about me

"God will ruin your life in the most wonderful way if you let Him."
Paul Bowman

If you had asked me about the Czech Republic when I was eighteen you might have heard something about a mission trip I was going on after my exams were over and before I headed off to university to add letters after my name. 

If you had told me that less than six years after that mission trip I'd be getting on a one-way flight to the Czech Republic where I would be serving as a full-time missionary I would have thought you were crazy.

I was heading off to university, wanted to become a clinical psychologist and give God my Sundays. I had it all planned out.

But God.

The two most wonderful words in all of history. God stepped in. He told me His plan for my life. And I couldn't say anything other than yes. He has made it so clear, so abundantly clear. He ruined my life in the most wonderful way.

Over the course of four short-term mission trips and a three-month summer internship I saw God move in mighty ways as He drew young people to Himself. 

It's a crazy, God-sized, story and really best told over a cup of tea at a kitchen table. But until we get that chat just know that God has made it clear again and again that He has called me to be a part of what He is doing in central and eastern Europe.

So, I live in the Czech Republic where I serve with Josiah Venture. Every summer we partner with local churches to equip and resource them for ministry. And it is my joy to serve this ministry as the International Summer Ministry Director, leading an incredible group of people across sixteen countries as we reach the next generation with the hope of the gospel.

I spent the first eighteen years of my life in Northern Ireland. I then went to Wales where I studied applied psychology at Cardiff University, graduating in 2011. I was a youth ministry intern in my home church for a year and now I'm excited to live in a country I have fallen in love with and to join what God is doing here.  I moved onto the field on June 30th 2013. 

I am so excited to continue to tell the stories of how God is transforming central and eastern Europe and how He is transforming me. 

Rachael