We had a team ministry night (which was basically just a worship night for our team), and towards the end I started getting really hit with fear of rejection again. This time though, when I was hit with this fear, I began to cry out to the Lord for freedom. I realized that I couldn't do this DTS, couldn't walk out in the ministry the Lord wanted me to do if I had fear of rejection. For 3 hours I was crying out to the Lord and contending against this spiritual stronghold that had taken hold of my life. After those 3 hours I felt freer than I had in a really long time. The Lord was quick to deal with that issue in my heart from the very beginning because He knew, as well as I did, that I couldn't do this with that HUGE wall around my heart. Jesus is FAITHFUL, and He knows us. YAY!

The rest of this DTS so far has been amazing, as well. Jesus is working in all of our hearts immensely, and is faithfully changing us into the people that He wants us to become. Week 2 of our DTS, we had Pure Heart week with Tom and Donna Cole. This was probably the most emotional time of ministry I have ever experienced and the most I have ever cried in one week. We were all crying our eyes out for the first 3 days of the week, which were dealing with the mother wound, the father wound, and true femininity and masculinity. There was some really deep inner healing that took place during this week and it was so the strategic plan of the Lord that this happened on our second week of DTS.

The third week was on the Bigness of God, with Andrew and Terry York, which was also incredible. The Lord really impacted my heart with how amazing it is that He cares for us even though He is SO BIG. He created the stars and the earth and all the galaxies, which are millions of times bigger than the earth and that much bigger than us, but He still cares about our tiny hearts, individually, and intimately. What an amazing God we serve. The fourth week was on Celtic Christianity, with Jonny Clark (The director of YWAM Ireland) and Brother Thierry, a Benedictine Monk from a monastery down the road from the YWAM base in Rostrevor.  This week was also substantial for me because I had a very limited understanding of Catholicism, and I feel that I really got a good perspective of it during this week. Week 5 was our crazy 90 mile walk along the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This week was challenging, but really great! I walked 55 miles of the 90, which is absolutely incredible! I never in a million years would have thought I could have walked that much in one week! Praying for the land from a place of walking on the ground and zig-zagging from North to South was incredible, and so powerful. From there we began the mobile part of our DTS, heading from Lisnaskea to Coleraine.

This past week, in Coleraine, we had the AMAZING South African Marriette Louw teaching us about Spiritual Authority. I thought that I would know a lot going into this, but boy was I wrong. This older lady had such a HUGE inner man, you could literally feel it when she walked into the room. She carried the presence of the Lord so well, and taught it well, also. I learned more about spiritual warfare and the power of speaking in tongues (and interpretation of tongues!! Woot woot!) in one week than I have in my entire Christian life so far.  We also had our very first official team Greece meeting! Woohoo! I don't know much, but we'll be definitely doing ministry with an anti-human trafficking organization, as well as possibly doing university ministry. We are definitely going to be going to the island of Patmos (where John wrote the book of Revelation), as well! Which is off the hook AMAZING! :D

That said, I still have a bit that I need to raise for the outreach portion of my DTS. I need about $950 more for the remainder of my Outreach phase fees and $500-$600 for airfare to and from my outreach location. That makes a total of about $1500. AND I need all of it by the beginning of October!
Unfortunately, since we ARE a mobile DTS, through Paypal or my Gofundme account is the best way to make a donation. If you would like to donate through paypal (https://www.paypal.com/), you can donate to my illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com email address. However, Gofundme (http://www.gofundme.com/IEDTS) is simply the click of a button.

I would LOVE if you would pray about partnering with me for this second half of this journey! This DTS has been INCREDIBLE so far, and I can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for me, my teammates, and the people we encounter. To everyone who reads this, you are absolutely amazing and I love and miss you! Please continue to pray for me and my team, that we would continue to grow to love Jesus, others, and ourselves even more, and that our hearts would be continually open to hear what He has to say. Also, please pray for protection against sickness as we have all been fighting colds, and spiritual opposition.

Thank you so much!
God bless!
Rachelle Butow

It's Finally Here!!

Well, guys, it is finally here! I am FINALLY going to be doing what I've been waiting to do for the past 5 years!! I am going to do a DTS in Ireland. I'm now sitting in the airport at my terminal, in a bit of a daze. Over the past few days I've been reflecting back to how all of this has come to be and it is absolutely amazing.

