This past week I've heard horror stories about living in Guatemala, everything from giant spiders, to unwelcoming host families, and a myriad of other downright terrifying situations. While these stories left me feeling a bit unsettled about the upcoming year, they also served to amplify my desire to live and work in Guatemala. As an optimist, I am able to make the best of pretty much any situation and I am confident that this will carry over into my year of service. Mother Theresa said it best when she said,

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. 

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

In the coming year, I know I will encounter life in all of the above manifestations and more. Spiders as big as my face may run across my floor, it might be difficult to get to know my host family, and I will certainly encounter bumps along the way, but I am ready to take those challenges head on. 

Here at orientation, I've come to realize that I have an amazing community of YAV's, family, and friends supporting me and I'm excited to share my triumphs and my struggles with you all. My first struggle will be getting up on Monday morning at 1:30 am to leave for the airport. Our flight is at 5:30 am and we will land in Houston sometime in the late morning. After a short layover, we will board our plane to Guatemala city!!!! I've heard that the atmosphere at the airport in Guatemala city is pretty intense, but I'll have Jensen, Kate, and Annie (my fellow YAVs) by my side. 

Please continue to pray for me in the coming weeks and months! I love you all! <3

FIRST POST!!!

Today is the second day of the Young Adult Volunteer program orientation in Stony Point, New York. I have to admit, I am slightly disoriented. Leaving my home (Golden, Colorado) yesterday was much harder than I expected it to be and, according to my countdown, I have a mere five days and approximately 16 hours until I arrive in Guatemala. I will spend 5 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala taking Spanish classes. I will then move in with my host family in Comalapa. As of right now, I know very few details and, until this morning, I was consumed by fear of the unknown.  My fear evaporated because of my experience at today's morning worship service. During today's service, we reflected on a passage from Psalm 139, in which the psalmist writes, 

Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go to the heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.  

In reflecting on Psalm 139 I feel at peace. This might sound silly, but I now feel certain that God will be with me in Guatemala. Most of you are probably thinking, "Well, duh, Rachel!" I know, I know. God is everywhere, and it seems only natural that God be with me in Guatemala, but the past few days I've been worrying myself sick about packing, traveling, and other logistics, and in worrying so much, I unintentionally took God out of the equation. 

I am happy to report that I am no longer fixating on unnecessary worries and I couldn't be more excited to see what God has in store for me in Guatemala. After all, I can't go anywhere or do anything without God, and that alone is enough to quell all of my fears about this upcoming year. 

Look for another update later this week! Thanks for reading and may Christ's peace be with you all! :)