Rachel Martinez February 2022 Update
“Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1
Hello Family!
I am so grateful to be able to share once again about the faithfulness of our God in a newsletter update. The Lord has been teaching me so much as I have been diving headlong into ministry and preparation for the mission field. Can you believe that I have been living in Yorba Linda for 9 months?!
It has been 9 months of incredible discipleship, study of His Word, training in ministry, and vision for the Unreached! It feels like I just arrived last month, and yet this family has been so welcoming that it feels like a home away from home.
Ministry
I have realized in a new and fresh way that I want to do full-time ministry for the rest of my life! It is my desire to be used by the Lord to tend His body and care for His Bride until His return; and while He has given me a heart to do this among the Unreached, He has given me a passion to do this wherever I am, whether it be state-side or abroad.
I have loved serving in youth ministry at Saving Grace. It’s been such a blessing to see the gifts God has given the kids and to be able to encourage them and make space for them to use those gifts to uplift their peers! My favorite part has been our Sunday night Tozer study group where we open the floor up to discussion on the chapter we read that week. The kids have such great insights and questions to offer!
Visit to Vegas
Pastor Gregg and his wife Vikki at Calvary Red Rock were so generous to invite me to speak for a few minutes on a Sunday morning about how the Lord is moving in my life. It meant so much to me to see such a gracious church body so ready to support me as a missionary. I shared about how the Lord called me to missions; through reading His Word! In the Bible I began to see our purpose as His church, to bring the good news of Jesus to all peoples. Then, I was also being confronted with the reality of the Unreached. If this is the ultimate purpose of humanity, God’s glory among the nations, and we have been empowered by His Spirit to be this witness, how is it that nearly half the world still remains completely unaffected by the Gospel of Jesus? Something needs to change!
I was also able to share about how I got connected with Calvary Chapel Saving Grace and the School of Missions. Perhaps the most important thing I took away from the School of Missions is the importance of church-planting, and I was able to share about how I would like to be a part of a team that plants churches in the Unreached, so that our brothers and sisters in those areas are raised up and encouraged to reach their own countrymen with the Good News.
Finally, I was able to share about some upcoming opportunities I have to press into that call to the mission field, and some avenues that they could take should they choose to support me.
I know you are praying for me! Thank you! I just got some brand-new prayer cards (see above) and I would be more than happy to send you a few! Let me know if you’re interested and we will make it happen. If you haven’t already, you can sign up for my monthly newsletter to stay updated on how the Lord is leading me towards the mission field. Click here to sign up! Finally, you can also support me through giving. Whether by a one-time gift to help with one of the short-term trips I have detailed below, or on an on-going basis as I prepare to raise the monthly support I will need to get on the field one day soon!
I was totally overwhelmed with the amount of support I received from the faith family at Calvary Red Rock. The Lord very well may send me to dark places, so knowing there are people out there, just like you, who are praying for me and know where I am going brings so much comfort to my heart. If any of you from Red Rock are reading this, thank you so, so much for having me!
Short-Term Trips
Most of you may know that I am preparing to go on a few short-term trips coming up in the springtime. My team members and I have been experiencing some spiritual warfare, and we think it might be because of the work God is preparing to do with these trips! Please be praying with me for the team, that we would be steadfast and stand against the schemes of the enemy (Ephesians 6).
The First Trip is to Mexico
We are leaving in a week! We are going to be focusing on ministering to a few brand-new church plants, and there are not words to describe how excited I am. I just know God is going to work mightily. Please be praying, as I need to have the expenses for this trip covered by the time I leave. I still need about $200, and I trust that God will provide.
The Other Trip is To the Middle East
We will be leaving on April 28th, and it is a vision tour. We will be scouting out the land in a country that is more open to the gospel, with the hopes of sending a team in the near future to begin a work! I have about $300 left to fundraise for this trip, and I am beyond grateful for how the Lord has so generously provided.
Priorities & Rest
In a place where there are so many great opportunities to serve the Lord, I am learning to discern where the Lord has specifically called me to serve. It has not been easy establishing priorities, especially since they keep us busy in this awesome internship. But it has been such a crucial learning lesson for me to learn when to say “No” and when to say “Yes”. I am also learning the balance and need for rest so that my heart and soul are renewed in His streams of living water. I cannot be like a tree if I am not planted by the waters (Psalm 1:3) and my Shepherd wants to restore my soul in His green pastures and still waters (Psalm 23:2-3). He wants these things for you too. I pray that you all are renewed by the presence of the Living God.
Amazing tree outside the youth Pastor’s house 
The view from a trail in the area
Reports & Requests
- Praise Yahweh with me, that He is the Fountain of living waters, and He has given us water that we drink and never thirst again.
- Praise the Lord that He has blessed me with a partnering church in Calvary Red Rock.
- Praise Him that He has been blessing my time in Yorba Linda, and that He has opened the doors for these trips.
- Please pray that the Lord would continue to provide the finances for these trips.
- Please pray for the foster babies in our house, that they would end up safely back with their families!
- Please pray that I would continue to be a humble learner and a vessel set apart for the work of the Lord Jesus.
Photo Dump
I am beyond grateful for you all. May Yahweh richly bless you and your families.
Rachel