The Lord has been so faithful with this incredible journey I've been on. I've been making connections, and everything has just fallen into place so wonderfully. A year and a half ago, I was planning on doing a regular DTS at Rostrevor, which I believed would start in September/October 2013. Then, in October of 2012, I heard one of my friends talking about Fire & Fragrance, and really began to learn what that was. I had heard of it before but I had never really known what it was. When my friend was explaining it, my heart connected with it immediately. It was a Discipleship Training School that emphasized exactly what my life has consisted of, prayer, worship, and missions. Little did I know that YWAM Rostrevor in Northern Ireland was planning to hold a Fire & Fragrance DTS starting in July 2013.

When I found out about the F&F DTS in February, I was a little freaked out because I'm a "plan girl", and I'd been planning on doing the regular DTS in September/October. I like to have my plans, and I don't like them to change. BUT, alas, Jesus likes to change MY plans and make them HIS plans. lol! So, He changed my plans. After a few days of praying about it, I woke up one morning and He immediately spoke to me very clearly that I was supposed to go do the Fire & Fragrance DTS. He accompanied this direction with a little vision of me singing over the land of Ireland from a hill (Playing the guitar, too... I don't play guitar.. lol! :P) and there were people behind me, joining in in worship.

As I began to learn more about the YWAM base that I was going to do this DTS at, my heart became more and more stirred for Ireland, and for seeing a lifestyle of prayer being birthed in Ireland once again.

Now, here I am, sitting in the airport, ready to take off for the amazing adventure of a lifetime. I'm going to Ireland for 6 MONTHS. There are a lot of first-times happening (First time flying internationally by myself, first time taking a bus by myself, first time going somewhere without anyone I know, etc), but it is so good, and I know the Lord is setting me up for a lot of personal growth.

God has been so faithful in getting me to this point. I did my part in working 2 nanny jobs for an accumulative 25-30 hours a week, finishing my senior year in high school, and sending out support letters to raise the $10,000 I needed for this school, and He did the rest. I ended up saving $4000 (spending money and airfare) and raising $6000 (DTS Tuition), which was exactly what I needed. It is UNHEARD of for DTS students to have ALL of their money upon arrival for school, but JESUS is WONDERFUL, and I have all the money I need for this journey. I also received my approved Visa in 6 days after it arrived in New York, which is also very unusual. Usually, it takes AT LEAST 12 days for it to process. Jesus has just been so amazing, and I am SO EXCITED to finally be doing this thing.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me prayerfully, emotionally, and financially. You guys have been a HUGE part of preparing for this adventure, and I love you all so much! I know that I have so many people praying for me while I'm embarking on this path that God has me on, and that is such a comfort to my emotions and my spirit.

Mommy, Daddy, and Ki. Thanks for being so strong for me these last few weeks. Your emotional strength has helped me to get through the intense anticipation I was experiencing in WAITING for this day to come. I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE you guys so much, and I can't wait to yammer on about what is going on in this DTS, and tell you ALL the stories that I'm sure I'll have to tell.

I'll try to send as many updates as possible, but I'm not sure what my wifi situation is going to be like.

You all are incredible!


Much love,
Rachelle

The Lord is FAITHFUL, Isn't It Great? :D

Hey, guys!

     Well, I just received another $100 today and an AMAZING first check for $735 yesterday! The Lord is so good!! :D I still need about $5000 though, so please pray about partnering with me financially for this school! It's really cool, because one of the things I feel like the Lord has been speaking to me is that I am going to get a couple $1000 checks, and even though the above amount was not quite there, I think it was a little teaser for what's to come! Isn't He so awesome like that? He just continues to build my faith in the most wonderful, stretching ways.
     As I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts, the thing that I am most excited about for this DTS (besides the fact that I feel like I am finally stepping into the Lord's dream for my life, which has happened to just blossom into being my dream for my life, as well) is LEARNING. Not like academically (even though I am excited about that), but Relationally. My whole life I have struggled with relationships even though I LOVE people, due to bullying in elementary school. It really messed me up in feeling like I can trust people or that people really, truly care about being friends with me or that I can do something that is a little out there without feeling like people are going to judge and/or reject me. I have had massive issues with fear of rejection, and, honestly, have been the one to reject first to make sure that I didn't get rejected. It's feels terrible to admit that, but it's the truth. The Lord has been really teaching me about this already, and I feel like I am really coming out of that funk, and moving into how He wants me to be with people. I think this is partially due to going on missions trips, and basically being forced (in a good way) to trust and develop relationships with people, go out on a limb to share Jesus with people, and act in dramas (Which I NEVER would have done or even had a desire to do before that, and now love) and such. Another issue that I've had relationally (due to my very strong-willed, independent personality), is being okay with being under the authority of people that are not that much older than me (less than 5 years, probably). I wouldn't say that I'm a rebellious person, but I do have the tendency to think that I'm right... a lot... (eek!). lol! It's pretty bad, but I think the fact that I actually recognize that is a good thing, and the Lord has really been teaching me a lot in this area, as well. The past 2-4 years have been very humbling years for me, and I can really see the goodness of God in how He's dealt with me and multiple issues in my heart over the past few years. It's been very, VERY difficult, but I can honestly say that I don't regret it. I see myself now and compare me with myself then, and it's a pretty different person.  The Lord has been preparing me for this new chapter in my life, and I can't wait for a lot of the issues in my heart to be addressed during this DTS, and I have no doubt in my mind that they will be. Even though I know it's going to be hard, I'm really excited for the challenge and the opportunity to become an even better person! :D

