Letter #102 - Rachel

The very first time I encountered someone who shared my name I was upset.  I was in the first grade and had never met another Rachel, so I guess it had just never dawned on me that it was possible for more than one person to have the same first name.  My kindergarten teacher was named Rachelle, but that was a different name in my mind.  I'm not sure why it bugged me, but it did.  (She and I became best friends that year and are still in touch to this day, by the way).

Fast forward several years to an incredible opportunity where I got to attend a church youth camp in Tahiti.  On that trip I met another Rachel, only this time there was no annoyance over the shared name.  We like each other immediately and within a day, other campers were referring to us as "Rachel Squared".  After the camp, Rachel and I kept in touch for awhile but then drifted, as often happens.

Fast forward several years to my parents informing me that we had houseguests for the week.  A new missionary was moving to Detroit and would be staying with us along with his fiance' while they searched for a place to live.  Imagine my surprise when I walked in to introduce myself and came face to face with my square!  It was wonderful to reconnect, and we grew to be friends as couples as well.  My (then boyfriend) and I atteneded their wedding, and they attended ours.  Rachel recently moved back to Florida with her family, which made me sad because she had become a part of my circle of friends, and our husbands had grown close as well.  I miss having them over and watching their son grow up.

Rachel is an incredible leader.  She has a passion for Christ and is a true missionary, but she is also unshakable.  She ministered side by side with her husband in urban Detroit, she dealt with rowdy college kids, and I have witnessed her leadership in many capacities, including motherhood.  She has a calming effect on me, something I try to recall when I am feeling stressed out and under qualified.  Her strength and confidence are an incredible example to me.  I miss my square, a little more because we're not so great at keeping in touch, so I hope my letter brings a smile to her face, and that I hear something back from her.  Even just a hello would brighten my day :o)

Letter #49 - Rachel

When I was in Grade One I had one of those weird phenomenons of a class of 15-20 kids with only about 10 names.  We had SO many repeats in that class... Trevors, Sara/hs, Justins and Rachels.  It was my first time encountering someone who had the same name as me, and at first I didn't take it too well.  Needless to say, I got over it, and Rachel is now one of my oldest friends (time-wise, not age-wise).  Over the years Rachel and I have drifted in and out of each others' lives, in and out of contact, but we always manage to reconnect here or there and send each other a hello, thinking of you or say hi to your family for me.  She is one of those people who will probably get a card from me every Christmas of her life.  I can't seem to let her go, no matter how far apart we live, how long it's been since we last spoke, or how infrequently I hear back from her.

Rachel comes from a family of musicians and is a gifted musician herself.  I was always jealous of her growing up because while I practiced and practiced (read: fought my parents tooth and nail on being forced to practice even 20 minutes per day) piano, she could sit down and play the entire score from Phantom of the Opera without even having music in front of her.

I remember one time I was at her house for a sleepover (a common occurrence when we were young) and we decided we needed more money.  Why, I don't remember, but we needed it.  So we spent the whole afternoon making cheap little friendship bracelets, then went around door to door in her neighbourhood selling them for something like a quarter a piece.  We always had creative ways to spend our time... making bracelets, playing music, building snow forts, watching her brother build robots, watching movies, "cooking", teaching ourselves the art of makeup (oh Lord I'm sure photos exist!).  I loved Rachel's parents, her dog, her house, her brother (even though he despised us, as all older brothers should at that age).  She loved my parents, my cats, my house, my brother (though we also despised him, as all older sisters should at that age).

I wrote to Rachel to catch up.  I told her about some of the things happening in my life, asked her for news about her own adventures.  I sent her a few photos, and reminded her that I was still glad to count her as a friend, even if we haven't seen each other in probably 15 years now.  I don't know if I'll hear back from her, she never was all that great at writing letters, even when we were closer, but I felt really good about sending her a hi, a thinking of you, and a say hi to your family for me.