The First Two Weeks of School

Hello (almost) September!! School is officially in full swing and summer is over.
Luckily, I live in a place where "summer" never really ends. :)

My first two weeks of school were a blur! Teachers spend so much time preparing for that first day--it's nerve wrecking! I checked my lesson plans at least 101 times, made sure everything was in place, and had the craziest dreams the night before school started. I was a wreck. But despite all the nerves, it was a good day!

This year I am teaching 18 lively 4th graders! Right now we are learning how to follow procedures quickly and quietly to make the most of our learning time. I've introduced them to the Reading Corner and Writing Center and they literally are ITCHING to get in there! I had a little extra fun this year because I was able to put together a cute little welcoming Reading Corner and a Writing Center that I wasn't able to have last year. (pictures of everything coming soon!)

Also, the new missionary teachers here really hit the ground running with just about a week to prepare and learn how to be a teacher from lesson planning to behavior management. They ROCKED it!

Every year, the SDA mission schools in Micronesia rely on people who are willing to serve and commit for a year to teach. If you feel a calling to go, GO!

I couldn't do my job without Jesus. He is my teacher and instructor and the one who gives me patience when mine has long run out. I am thankful to have a job that I love and that He can shine in everything that I do. Bring on the school year. :)

--Rachel

PS- Tune in soon for some classroom pictures!

Teaching with 5 Loaves & 2 Fish

This week all of the teachers have been preparing for school to start on MONDAY (yikes) and it has truly been a blur. Every morning and evening the missionaries get together to have a worship. Lord knows we all need it. 

The other day one of the missionaries shared a worship thought on Jesus feeding the 5,000. It was so beautiful that I almost choked up and felt the need to share it again in my own words. 

If you grew up with the Bible, you are probably familiar with the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. If you didn't and even if you did, let's do a quick summary...

Jesus had drawn away to a private place after some earlier events in Matthew 14. But Jesus was loved by the people and they followed him. Having the big heart that Jesus had, when he saw them, he had compassion on them, and healed the ones who were sick. 

As evening was approaching, Jesus' disciples urged him to tell the people to go home. They needed to eat, and there was obviously nothing here for a crowd that big (5,000+). But again, Jesus insisted that the people stay. Maybe there was some food in the crowd. So he sent his disciples to go into the crowd and search for food. 

(I'm sure they searched half-heartedly. I mean, come' on.) So they came back to Jesus with 5 loaves of bread, and 2 fish. Definitely not a buffet fit for 5,000 people. But Jesus blessed the food and began breaking bread and dividing it into baskets to feed the people. 

After the disciples had gone around to distribute the food, they came back with TWELVE full baskets. LEFTOVERS. The people were FULL. Just off of 5 loaves and 2 fish. The Bible says that "They all ate and were satisfied." Matthew 14:13-21 

I still can't wrap my mind around how such little food fed so many people. I'm thinking about the little food in my cupboard right now and am fighting anxiety--I need to go grocery shopping! 

But seriously...this story speaks to not only God's amazing power and compassion for people, but of His ability to do amazing things, with whatever we may have. 

I am starting my 3rd year of teaching and I still feel like my knowledge and efforts add up to 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Put on top of that the fact that I work in a mission school where mentors and resources are very far and in-between, and sometimes just not available. I feel like there's no way I can feed or teach 20 students this year. It would take a miracle. 

Can God really do something amazing through me in my classroom and in my life with my measly efforts? My faith tells me the answer is YES. And I need to remind myself of that daily. God can do amazing things with you no matter what you have going for you. Whatever you have is more than enough for Him to work with. Single mom? He'll be by your side. Financial pinch? He'll make it stretch. Hurting heart? He has just the thing for that. 

Give God your 5 loaves and 2 fish. Allow Him to bless it. Watch Him multiply what you have and satisfy your life. He can do miracles. 

What will He do with your 5 loaves and 2 fish? Give it to Him, wait and see. 

-Rachel 

You Know You're a Missionary When...

Last week I asked my missionary friends on Facebook to finish the rest of this sentence:
"You know you are a missionary when..."

And they came up with the funniest stuff! Here you will read about all the hilarious, sad, and in-betweens about being a missionary.

A big THANK YOU to all my missionary friends who helped contribute to this post! If I had written down all of them this post would be a mile long! I hope you laugh and can peak into the life of being a missionary and choose to be one too--wherever you are.

................................................................................................

You start to pick up on what the "locals" do. 

You have to stop in the middle of the road for the baboons to cross.

Your self-acclaimed pet is a gecko.

It feels like Christmas morning whenever you get a package.

You can shower, cook dinner, and grade papers all in the time it takes for an internet site to load.

Even on your lowest days, you know your heart is full. 

You realize that your heart lives in 2 countries. You'll always have a fondness for your mission spot that words can really never describe...

You're lonely. 

Taco Bell from Guam is the highlight of your month.

You randomly blurt out food from back home. 

Your best nights are spent out under the stars in a hammock with mosquito repellent caked on your body. 

You've been stretched and challenged beyond what you ever thought you were capable of. 

You start using words like "aircon." 

Something as small as a packet of Taco Bell hot sauce makes you feel connected to home. 

You've been wearing long skirts...for a long time now...

You have to keep an eye out for gazelles on your morning run.

Beans.

You complain about things and wish you can go home, and then when life gets stressful you want to go back. 

A sincere "Thank you Miss" at the end of a heartfelt conversation feels like the only reward you'll ever need. 

You finally accept that life is crazy, and you may not always have running water or electricity, but you have each other and that is enough. 

When the ocean, sunrises, or sunsets are colors that you can't describe or accurately take pictures of, but they are perfectly burned into your minds eye. 

Beautiful People

Well, I am back in Palau!
I've been itching to blog since the minute I got here-- I have so many things I want to share!  Can't wait to pump them out! :)

Somewhere in between 4 long flights, multiple security checks, and many long lines on my way to and from the motherland (USA) this summer, I had a thoughtful moment: People are beautiful.

The awesome thing about airports is that people from all over the world gather in this one little hub to go on their next journey. Each person that comes has a life, people they love, and a place in society. We marvel at how snowflakes are all different and how two zebras will never have the same pattern of stripes. But how often do we marvel at ourselves? 

So I decided to check out people (in the least creepy way possible). I stopped to soak in the diverse pool of beautiful people around me in the Guam Airport: Asian, Chamorro, Palauan, Hawaiian, Filipino. Big eyes, slanted eyes, soft eyes, and darker-than-night almond eyes. No two people were the same. 

I stopped to look for the beauty in each face, and soon remembered that my vision is flawed. I can only see skin-deep. But God...God can see that person's beautiful soul, right down to the core. He made every person with passions, desires, talents, and dreams. He made every person with a purpose. (Jeremiah 29:11) 

When I look at people like this, like the beautiful people they are, as valuable, precious, God-breathed and purpose-filled people, something inside me stirs. Something stirs me to be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more loving. I want to remember that each person, is a handmade, carefully crafted, personal extension of God's heart. 

How could I not be amazed?

"WE are God's workmanship..." 

Ephesians 2:10