Anyways, that's my shpeel for the day. :) I love you guys! And I love being able to share this journey with you! Modern technology is just so cool like that!

If you want to partner with me for this DTS, you can donate at this link http://www.gofundme.com/IEDTS or you can write a check to YWAM and send it to me. To receive my mailing address, email me at Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com or contact me on Facebook.

Thank you so much!!
Rachelle

Email Version of F&F Ireland DTS Missionary Partnership Letter

The Time Has Come

     Well, Friends! The time has come. After 5 years of waiting, it is finally here! This is the year that I am going to do my DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Ireland with YWAM (Youth with a Mission). I have been on 3 missions trips and gone to 6 countries (Spain, Dominican Republic, Germany, Ukraine, England, and Ireland), and now I finally get to step into what I feel I am supposed to do with my life; full-time missions. This is just the beginning, and I am so thrilled to talk to you about this upcoming journey, and to share with you about what the Lord has been speaking to me about Ireland, this beautiful country with a broken heart. I’m going to share a little bit about what the Lord has been speaking to me about, my history with the Lord concerning Ireland, and then I will go into more details about the DTS. 

Me, God, and Ireland

     I have loved Ireland since I was a little girl. I have always loved the accents, the idea of Leprechauns and gold at the end of rainbows, the musicality (singing, dancing, fiddles, and drums), the anti-conformist, adventurous outsiders that they are stereotypically portrayed to be, and the hard-headed, fiery redheads that I thought were really cool (even though the red-heads typically come from Scotland). It all seemed so whimsical and different than every other country and people group I’d heard of. As I grew older, these ideas were pummeled by a sober (and moderately devastating) realization that there were some very serious and deep reasons behind these stereotypes. The Lord started really speaking to me about Ireland in 2008, when I was 12 years old. I had a revelation that maybe my “fascination” with Ireland was actually much deeper than I thought. He really began to speak to me about how He wants to see His Bride united in Ireland, beginning with reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics. Throughout my life, the importance of looking at the root of things has been brought to my attention multiple times. This is where I went with Ireland. I began to research Ireland’s history and how it still reverberates in the present. As I have shown in the “A Little History” section, it is very understandable why Ireland is so split up between Protestantism and Catholicism. They were pulled back and forth, until there were severely divided between these 2 sections of Christianity. They were divided by national obligation and doctrinal differentiation, and they still are. There is so much wounding attached to the prejudice and persecution that has happened to both Protestants and Catholics (mostly at the hand of England), that has led to what I believe to be the Irish trying to medicate the pain of the past with drinking, taking their anger out on each other, but at the same time trying to portray their nation as a nation that is carefree and magical. All of this is due to the pain that has never been healed and the lack of understanding of the love of Jesus. There is a true identity crisis happening in Ireland. They have pretty much been kicked while they’ve been down several times over. A lot of the hurt has been caused by those from the inside, though; whether it’s bad leadership, economic troubles, or feuding. Ireland really needs the Lord to break in and heal them. 

    The Lord also started to speak to me about Ireland’s name, and the name of it’s people. He began to tell me that He does not call Ireland the “land of Ire”. Ire means “Anger caused by a wrong done”. God calls Ireland “Eire” (Air-uh), which was what the indigenous (Celtic) people of Ireland called the place where they lived in their native language (Gaelic). The Lord began to highlight to me the importance of Ireland as a praying people. The Irish people were also called Eireann which, I found, is pronounced the same as Aaron. The name Aaron means “High Mountain, or exalted”. Aaron was also Israel’s first High Priest, which I thought was really interesting, and I knew that was something the Lord was proclaiming over Ireland. He calls Ireland Eire, and the Eireann are His High Priests. He actually inspired me to write a song about Ireland on this exact topic. I really believe that when Ireland becomes united, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with and they are going to be a catalyst to bringing Europe as a whole to salvation. When they realize who they are in God as a people and as individuals, they are going to want to share that with others, and I want to help facilitate that. That’s just in a nutshell what the Lord has been doing. There’s so much in my heart that I could write a book about it. Basically, I feel called to be a full-time missionary to Ireland and the UK to see reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics. This DTS is my propeller.

