Skip to main content

Life in the States

I have been wanting to do an update now that I am back to college life in the United States. A lot has happened in the last 5 months since I arrived home from Costa Rica. 

To start I wanted to make sure that everyone that supported me, both in your prayers and financially, knows they are so greatly appreciated. My year in Costa Rica was life changing. Going into the year my faith in God was shaky at best and my knowledge of Him was minimal. I was not in a great place. However, in Costa Rica I had great mentors, friends, and teachers. I replanted my faith in Christ and in November I was baptized. If you ever want to hear my testimony I would be happy to share.  

Coming home to the states took some adjusting. My family for 9 months was gone and so were my ministries. Over the summer I worked a couple different places trying to save up money for college. For 7 weeks of the summer I worked for Upward Bound as a tutor/ counselor. The program is an academic summer program for high school students. I was in charge of a group of 9 girls. It was a challenging position that taught me about working with a team and working with students. 

Now the big story for me is that I am now attending Lancaster Bible College. My plan had been to attend Nyack college in NY. I had even already attended orientation at Nyack. However, God seemed to have other plans for me. I was in Lancaster visiting my roommates from Costa Rica over the summer and we decided to visit LBC while we were in town just because we knew some people going there and some professors who work there. But, by the end of the day I decided to apply to LBC just to see what would happen with credits transferring in and finances. After a few weeks of thinking about it I was sill pretty convinced I should go to Nyack for many reasons. One of those was that Lydia, my best friend, was planning to go to Mercy college, about 20 minutes from Nyack. But in the end multiple prayer requests were answered through LBC in ways I never expected. After taking some time to pray about it and seeking counsel from my parents and close friends I decided LBC was were I should go. I was excited I made the decision but I was sad I was going to be a couple hours away from Lydia now. 

Have no fear though because I am now completely convinced God cares about us immensely even in the little things and also has a sense of humor. Lydia came with me to drop me off at college the weekend before classes would start. While she was on campus she got connected to an admissions counselor and the vice president. They got her accepted to the college within a couple hours and had all of her paperwork rolling. I now attend college with my best friend who lives two rooms down from me.   

It is a really awesome story, and sometimes I am still in shock that I attend Lancaster Bible College. I still am struggling with some doubts. Did I choose the right school? Am I in the right major? Am I in the right classes? Am I serving in places that will prepare me for my future? How long will I be here? Will I be able to pay for college each year? But I am also learning to trust and rest in God. 

Please continue to pray for me as I am here at college, as I readjust to life as a college student, learning to manage my time well and work through my doubts and questions. I am currently double majoring in biblical studies and student ministries with a minor in inter-cultural studies. I transferred in as a second-semester sophomore. Currently I am taking 17 credits and I am serving in a girls high school student group at Calvary Church. 

Let me know if you would like to be added to my prayer email list, I would be greatly encouraged to know there are people praying for me as I walk through this journey. And again thank you to those who supported me throughout this last year in Costa Rica. For me there has never been and will never be another experience like it.  

Love has no borders, 
Rachel Martha
Visiting Lancaster over the summer
GAP reunion takes place everyday here at LBC
My group photo for Upward Bound
Welcome weekend picture, before we even knew for sure that Lydia would be coming
In the photo is Lydia (Left), myself (Center), and Jess, one of my roommates while in Costa Rica (Right) 
Incoming class photo at LBC, My address at LBC, in case you want to send me a little note is
901 Eden Road Stop #773
Lancaster, PA 17601
Jess, Lydia and I exploring in downtown Lancaster 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Poop-tarts and Pop-tarts"

One semester down and one to go!  Somehow time has flown by. I feel like it was yesterday that we were picking the students up at the airport, but I know so much has happened these past few months. As a house, we have gone through many "poop-tarts and pop-tarts" or highs and lows. There have been unexpected changes along the way and even more unexpected challenges. As a staff, we faced sickness of many kinds. The students have been challenged in their faith and challenged to re-evaluate how they view the world. There has been much growth because of these challenges and I praise God for His faithfulness through it all. Praise God for coffee and friends This semester has consisted of many outings, adventures, classes, and times of fellowship. For example, in the middle of the semester we took a trip to Nicaragua to get our passports stamped. That was a refreshing time spent together outside of the Villa. However, it is guaranteed that there are no guarantees...
Post a Comment
Read more

GAP Costa Rica 2020

GAP Class of 2020 We have had 29 days all together here in Costa Rica! This year we have 8 staff members and 13 students. I am so thankful for the team the Lord has put together and for each of the students the Lord has brought to Costa Rica. I am so thankful to be here and to have the honor of caring for and loving these 13 students this year. Staff arrived August 13th and students arrived August 22nd. Since then we have done orientation, explored San Jose, did a scavenger hunt around Guadalupe, started Spanish classes, began ministries, started small groups, and had 4 Bible classes; Old Testament Survey, Hermeneutics, New Testament Survey and Church History. We have played lots of ultimate frisbee, plenty of Spicy Uno and there have been countless numbers of trips made to Automercado grocery store. So yeah, lots has happened in these last four weeks. Los Guido Ministry Team We started ministry in Los Guido. We are again having children's English class and youth cla...
1 comment
Read more

Round Two

Hello all, As I mentioned before I am heading back to Costa Rica for a second year as the Female Student Life Coordinator for the GAP year program through Score International. This past year was challenging for sure which made for an excellent learning and growing experience. There were many highs and lows, but the grace of God was ever present. Through the course of these last nine months, we saw the Lord guide and direct 20 students, 4 interns, and 5 staff members closer to himself. I am beyond thankful for the year the Lord gave us and the students He sent to Costa Rica. I am also very excited for this coming year. I know that the Lord is going before us to send the right students and staff to Costa Rica. This year my role will be very much the same as last year. My ministry has been and is two parts. One is focusing on the GAP students. Second, it is leading a group of students to partner with Salva and Veronica in a town called Los Guido where my team is able to h...
Post a Comment
Read more