Meet Rachael

Rachael Williams Coe was born in England and lived there for her first eight months of life before the Air Force moved her family to Louisiana. She has one brother and three sisters.

Her parents taught their children to be hard workers. They never gave up, even through tough times. There were times that her mother had to raise all of the five children on her own because the Air Force frequently moved her father to different places.

Believing that family is very important, her parents made it a priority to hike, play games, and travel together when they could. In the military life they moved so much that they didn’t get to know their grandparents very well, though they kept up contact as much as possible. Rachael fondly remembers a very special trip when they drove from New Jersey to Oregon, to visit her paternal Grandma.

The Williams family has lived in England, Louisiana, Mississippi, Greece, New Jersey, and North Dakota. They have also visited many other states.

Her parents, Bill and Lorraine Williams, are also members of NTBC here in Larimore. They first came to this area when Rachael was seven years old. She had previously been home schooled, but enrolled in our Christian School once they arrived here. They moved away when she was thirteen. When they left, her father was determined to bring his family back someday because of the Godly church and this great locality to raise his children. Then, when she was seventeen, they returned to Larimore. At first Rachael did not want to leave New Jersey, and even asked her family if she could remain there. They wisely brought her back with them. The Lord knew her heart condition and knew that she would be saved through the ministry of our church.

While in college, Rachael met her future husband Dylan Coe. She recalls their first meeting. He spoke with an accent and had his leg in a cast. She went home that night and told her family about this “foreign guy” she met who couldn’t speak English well and who was handicapped. Was she ever surprised to see him the very next class period with no accent and no cast! He had been recovering from an ankle injury. He’d also adopted the accent of some friends. It was a lesson for her to learn never to judge a person on first impressions. She invited him to our church and he attended faithfully while stationed at Grand Forks AFB.

From the time that she was a little girl, Rachael wanted to someday be a Pastor’s wife. She always heard that it was a tough job, but she just felt that it was what the Lord was calling her to do. Following her salvation, she knew even more that God wanted her to be a pastor’s or a missionary’s wife. Her task then was to prepare herself and pray that the Lord would bring along the perfect husband for her life. When she first met Dylan, he wasn’t yet saved or called into the ministry. After he was saved in Korea, he grew in the Lord and they kept in touch. Then he moved to Germany where the Lord called him to preach. After service in Germany, he returned to our church and has been an active member ever since.

Dylan and Rachael have now been married for five years, and they reside in Larimore. On her wedding day she received a treasured gift of a cedar chest built by her great grandfather in which she keeps her first Bible, her wedding gown, and other precious keepsakes. They have two darling children, Gracie, almost three years old , and Gabriel, one year old. If there is one thing she would choose to pass on to her children, it would be knowledge of God’s Word and His salvation. She wants them to know that earthly goods have no value, and that their rewards can be laid up in Heaven.

Dylan was an Air Traffic controller in the Air Force. As a civilian, he worked in management for awhile. And then, the Lord called him into the Christian ministry. He is presently our Assistant Pastor and plans to remain here until, or unless, God calls him elsewhere.

There have been a couple of changes for Rachael since her husband started working at the church. First, she realizes now how important her actions are to those watching, and is more aware of sin in her own life. She cheerfully keeps her home available and ready for people to drop by any time. She prepares a little extra for dinner just for impromptu guests, and loves having them come. Second, her husband used to work from home, and now she finds herself alone more.

Rachael studied secondary education with majors in English and History. She has worked as a nanny, and as a Special Education paraeducator, assisting learning disabled students. She had the privilege to modify their curriculum so that they could stay with their age group in school.

Now she is a work at home Mom who names her own hours and gets to spend time with her children. She owns and operates a website, EmpoweringMommy.com, on which she shares tips and recipes, and reviews products. She is also the Administrator for our church blog, Beautiful For Thee.

When time allows she loves to read. Her favorite activities revolve around her family and church. She strives to judge her life according to God’s standards, not her own or someone else’s, and to be willing to change in areas in which her life doesn’t match up to God’s Word.

Rachael’s favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:8 because it reminds her of how God wants her to think. She identifies with Esther and Ruth in the Bible because their lives showed that God can use anyone.

She has learned not to compare herself with others. Rachael says, “We never know what others are struggling with, and as long as I am doing what I know God wants me to do, I will give my best. It is so easy to think that other women have it all together and concentrate on what I am doing wrong, instead of what God wants of me. Learning to accept myself as who God made me to be, has been a great victory in my life.”

Rachael would like us to pray that the Lord will show their family where God wants them to be next, and that the Lord would help Dylan to hold up Pastor Shaffer’s hands for as long as the Lord wants him to. She wants to be a faithful helpmeet for her husband. She wants to walk by his side, supporting him in whatever God has for him. She considers that his calling is also hers, and never wants to hinder him from serving God.

We can see the Lord working in Rachael’s life as she yields it to Him, training and molding her into someone very beautiful for Himself. She is a great example for the rest of us ladies. What a pleasure to know her!