A Little History:

• Ireland’s first notable evangelization was when St. Patrick came and told the Native Irish about Jesus through Catholicism around 433 A.D.

• Ireland was a pioneer in the Prayer Movement by continuing a House of Prayer in Bangor for 300 years; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They had 800 people who would split up into 4 groups (200 people each group), each taking a 6 hour block every day. This continued from about 580 AD to 824 AD. After 24/7 prayer discontinued, chaos ensued in Ireland.

• In 1536 A.D. King Henry VIII came into power, bringing in Protestantism with force, tearing down monasteries and forbidding Catholicism. His son, King Edward VI, failed to continue his work after he died.

• In 1553 A.D. Queen Mary came into power, bringing back Catholicism, killing anyone who was Protestant. There was strong prejudice against Native Irish (as opposed to Anglo-Irish) at this time.

• In 1558 A.D. Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary’s sister, came into power, bringing back Protestantism and enforcing strong prejudice against Catholics. She introduced the concept of “Plantation” (much like Indian Reservations). 

• Ireland became completely divided between Protestant and Catholic, and many wars were fought because of this schism. This struggle continued until 1916, when The Republic of Ireland finally became free from England. They had relative peace until 1960.

• The Troubles: 1960-1998 was a fierce time of fighting between Irish unionist (loyalist) Protestants (NI) and Irish nationalist Catholics (ROI).

Fire & Fragrance DTS    

     This is another part of this wonderful journey that the Lord has been taking me on. I had been planning on doing my DTS in Ireland in October 2013 for their Fall DTS for 2 or 3 years. I didn’t even know what Fire & Fragrance was until October 2012, and then 3 months later, I learn that they are having a Fire & Fragrance DTS in Ireland, starting in July. Fire & Fragrance’s vision is “to join with what God is already doing all over the world in calling His bride to a fiery devotion to Jesus married to becoming the very fragrance of Christ to the lost.” It is basically the House of Prayer and Missions in one whammy. This is so totally me, and even though I knew that, I was very thrown off when I found out about this DTS. The Lord settled it in my heart a few days later nonetheless, and now I know that this is what I’m supposed to do. Just in case you don’t know, a DTS is a 6 month school that consists of a Lecture Phase and an Outreach Phase. The Lecture phase is 3.5 months long, and is where we are taught about discipleship, leadership, relationship with God, and other teachings that will strengthen us in our walks with God while in missions. During this particular DTS, we will be traveling all around Ireland to different places to hear from different speakers and immediately going out and applying what we’ve learned through local outreach each week during the Lecture Phase. The Outreach Phase is about 2/2.5 months long, and is where we take everything we’ve learned in the Lecture Phase and apply it in the missions field abroad in 1 or 2 other countries; walking in signs and wonders, doing street and relational ministry, helping the poor, and fighting injustice. The countries to which we will be traveling have yet to be determined, but I will let you know when I know. During the Lecture Phase and the Outreach Phase, there will be a definite emphasis on prayer and we may be doing things called BURNs, where we will pray in intervals throughout the day and night for Ireland to create an atmosphere that is welcoming to the Lord. Cliche, but seriously, where the Lord is there is FREEDOM! Woo! Ireland really needs that, folks. Anyways, I am so excited for what God is going to do in my life, and in others’ lives during the DTS. I think it is going to be absolutely amazing.

YWAM Rostrevor, Northern Ireland

The YWAM Rostrevor base in Northern Ireland is where I am going to be doing my DTS. Not only is this base absolutely beautiful with it’s Victorian style, mountains in the background, and Carlingford Lough as the view (as pictured above), but this base and it’s location is very strategic to what the Lord has been speaking to me about His plans for Ireland. The little town of Rostrevor is located half way between Belfast (Northern Ireland’s Capital) and Dublin (Republic of Ireland’s Capital). The base also used to be a Protestant and Catholic Reconciliation Center. I just found out that there is also a BURN 24/7 base in Newry, which is the “big” town outside of Rostrevor (about 5 minutes away) and a House of Prayer in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. This is a very strategic move of God to bring me to this base because it is exactly where I need to be if I end up doing long term missions in Ireland (which I really believe I will be). Woo! I’m so excited!

