About Me

My Journey

My name is Rachel Gentry, and I am 23 years old.  I have a vision and a mission to serve God as His Chosen Instrument.  In order to be His Chosen Instrument (Acts 9:15), I have surrendered my life to being transformed into the person He has called me to be (Rom. 12:2).  I was “saved” when I was seven years old and grew up in a Christian home.  God began a good work in me then (Phil. 1:6). He showed me that it wasn’t as simple as a prayer, but my life needed to change; I needed to change.  Through a series of life-changing events, God showed me my junior year in High School that I needed to take up my Cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23).  I was baptized, committed my life to SERVING Christ when I was 16, and knew that God had an awesome plan for me.

How I Ended Up in Bolivia

I didn’t want to go to Bolivia.  I went to Philadelphia Biblical (Cairn) University after graduating High School, and had the plan to learn about Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).  I applied to student teach overseas because I knew, from the beginning, that I wanted to use my gifts to serve God through missions. When I heard from the placement company that I was going to student teach in Bolivia, I refused to go.  My desire was to teach English in India and work in the Red Light District or the slums.  But God had different plans.  He wanted to me see the importance of roots. My mother and Grandmother are both fluent in Spanish and I have relatives in Mexico, but I never spoke Spanish or learned much about the Mexican culture.  The summer before I was supposed to go to Bolivia (though I was still refusing to accept it) I went with my Mom, Dad, and Grandma on a short trip to Mexico to visit my Tio Grande Juan.  

Words cannot describe the feeling I had as I walked into the small, floorless shack that my own relatives lived in.  The kitchen was miniscule, there was one bed, and no bathroom.  The roof looked like it could blow over with a swift wind, and the electricity was scarce.  Not only that, but my Tio Grande Juan was taking care of seven children (my distant cousins) and all of their mothers.  This was the type of home that missionaries would visit.  These were the type of people that I would want to serve.  But these people were my family.  Its so hard for me to explain the amount of guilt I felt, and the intense desire I had to serve people in poverty.

So after a lot of prayer and decision-making, I decided to go to Bolivia in October 2011 and serve as a student-teacher for 6 weeks.  What started as a 6-week commitment (where I fully intended to come, serve, leave, and never look back) turned into an overwhelming desire and calling to stay.  I fell in love with Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center.  I fell in love with my students and the potential of the school. 

I came home in December of 2011 with the clear and full intention of returning the following semester as a co-teacher of the Junior High English Department.  I graduated from PBU with my degree in Bible, Secondary Education, English, and TESOL.  I raised all the support I needed in less than a month and returned January-May 2012.  After raising all of my needed support this summer, in August I continued serving at the SCCLC as the Middle School reading teacher, and the Elementary School Music teacher.  I couldn't be more blessed by God's plan for this chapter of my life, and I'm more than blessed to have dedicated supporters helping me both through prayer and finances.

Serving as a God’s Chosen Instrument

My vision for this ministry is to surrender to His will so that I can be transformed into His Chosen Instrument.  I want to glorify God with my talents and my gifts.  I want to serve the students of SCCLC by teaching them what a Godly life looks like.  I want to tackle the tough questions with my students and allow them to have a safe environment where they can be truthful and honest about the struggles they are going through.  I am blessed beyond blessed to be given the opportunity to do all of these things in Bolivia, and I cannot wait to see what kind of awesome things He has in store for me.