Where Are They Now?: Paige Danzl & Rachel Naylor
Where: Tallinn, Estonia
Alumni Paige Danzl & Rachel Naylor arrived in Estonia just over a week ago to serve alongside missionaries Jordy & Elizabeth Nuñez.
Pack Your Bags is about students, yes. But Pack Your Bags is also about making sure the lost are found— and so when previous directors Jordy & Elizabeth left TBC&GS to go to the mission field we all selfishly grieved their departure for they were great people of integrity, but we were also overjoyed that the Lord was paving the way for them to share Jesus with the world.
And so when the time came for Jordy & Elizabeth to pick a few summer interns, Pack Your Bags was thrilled to see our world colliding with the Nunez’ again. Continue reading to hear from Paige & Rachel as they articulate what the Lord is doing already!
Rachel Naylor
Pack Your Bags 2019-2020
“Tere. This is Rachel Naylor and Paige Danzl sending our greetings to you from Estonia. It has only been three days since we arrived in Estonia, but it has been a great adventure so far as we learn about Estonia, its history, its people, and its culture under missionaries and former TBC alumni Jordy and Elizabeth Nuñez and the Eurasia Coffee Lab team.”
“As Rose commented in her highlight, Trinity students involved with Intercultural Studies or International Entrepreneurship are commissioned to complete an internship. I (Rachel) have always had a heart for missions and PYB confirmed that many times over. When it came time to do an internship, Estonia was one of many places that I was considering. In prayer and in my indecisiveness…”
“I asked God to shut the doors to the opportunities where I was not supposed to serve and make clear where I was to go; and he did.”
“However, even Estonia, the place where he has led me (Rachel) to intern, has not been without its own challenges. Paige and I (Rachel) were originally supposed to serve as interns for the launch of the coffee trailer business, but the trailer has not arrived yet. If we have learned anything about ministry from Pack Your Bags (especially Paige who was in PYB during COVID times), it is about being flexible and that the Holy Spirit can still move! This week is our orientation week and something that both Jordy and Elizabeth have maintained is that though Estonia looks beautiful, it is a very dark place and we are reflecting the light of Jesus.”
“Yesterday, Paige and I (Rachel) attended one of the many festivals that happen in the summertime called Tallinna Suvelaat. Sure, having the coffee trailer would make it easier to connect with the otherwise reserved Estonians at festivals such as these, but that does not diminish the light that we are able to bring and it certainly does not inhibit the movement of the Holy Spirit. We are also given many opportunities outside of the coffee trailer business to connect with people, and that is the part that I (Paige) look forward to the most.”
Paige Danzl
Pack Your Bags 2020-2021
“Most of our time spent here in Estonia is filled with intentional connection with people and that is why we are here, to “become one of them and live incarnationally!” as said so well by our missionaries. It doesn’t have to be difficult to simply smile at a stranger or ask questions when people would normally expect you to be quiet, building relationships takes time but when you begin to see fruit from those simple interactions, it is really so encouraging.”
“Living incarnationally means that beyond going out, you also must go deep with others and it all starts with leading the kind of life that constantly points back to the Father.”
“Rachel and I (Paige) have the very unique opportunity to be staying in a communal living space in one of the busiest parts of Tallinn. This place has given us a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world, both young and old and I (Paige) definitely don’t think it is a coincidence we were placed here. As we begin our adventure and ministry here in Estonia would you pray with us for opportunities to interact with people, safety and health for the entire team, to grow in our capacity to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and that the Lord would make Himself evident in the lives of Estonians?”