Her husband, Charles Barnes, notes:

Here are a few excerpts from Rachel’s report of her trip to Columbia.  If you would like her 3-page report that contains more specific answers to prayer, let me know.

Your prayers really created a thick protective covering over me the entire trip to Colombia and back.  There was evidence of the Lord’s help at every turn, not just for me, but for the bigger picture as well.  So thank you from the bottom and top of my heart.

The thing I see as most important is that my missionary friend Terry was able to complete the checking of Luke 2:41-chapter 10, combing through remarks and questions brought up from a consultant check.  That portion is now about ready for publication.  This was a big accomplishment.  They finished this the day I was to leave to come home.  Terry felt a very definite sense of the Lord’s enabling in their work sessions so that they were able to dive right in and make progress as well as they did.  It is a tedious process since the language helpers are still learning to read their own language.  The sessions not only involve figuring out what the Scripture is saying and how to say it in their language in a way that will not be confusing, but also working with reading skills, so it goes slowly.  But the goal is not only to leave them with a book, but to leave the people with skills as well.  This takes a lot of commitment, patience, diligence and love.

Along with me being able to do little odd jobs, learn the system for filtering water and sterilizing dishes and fruits, sweep up dust every day, keeping on top of laundry, opening up and closing windows and doors for airflow, getting meals on the table when the hired cook was not there, etc., probably my most important contribution was to take the morning session each day to pray for the work in progress, and all the things I was aware of that were connected to our presence there.  Also, it was very helpful to Terry to have someone to pray with about anything and everything as it came up.