Hello friends!
My name is Rachel Roberts, I’m 19 years old, and I live in sunny Southern California! Before getting into the details of my trip, I wanted to give a little background about me and how I decided to go on this specific mission trip!
After graduating high school, I felt God calling me to a small private university in Washington called the University of Puget Sound. I followed Him there and spent a whole year wondering why He had called me to such a (literally) dark place. After finishing my spring semester I decided to transfer universities because I believe we have a freedom in Christ to choose life-giving situations and staying in Washington was not one of those for me. The following summer was full of transition. Between moving back home and figuring out what the next academic year would look like for me, as He often does when we are struggling, God was working. After spending a week in Mexico working with a group of children with disabilities I could truly see myself doing mission work for the rest of my life. I always felt held back by the “American timeline” where you graduate high school, go to the same college for four years, and then get out into the work force. Just one year out of high school and I had destroyed that expectation. So in the midst of my mess, God called me to go.
And I am going.
This coming January I will be embarking on a new journey to South America with World Race, a Christian organization focused on partnering with ministries established around the world to show God’s unfailing love to all of His people. For six months I will be serving in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru with a group of other college students. We will spend two months in each country and take each day as an opportunity to love on the people in our community. One super cool thing about this specific trip is that in both Ecuador and Peru we have the chance to work with children and orphans with disabilities! In many cultures, disabled children and their families are seen as outcasts, unclean, or sinful. I am beyond excited to come alongside these families and show them the unconditional love of Jesus Christ because it was in this ministry that God called me into mission work!
That is just a little piece of my heart and I will continue to post monthly(ish) updates!
Love you all!
– Rachel
