Hello again everyone!
We had a group from The Cross, here last week and it was almost impossible to find time to sleep, much less write a blog post haha! It was so awesome to have some familiar faces here though and I'm so thankful for the week that we were able to have. Cathy Scott and Lisa Slade, y'all were a HUGE blessing to me and I thank God sooo much, for both of you!
Anyway, I can't believe that I only have three weeks left here. I must admit I have become seriously attached to the people here and if you see me the week after I get home I might be a slight wreck ;)
Never in a million years did I think that I could fall in love with somewhere other than home as much as I have with this country and it's beautiful people. I have seen things that will forever change my life and my perspective and I can't thank God enough for that. I can only hope that I never forget the things I'm learning and that I will hold on to them for the rest of my life.
For those of you who are wondering, Orlin is fine and I am pretty sure he knows I'm very partial to him and he totally takes advantage of it! La Yaguita has officially taken over a very special place in my heart and I dread the day that I have to say goodbye to my sweet friend, Karina and all of those awesome children. But for now I will enjoy every moment that I have with them!
I was listening to Hillsong United's song "Oceans," this morning and thought back to a moment that occurred this summer. I had gone to visit a friend at Liberty University and there was one morning where I was really struggling through some stuff, so I stuck in my headphones and ran to the baseball field, so I could sit and pray. If any of you know me very well, you know that the baseball field was obviously the only logical place that I could go to clear my head..lol
Anyway, I was sitting in the empty stands looking out at the mountains when "Oceans," came across on my playlist. There is a line in the song that says, "take me deeper than my feet could ever wander..where my trust is without borders, in the presence of my Savior." I caught myself singing along, just out of habit and I stopped myself.... We often sing songs like this just out of habit, because they are catchy and have a good tune, but do we REALLY pay attention to what the lyrics are saying? I called my mom and asked her "do I really mean that? Do I really want God to take me where my trust is without borders?!" If you think about it, it's a pretty heavy thing to be singing. I decided in that moment that I really did want to go far beyond what was normal and comfortable for me and that I was tired of living complacent and stale, in certain areas of my life. I had just decided the week before that I would be coming here to the DR, but I had no idea what things would impact my life once I got here. I think God knew he had to get me to that point of wanting to trust beyond my borders before I ever got here and hearing that song again this morning totally floored me, because God has seriously pushed me soooo far beyond my borders! I never could have imagined what that moment was preparing me for, but God has everything so perfectly orchestrated and it seriously blows my mind.
So many things have happened in the last year to six months and although it doesn't always make sense at the time, I can now see things that God was preparing me for things that were going to happen later on and I can't help but be in awe of Him. If you had told me two years ago that I would be spending seven weeks in a different country, doing missions...I probably would've laughed at you. I can't even lie.. To see where I am now and everything that God is doing is so amazing and I can't wait to see what happens even after I go back to the US.
I also have a newfound appreciation for both of my parents. This may sound ridiculous, but to a certain extent I don't think I ever realized how truly blessed I have always been to have two parents that have always pointed me towards God and no matter how difficult I may have been at times they NEVER loved me any less and a big part of who I am and why I am where I am is because of them.
Well, that's all for now! I hope you all have a blessed day!
- Rachel xoxo
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