What the What.

If you know me in real life (not saying the internet isn't real life) you have probably heard me say, "What the what?!" Typically it is said when you are shocked or at a loss of words, anyway, I've totally lost my train of thought of the purpose of this whole rampage of verbiage.... but it was a nice little rant, ya?

Now I'm laughing. No one is here, and I'm laughing. 

Let me get back on track and really let you know what's been going on in The World of Rachael! Hawaii is such an amazing place to live and I love it so much that I took a vacation to California! Question mark? Yes. My lovely parents flew me home for a few weeks for my birthday and Easter. Aren't they special? For the past few months I have been living in Wahiawa right on Kam Highway so if you have any knowledge of Oahu you know that is not exactly paradise. Now I'm not complaining in the least bit because I love where I live but if you were expecting the glittering thirty-second-commercial-advertisement type of Hawaii, you would probably be a little disappointed. From the outside, it's merely a city you have to drive through to get some famous shave ice in Haleiwa or watch some of the best surf at Pipe but to the people who were born and raised in Wahiawa it's a super tight community of eclectic people from all over the world. The kids are just something special; full of life and adventure and sass and talent and joy and jokes. It's been such a blessing getting to live and serve here. I'm super excited to see what crazy adventures He has in store for me. If I were to guess what I would be doing today three years ago, I would have never guessed I would be living in Hawaii working for a non-profit where I get to befriend and feed 700 families every week and spend my Saturdays surfing and hanging out with the kids living in a homeless shelter or even living off of food donated by local grocery stores. I feel so incredibly, incredibly blessed to live my life with such purpose. Hopefully you feel inspired that you can do something little and change the world for one person. It can be the littlest things that mean the world to someone.

Thank you for reading my little thought about life. Remember to smile and choose joy.

Rachael.

New in Christ.

Tuesday morning before the day began, I had the pleasure of going out to coffee with a dear friend. We ordered our two iced Vanilla Blondes with enough milk to match the color of our skin and sat down in Starbucks along with all the other early morning birds of Mililani. We talked and laughed and squeeled and listened and sipped those coffees and by the end of our date, I realized that I wanted to get baptized. It was the perfect opportunity and perfect time because I was sure of what I wanted out of dedicating my life. When we got back home, I made sure I would be allowed to get baptized (I was) and jumped in one of the eight cars headed to North Shore to do the baptism. Twelve people decided to make the step and get baptized that Tuesday which I think is just so perfect haha. One by one they went up in front of everyone sitting and waiting in excitement and shared why they were making this step and shared a bit of their hearts to all of us witnessing this beautiful moment of sincerity. I was the last one to go of the twelve and I honestly don't really remember what I said to everyone but I know I was so stoked and felt so full of joy and love for everyone there. My six ladies came in the water with me, each one having something beautiful inside of them that I admire, and prayed over me. We had a mini dance party and there was excited yelling and down in the water I went never to be my old self ever again. Lots of cheerful hugs, pictures and kisses later we packed up our things and drove home. I'm so thankful to have gotten to be apart of such a beautiful moment with so many people with such different stories. Truly a miracle.

Rachael [ j o y ] Andersen

Listening.

Just got home from opening a new bank account. This was a weird but big step in my life. Why you ask? Well, it just made permanent the fact that I will be here in Hawaii for a good length of time. Yes, yes it has been almost eight months but it has only been really hitting me that this is home for the past few weeks. God has called me to Oahu and opened up doors and closed doors and given friends and taken friends and it has been the best decision I have made in a very long time... 

Everyday is beautiful in the sense that I get to be a blessing by listening and walking in the ideas that He has given me. Sometimes it's just a feeling to do or say something and other times it's a full day of outreach. Both are beautiful and both are a gift and the only thing I need to do is listen and then step out and do it. 

It's been such an amazing time here at Surfing the Nations; from feeding 800 people every Thursday to making friends with the neighbors in Wahiawa. These past two months have flown by and I am so thankful to have gotten to live life with some amazing people doing amazing things. 

Cheers to life.

Rachael.

If you would like to help me continue on this journey,  I have created an account where you can do so here: Rachael Serving Oahu

"Mahalo ke akua."

Blessed.

Sometimes, it is so evident to me just how blessed I am. Little things here and there that just remind me about how good God is to me. Just this morning after laying in YWAM Honolulu's "prayer room" (a room specifically dedicated to prayer and worship) I decided to walk to the market and get some coffee and enjoy the morning clouds. It started raining on my way out but it was perfect. A little sprinkles to make those little whispy hairs on your head get all curly and the tops of your shoulders get a little dribbled on and the toes of your shoes get a little damp because the grass you just walked through was covered in dew... Anyways, I ended up at Starbucks (sorry hipster friends) and the lovely Leia took my order of a grande vanilla blonde with room for cream and my why-not-it's-Sunday donut. I guess we were both having a good day and she gave it to me on the house.

