Student Perspective: Rachael

Wow!! What an incredible week—and what an incredible trip to remember. As our time in Jamaica winds down, I cannot help but stand in awe of how fast this has gone. Not simply how fast this trip has gone, but how fast these four years have gone. I am so incredibly filled with the Spirit of God as I reminisce about all of my trips and remember the things I have experienced. One thing is for sure—these past four years have been so filled with God and so filled with growth that there are no words to describe the things God has done in my life and the ways He has changed me and drawn me closer to His heart. It is truly a bittersweet feeling as I come to the end of my last trip.

As I think about my years of traveling and serving the Lord in various places around the globe, I am overwhelmed at the vastness of my God and the way He teaches me and speaks to my heart on each trip. My heart is instantly brought to a state of worship. Although I have been on many trips throughout the years, I have come to know that each individual trip contains its own individual lessons. This trip is no different. There are so many things that I have learned this week, but one thing is prominent in my mind.

This week, our group devoted our time and effort to building a house for a family whose home was destroyed by a fire. We completed our project yesterday, and as Solomon and his family stood on the front porch smiling for their first pictures at their new house, I was overwhelmed with a sense of God’s healing. At church on Sunday, a woman who was preaching said something I will not soon forget. She said, “There is not one broken vessel that our God cannot mend.” As I stood watching this broken family take their first step towards healing, the meaning of these words rang true and strong in my heart. Our God is an Awesome God. Our God loves His children, hurts when His children hurt, and tenderly holds them while they are in the midst of sorrow. But even more than this—Our God MENDS the broken hearts of His children and REDEEMS them to a place of hope and healing. And that is exactly what God did to Solomon’s family, and that is exactly what God can do in each of our lives as well. In fact, that is the very reason that Jesus suffered and died on His cross—to provide each one of us with redemption and hope that does not dissolve.

Our God is an Awesome God. There is truly NO broken vessel that OUR GOD cannot mend.

Rachael H.