Deeper Than My Feet Could Wander

Lately, God has been teaching me a lot... Maybe no more than usual, but now my ears and heart are open and willing to listen... Often times I don't realize what I'm learning until I'm talking to others and realize how my perspective on life has changed. (Side note: I'm SO thankful for the friends and mentors God has placed in my life who ask me hard questions and walk through life with me, reminding me where I was and where I am now!) Currently, I'm learning to be content wherever I am. If I'm constantly wishing I were somewhere else I'd be miserable. A wise friend once told me (the first time I didn't want to leave Honduras,) "Rachel, you aren't supposed to be here right now... For whatever reason, you need be at home in PA." That statement has stuck with me over the last year and a half. If I'm grateful for where I'm at in the moment, I am able to not only learn more, but find true joy in the "mundane" of everyday life.

For anyone who has known me for awhile, and has been "following" my life the past few years, you know it's been nothing short of unexpected. If I'm being honest, I'd LOVE to be in Orange Beach, Alabama right now competing alongside my best friends for a second straight national championship. I find myself daily (especially during times like this, when they're defending their national championship), asking what life would be like had I not left Spring Arbor. What if I were still there.. what would my friendships be like? Would I still be studying pre PT? What would my role be on the team? These questions run through my head, and quite honestly, it's hard to shake them. I miss my friends, and I miss playing soccer so much. With all that being said, however I've had countless opportunities that I wouldn't have had if I were still at Spring Arbor. I may sound like a broken record, but I thoroughly enjoy looking back on all of the blessings God has gi

The end of January- the beginning of August of this year, I lived on the property of a children's home in Honduras. There were many ups and downs in those months with the kids, teaching, and living on my own. Upon leaving Honduras in August I wasn't sure when I would be able to return. I wanted to stay through November, but had a complete peace that for whatever reason, I needed to return to the States to finish school, with the end goal of returning to Honduras. Although the goodbyes were hard, I knew it was the right thing to do. Life in the States has been good, but I still miss my kids everyday. While at work two weeks ago, Lindsay, the teacher who replaced me in July texted me, and (long story short) asked if I'd like to return to Honduras October 28-November 5 to finish the school year with our K4 class. I told her I loved her crazy idea, but to look for someone else, because I don't think it's going to work, BUT with that being said, I would make some phone

"Isn't it great to be home?" is a question I have been asked by almost every person I have come in contact with over the last 9 days I've been in PA;  to which I always answer "Umm.... Yeah.. I guess it is." Now, don't get me wrong, I love my family, love my friends, and love my church and the people that are in it. However, imagine yourself leaving all of that for 6 months and going to a new place. A place that largely contrasts what you're used to. A place that you live at, work at, and spend literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at (getting off of that property about once a week for 3 hours.) The people you work with? When you leave your work day (teaching 4 year olds for 8 hours), you walk down to your room alongside those people you were just working with. You walk about 2/10 of a mile to your room, talking the whole way, unlock your doors at the same time (still talking), and then say "okay, see you in five minutes.."  Next you

Remember when… First college game- SAU, 2013 Thankful for this year- the many laughs, friendships, trials and triumphs- Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. Remember when I played college soccer at Spring Arbor University? Remember when I was extremely homesick, disliked playing soccer, and hated being away from home? Remember when I decided to leave SAU, move home and attend community college instead? Remember when I started coaching? Remember when I fell in love with soccer all over again? Remember when I went to Honduras on a mission trip for a week in July, 2015? Remember when I went to DeSales? Remember when I joined the women’s soccer team and had the opportunity to play college soccer again? Remember when I took a semester off from school to move to another country? Remember my first day of teaching when: 1, a kid yelled during rutina 2, a kid was in 2 nd grade instead of K4 for half the day, 3, Isis ran away (to lunch before it was time to go,

Yes.. I am still in Honduras-- but wow, it has been a VERY long time since I sat down to write a blog!! The past few months have been challenging. The March- May months were long, hot and dry. Picture a 95 degree day, where you walk outside and start sweating instantly. Then picture yourself walking back inside to an air conditioned room, hopping in an air conditioned car, and going anywhere. Now, take away the air conditioning and the car, and you have where I am. No AC and no readily available car to drive wherever I want. As you can imagine, the heat is exhausting. It takes the energy, life, and motivation right out of me. In the middle of May I started my online classes. If I told you the past 6 weeks have been easy I would be lying. It's easy to post only good things on social media, cute faces, smiles, and a facade that presents a perfect life--where I love broken kids in a third world country, share about Jesus' love and have zero problems. This is a lie. I LOVE thes

As I lay in bed realizing I should be asleep by now, I can't help but thank God for this crazy, awesome life I get to live. These kids make me smile day after day.   Some days are hard. There are days where nothing seems to go right; students aren't listening, they aren't "getting it" as quickly as I'd like, or there's days where I'm just plain exhausted. But, each night as I reflect on the day while looking at pictures that were taken, I can't help but be thankful. I'm thankful I get to experience what true joy is. I'm thankful I get to watch & coach soccer, where the kids experience their joy. I'm thankful I get to pour into these kids, and show them and tell them that I love them.  Today we had a soccer game. {which, as a side note my team won after their incredible comeback losing 5-1, and winning in overtime 8-7..} I bring a big container of Gatorade to each game as a little motivation for my players. It's amazing how many

Life is good, and this week was awesome. I was planning on getting my scuba certification with a few other teachers during our week off for Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Utila, an island of Honduras. Day one of scuba diving included watching four+ hours of videos. When they were finished  I was excited to get in the water and learn some skills. Day 2 came, we got in the water, and if I'm honest, I was terrified. I shot up out of the water so fast, and quickly said; "Sorry.. I just got a little freaked out, I don't know if I can do this!" Well, after a minute I went back down and did the rest of the skills for confined water 1.. We then jumped in to do confined 2 skills and I had a mini panic attack. I came up, went back down, tried again 2 or 3 times, and failed each time. This was a frustrating thing for me for many reasons. I had just done some of the "harder" skills, why can't I do this one? I love water and know I'd love to go explore God's cr

As I sit here and look around in my classroom, I think to myself "Wow, this should be very overwhelming... desks everywhere, bare walls, toys scattered, bare walls, and more bare walls!" If you know me at all, you know I am not a creative person.. art was never "my thing" in school, and creativity can be a difficult task for me. The fact that I have to not only teach children English, but also decorate my classroom (as silly as it sounds) is kind of an overwhelming thought! However, with that said, I have never felt such an overwhelming peace. Yes, it is extremely overwhelming to be in a foreign country, teaching Spanish-speaking children English as their second language. These next few months are going to be an adventure, and I could not be more excited about them! I cannot wait to look back at this first week and realize how young, immature and inexperienced I was. I am so excited to see where these next few months will take me in life, the classroom, my relations