The smallest things are the biggest blessings. I'm so greatful and excited to be doing the work I'm doing. It's a long week full of long days but it's amazing and I wouldn't trade it for the world.



Enjoy your Sunday. (And happy birthday to my lovely friend of three years, Allie.)

Rachael.

Today was beautiful.

Today was beautiful.

Today all Surfing the Nations staff, Internship students, Service Team, STN neighbors, and friends gathered together to sing and love and laugh together. We learned about how the purpose of life should really be about love and how anything without it is meaningless.

If you are wanting an inspiring movie to watch about living purposefully and radically then you should watch Complelled by Love (a movie about Heidi Baker and her life dedicated to serving Jesus in Mozambique). It was so beautiful and inspiring and jogged a memory for me long forgotten... A few years ago before my life had any real purpose or joy, I remember seeing a clip of a movie with Heidi Baker speaking and thinking, "Her eyes shine so much. I hope my eyes shine with joy like that one day." Today was beautiful because somebody come up to me today and said, "You have eyes that shine like that, Rachael." Wow. Years ago I hoped for that and because of His redemption and amazing grace, He gave me that gift of joyfulness. What a treasure.

Hopefully I get to share that joy with all sorts of people all over the world someday...

Joyfully His,
RACHAEL

A Little Glimpse of Life

My days here at Surfing the Nations are pretty full of activity... twelve hours tends to be my normal work day lately. A little glimpse of the past week could go like this: Thursday morning I wake up to the sound of twelve other girls getting ready in our third floor, two room apartment. Thursdays are great because we have Feeding the Hungry but this Thursday was different because Cindy Bauer and I need to go to the Hawaii Food Bank to pick out food for the "free for all" Surfer's Church dinner. After a long day at the food bank, we finally get home and unload and strategically put away all the food we got. Friday morning I woke up in a panic because I have absolutely no idea how to cook let alone cook for 200 people. Saturday morning was beautiful, but that peaceful feeling was fleeting because the meal was happening tonight. Pounds and pounds of raw chicken was waiting for me in the Pantry... after five hours of cutting up chicken and re-making and re-creating and ever-simplifying the recipe, we get it all the oven. Nine pans of chicken, twenty-four jars of sauce, and ten long hours later, it was finished. Kind of... Now I had ten minutes to change and run down to announce the meal to all the guests. Everyone loved it and enjoyed the change of flavor. Successful Saturday night and now it was the weekend. Most people's weekends are Saturday/Sunday but here at STN we have Sunday/Monday off which is great. Sunday a few of us went to The Mission church near Sunset Beach and then crammed nine people into a five-person SUV and headed to the farmer's market despite the rain. A few hours and a few cups of coffee later, I was home. One amazing thing (among many) about living in community is always having someone to hang out with. So, I took full advantage of that blessing and we played a three hour epic game of Sardines (which is backwards Hide-n-Seek where one person hides and everyone counts and when you find them you hide with them and the last one to find them looses and has to hide). After watching a movie all squished around the tv, we decided that since our friend Zack had a car for Monday, we should take advantage of that and go on a sunrise hike. It's 5:30am and we're ready to go. Four hours and a million pictures later, we finish our hike. Seriously the most fun hike you could think of. After lots of sandy head stands later and a trip to Foodland for picnic supplies we got to eat a lunch of bread, peanut butter and bananas while overlooking Waimea's big waves from our very own secret beach. It was an epic day and ended with some broken Spanish conversation and a game of tag in the Walgreens next door. As we said fairwell to an amazing weekend, we looked ahead to what the week had in store for us... Teaching and prayer Tuesday. Local prayer and teaching surfing Wednesday. Thursday (today) I'm about to leave for Feeding the Hungry but instead of passing out the food this week, I'll be helping with the evangelism/prayer side of things and work with Surfer's Church and tonight I'll help out at "Jesus Saves" which is the youth church for kids in Wahiawa. I am loving everyday here. So much hard work but such a balance with blessings. Thank you for your prayers. Love you all.
-Rach

Some Eye Candies

Planned the Staff Conference my first week at STN.

Walking the roads of Wahiawa for 'All Night Prayer.'

Milk & Honey Latte from Coffee Gallery in Haleiwa.

Dirty feet are a sign of a great hike.

Early morning fog on the top of Oahu.

Zack (CA), Nick (Germany), Natalie (Sweden), Katie (N. Carolina), Joel (Switzerland)

We love serving the people of Wahiawa.

Power of Prayer: Once a porn shop now a place of worship.

"Feeding the Hungry" (680 people served. 2,000 fed.)

A quick visit to YWAM Honolulu for some great worship.

Waianae Surf Ministry for the West Side keiki's.