Ireland’s Current State

Ireland as a whole is currently going through a very turbulent time. They have had a severe economic downfall since 2008, and it has been greatly affecting the lives of many people. A few months ago, I heard that 1 out of every 5 children was starving at the time. Northern Ireland (NI) has also been having some pretty intense rioting between Loyalists (those loyal to Britain) and Nationalists (those who want Northern Ireland to be free from Britain) because the predominantly Nationalist leaders of NI decided to only fly the Union Jack (infamous UK flag) 18 days out of the year, as opposed to year-round along with the Ireland flag. These riots have been going on for about 2 months, and have involved thousands of civilians protesting. Riot police have been present in Belfast for almost the whole time that these riots have been happening due to petrol (gasoline) bombs and missiles (glass bottles and other harmful materials) being thrown at known nationalists and police. NI Protestant Loyalist rioters have also been trying to engage Republic of Ireland (ROI) Catholic Nationalist bystanders into fights. This is currently happening, as reports are coming in about men being arrested for assault of a police officer, riotous behavior, possession of offensive weapon, etc. There is also a massive abortion debate going on in the ROI. Despite this somewhat depressing news that clearly shows that the wounds of the past are yet unhealed, there is also a massive movement of prayer that is rising up in the churches of Ireland. Please continue to pray with me for peace in Ireland!

Prayer Points:

• That I would raise all the money that I need for this DTS, easily. 

• That the Lord would continue to reveal His treasures that are hidden in Ireland to me and the rest of the students and staff in the DTS while we’re preparing for this school. 

• That everyone in the school would get along really well, and that we would all be united in Jesus. That long-lasting friendships would be established.

• That I would get understanding of the direction the Lord wants me to go in after I do my DTS. 

Please, Partner with Me!

Contact Information:

The Organization I am working with is YWAM Rostrevor

YWAM Mailing Address: 44 Shore Rd. Rostrevor, Newry BT34 Co. Down Northern Ireland

Website: www.fireandfragranceireland.com 

My Email: Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com

My Phone: (925)-658-2947 (Leave a message if I don’t answer, I’ll call you back.)

Please email or Facebook me for my mailing address

All checks can be made payable to YWAM. Please DO NOT put my name in the memo section. 

Please send all checks to my address, so I can send them together, in bulk. 

Donations can also be made to my GOFUNDME account, please go to this link to donate:

 www.gofundme.com/IEDTS or go to my Facebook page, and click on the link there. 

Thank you!

This school is going to cost around $10,000 including tuition, airfare, and other things such as getting a Visa and buying things for the trip. I have a job, so I will be saving for about half of it. What I need to raise is about $6000. Also, if any of you have AIRMILES that you would like to donate for my flight to Ireland, that would be absolutely amazing. I will be sending updates to my partners as I get more information. Everyone will be able to see updates while I’m in Ireland, as well as when I’m raising support on my blog “www.velvetclimbingivy.blogspot.com”. The school is going to be July 14th, 2013-January 17th, 2014. You guys have no idea how much of a fulfillment of a dream this is for me. You guys are storing up such treasures in heaven by partnering with me in what I know the Lord is telling me to do. THANK YOUUUU! :)

Rachelle Butow

Pluggin' Away!

Hey, Guys!
Well, it's week 2 of fund raising for my DTS in Ireland (See previous post) and I'm still waiting for the funds to come in! I'm believing, in faith, that the funds will come in quickly and generously! I am so excited for what the Lord is doing and is going to do, and I'm SO glad that I have wonderful prayer partners and financial partners who are standing with me through it. Thank you to all of you who have supported me in this; prayer partners, financial partners, missions trip staff, teammates, and leaders, friends, family, and everyone in between since I was 12 and beyond, you guys have made such an impact in my life and have gently guided me (by the leading of God) to where I am right now, whether you realized it or not. I love you all.

Please continue to pray for me for the funds! I have no doubt in my mind that they will come in, but partnering with Jesus in intercession is really, really good. :)

If YOU want to donate, you can write a check to YWAM and send it to me (You can get my address from me if you message me on Facebook or email me at Illuminatetheworld@hotmail.com) OR you can donate on my Gofundme page at this link: gofundme.com/IEDTS.

Thank you so much, guys! Me heart is so ecstatic!

Much love,
Rachelle