Hello to whoever is reading!
This is my first post and I’m writing this to share some (hopefully) interesting info about myself! 🙂 There’s maybe a 90% chance that you’re a friend or family member, so you probably know some of these things already (maybe not). For that possible 10%, I hope you get to know me a little better through this post!
Lets start with my family…
I have a twin brother, Alex, and a 13 year old sister, Nicole. My brother and I are 17 years old and we will be turning 18 end of this August. I love them both dearly, but we definitely have our fair share of disagreements, haha. I have wonderful, supportive parents, Tammy and Mike. My parents have been divorced for almost 5 years now so I live between both of their houses. It has been a challenge at times but also not that bad.
I grew up and still live in White Lake, Michigan in the USA and I have lived in the same house since I was born. I have family that lives in Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas.
I have a HUGE passion for language and culture. The world beyond our little home town is SO beyond exciting and beautiful and my prayer is to see that beautiful world. (This trip gives me that opportunity!) I discovered this passion my junior year of high school when I met a guy that came to my school all the way from Mexico! He was actually living with my Spanish teacher that I had at the time. He did not speak ANY English at all. Only Spanish. That became a challenge I was willing to accept to get to know him. I started hardcore studying Spanish and teaching myself more outside of class. I was never able to verbally communicate with him while he was here, I couldn’t become fluent that fast! But he opened my eyes to realize that there are more people out there than just those surrounding us in the comfort of our own native language. I am now devoted to learning more languages to become multilingual! This mission trip is giving me the opportunity to combine my two passions- God and Spanish. I get to use my knowledge to glorify God! It’s an answered prayer for sure. Thank you Lord!!
I grew up in a Christian home, attending a Methodist church. I went to Sunday school for as long as I can remember and also went to VBS up until I was old enough to be a volunteer, so I volunteered for a few years after that. When I got to high school, I was not very involved or active in my faith. It was just kind of a background for me, not my identity which is what it should have been. When I became a sophomore, I was introduced to a high school youth group that was actually right down the road from my subdivision. I saw people from my school and became good friends with many new people. I loved it! The leader was super awesome too (love you Devin!) and he encouraged me to go with them on their upcoming mission trip to Ohio. This mission trip, CT Ohio is what they called it, was a life changing experience for me. I struggled so much with what I wanted to do with my faith and how I would avoid bad influences around me that wanted me to abandon my faith. One night I was up searching through my Bible and came across a verse that has stuck with me up to this new mission trip.
Psalm 37:1-4, “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.“
This strengthened my faith so much and completely changed my perspective on God. Being a Christian shouldn’t be a chore, it should be the most exciting thing in your life! My faith became the most exciting thing in my life.
If you made it all the way here, thank you for reading about me! I appreciate your support!
Much love, Rachel <3
