Hey everyone!! It’s been a bit since I’ve posted a blog, but I wanted to jump on here and talk about what I’ve been doing to prepare myself for launch.
I have packed and repacked…and repacked…and repacked my bag MANY times. The first few times I packed my bag I thought our weight limit (for a checked bag) was 50 pounds, turns out its only 40! So I had to find a way to cut 10 pounds out of my bag. I took some things out that are not necessities and now my bag weighs 39.9 pounds…yikes it’s close! I finished my shopping about a week ago, so by now I have everything I need which is such a blessing! After packing my bags, I am basically living out of them for the next few days because I’m afraid if I take things out I won’t be able to shove everything back in hahaha.
In terms of spiritual preparation, I have been focusing on reading and studying my Bible more so I can be rooted in the Word. I have so many questions about the Bible, so I’m sure the people I encounter will as well. What I’ve done about that is started researching and looking into answering my own questions. All the research I did, I took it to my pastor and he helped me understand all of it, which I am SO thankful for…because sometimes I end up confusing myself! I have been using my Spanish Bible so I can start recognizing terminology and memorizing verses as well. I have also been keeping a journal since the night this whole mission came to be. I have written about miracles the Lord performed in my life and all of the blessings I have received and trials I have made it through to get to this point. I have written about anxieties I have about the trip, important reminders of how to get through those anxieties, and many more things that will be important for me to read and be reminded of while I’m away.
Yesterday was my last Sunday service at my church (Brightmoor Christian Church) and as much as it was emotional for me (if you know me, you know Im an emotional person), I still enjoyed every moment of the time I got to spend with everyone I love. I got to sing with my choir one last time and listen to a wonderful sermon twice; first service in English and second service in Spanish. My young adults group meets every Sunday evening, so last night I got to see all my best friends one last time. My young adults pastor brought me up to the front and had everyone lay hands on me and pray for me and I still feel so blessed remembering all the prayers I was hearing around me. We all went out to eat afterwards like we normally do, and saying goodbye (or as they like to say “see you later”) was really sad. As sad as it was, I just keep telling myself it will all be worth it for Jesus!
I apologize if this post seems all over the place, but this is basically what my brain looks like right now! Im just trying to get all my thoughts out in this post because it has been a while haha.
Thank you for staying updated! I leave for Georgia this Thursday will be at training camp for about 4 days. Monday night is our flight out to Nicaragua! I will make a new blog post soon probably about how training camp went. Please be praying for me these next few days that preparation does not stress me out too much!
With love and excitement 😉
Rachel <3
