rachelhopkins99I cannot believe it’s November. I have been working in my new job roles for 3 months now. That is wild. When I felt the Lord calling me to stay here at STN, He made some callings super clear that are on my life. A calling to disciple and mentor women and a heart for the community of Wahiawa. It blows my mind to see what all He’s done with those dreams in this time.
One thing I did not expect was how hard it would be to leave my community in Tennessee to be here. The first two months on staff was really tough. I missed my friends and family back home. This move has been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done. I am a firm believer thing of value rarely come quickly or easily. The Lord has been so faithful, and I have grown in my walk and callings in a new way!
I am now on staff in our Feeding the hungry program and in Surfers Coffee (no one is shocked). My role in outreach is to work our pantry and build relationships with the homeless and people in need here. This is a huge part of my heart. We are one of the largest food distributors on island. Our heart behind this is not to offer a sermon in exchange for food. But, to just show up and love people because they are. Living here and working here creates this beautiful connection. For years I worked in coffee and had my regulars who I loved. Now I just have a different regular. I see these people every day and I get to walk through life with them, pray for them, and just love them. Through building these relationships I get to speak life into them and share the love of Jesus. My job includes a lot of things! One of those is working in the pantry. We have a pantry where we give out food Wednesday- Saturday. We also have a shower and a bathroom that the homeless can use. Every Thursday we do a drive through food distribution. We get a massive order from the food bank we partner with and fill people’s cars with food. It is a fun time of just getting to love on people and meet a physical need. This job is both physical and emotional. It’s a lot of sweat, physical labor, and connection with beautiful souls.
Through working the pantry, I started to notice a lot of women who frequent live at a transitional home. They have just finished Alcohol Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Before that, most of them were homeless. I felt the Lord pressing on my heart to build deeper relationships with these women. I started a women’s group where we have dinner and discuss leadership principles together. This has very much been a situation of just following where the Lord leads and not knowing exactly what I am doing. These women are my heart. It is so amazing to see Jesus moving through this.
I have another big dream. I am making repairs to the stove in our commercial kitchen. Once it’s fixed, I am launching another program. We will be starting cooking and nutritional classes for the community. Right now, this project is aimed at the women in my group. The goal is to empower them with life skills and purpose. The ultimate goal is that through relationship they can be connected to our community and come to know the Father. My heart is to eventually have this program available for the whole community.
I am mentoring 4 girls this semester through what we call a connect group. Here I walk with the girls through healing, growth, and I just do life with them. This has been so fun and beautiful. I love my girls and getting to do life with them is a treat! I also work in the coffee bar. This is one of our big outreaches in the community. Surfers coffee is a staple in the community. Coffee is a huge part of my life. I love getting to work in here and love on people in the process.
Personally, I really struggled for two months. My work life took over everything for a bit. I have set some serious boundaries into play and I am doing a lot better. My van has broken down a lot and that has been a huge financial stressor. The past two months I’ve had over $1,500 in repairs. She seems to be running much better now! I have been making fun more a of priority on weekends. I also joined a CrossFit gym and that has been the best thing for my health and making connections on island. I finally feel like I am settling into living here and embracing this season fully. I am very stoked to come home for Christmas this year.
I am I am so excited for what the Lord is going to do in the coming year with our outreach. So many other great things are instore for this community and I cannot wait to see where the Lord takes these dreams.
Here are some prayer points:
- For the women in the program. That they would continue to remain clean and get to experience a relationship with Jesus.
- My van to continue to run well!
- For my connect group girls: Nikki, Sara, Rachel, and Emma. That they would experience so much breakthrough in their internship!
- My finances. Things are a little bit drained after my car incident. I am in need of more monthly supporters.
- Anxiety/ mental health. Our campus is being spiritually attacked in the way of anxiety and mental health. A lot of interns have been experiencing this.
I am so thankful for you all! I will be more diligent about posting updates on what is going on here!
All my love,
Rach
English