It has almost been 5 months since my arrival to the Marshall Islands. We are entering our final 4 months which seems so surreal. Within the last few months, there have been lots of feelings of homesickness. I was quite nervous to celebrate Christmas, New Years, and most recently my birthday here without my family and friends. My favorite part about holidays is getting the whole family together to remember old memories, and create new ones that we'd laugh about in the future. Both my mom and dad's sides of the family always have so much laughter at family functions, and it's been one of the biggest things I've missed while being here. So as these significant dates approached, I had a fear that they would be some of the most challenging days and not feel the same. But with an SM year, comes a new family. 7 other college students going through the same emotions as I am plus other school staff and locals who we've come to love as family.
We celebrated Christmas together at a friend's house, sharing laughs, gifts, watching movies, and eating great food. Despite the complete opposite weather of Christmas at home, being with everyone in a room filled with laughter and holiday spirit made it feel like home. Then, before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to 2021 and entering the New Year together. Because the 31st was on a Saturday night, there wasn't much we could do. But we made the most of it with Martinelli's, good food, and even better company. We celebrated New Years with just the 8 student missionaries which doesn't happen often. New Year's are always exciting, looking forward to what's to come, and reflecting on all the growth that's happened in the past year. Not to mention we entered the new year before our friends and family back in the states due to the international dateline, and being on an island serving for a year.
My birthday was the one that made me most nervous. I've never been the greatest fan of my birthday and felt it wouldn't be too special here. At the time, all I wanted was the yearly birthday breakfast with my dad and dinner with all my family. Knowing neither of these could happen, I found myself wishing I was home. But before it was even my actual birthday I was feeling a tremendous amount of love from students of all grades and my SM family. Friday (the 4th) I was surprised with a cake and an adorable video another SM had put together of my class. I was flooded with cards, hugs, and happy birthday songs. On the 5th we attended church in Laura and came back to enjoy a restful sabbath.
We then went to watch the sunset on a rooftop one of the SMs found to close off the sabbath. This moment was one of my many core memories of this journey so far. Seeing the beautiful sunset light up our home island for the year, surrounded by people who love and care for me helping make my day special. I couldn't have asked for anything more at that moment. And to close the day, we ate at one of my favorite restaurants on the island. I remember looking at everyone from the head of the table and thinking to myself that everyone looks so happy. There was a smile on everyone's face and my favorite sound of laughter filling our part of the restaurant. And by the end of the night, I was covered in the cake. To end the birthday weekend, we went to an outer island and enjoyed swimming, playing volleyball, and the boys made us a delicious lunch.
And everything that happened these last few months in between. From car rides, volleyball games, puppies, reading buddies, sunsets, coffee dates, swimming, shopping trips, and all the beautiful views of the islands. The sound of singing filling the classroom is one of the bet sounds I could wish to hear on this island. The Marshallese love to sing and dance and when they do so, there's just so much joy. My class has loved learning songs by Lauren Daigle, Tenth Avenue North, Rend Collective, and every Encanto song they can understand the words to. They always ask for me to play them on my speaker and sing at the top of their lungs. Their smiles once they've become familiar with a new song is one of the best sights.
We face many challenges while being on this journey. Whether they are in our classrooms, feeling homesick, or even dreading having to leave in just 4 months. I had all the fears about how these holidays would go, and now they will be remembered as my most memorable. The memories we make here are ones we will never forget, no matter how hard some days will be. Although we are away from our families and friends for so long, we meet new people who become more of our family every day. The love we feel every day from our students, kids from other classes, the staff, and even the other SMs is a love we will never forget.
Mornings for anyone are hard. Especially when you're about to begin a new day of work. I’ve found teaching especially challenging, I feel it's not something I'm too great at. So going to teach each day is a challenge in itself. But every morning without fail one or two students… or more.. who are dropped off early meet us with a “Good morning ms!” or “Hi ms. Rachel!” and great big hugs.
Most mornings my students come looking so excited to find out what they're gonna learn today. I have some who are excited to tell me they finished the homework that was assigned or the movie they watched over the weekend, or the drawing they made after school. My favorite feeling as someone without an education major or any teaching experience is seeing when a student comes to understand a concept they didn't understand before. We learned how to multiply fractions, simplify, and turn mixed numbers into improper fractions and vice versa. This is quite advanced for the students here with their previous education. But seeing them begin to understand it and hearing “Oh! I get it now!” is such a rewarding feeling. Most days I leave the classroom feeling as if my kids didn't learn anything, and there are other days that I leave with a feeling of relief.
As we go about our final four months, I hope to make the most of every moment. I hope to make more lifelong memories with my students, the locals, and my fellow SMs. But most importantly, I hope to be remembered when I leave. I came to do God’s work and share his love with everyone I interact with. I wish to leave here knowing my students learn more about our Creator, and the locals saw me shining God’s light. Thinking about the change that is to come is scary. We have adjusted to the lifestyle here of long skirts, hot weather, roaming animals, cold showers, children everywhere, and seeing the same people every day. Going back to how life was before will be a challenge in itself after arriving home, but the hardest part will be saying goodbye.
I ask for prayers for my students, and all that they face. Please pray for student missionaries for next school year to continue to help these kids learn and grow. I ask for patience and kindness in our classrooms. And as we prepare to say goodbye, help us live every moment here to the fullest.
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