Etaala International

Hello you. My name is Rachel Spinks, I am nineteen years old and madly in love with Jesus Christ. I write, play guitar, hang out at the coffee house and watch girly movies from the 50’s. I wear sneakers and jeans like a uniform, and have recently discovered that I absolutely love good, southern barbecue. I like to travel and see different cultures, meet the people of  the places I go to and see what life is like in their part of the world. I am the sister of  one biological brother, and a younger brother and sister my family adopted from Guatemala in 2007.

When I went with my mom to Guatemala to finalize the adoption of my younger siblings, I truly saw poverty for the first time. While on the way to our hotel I can remember trying not to even look out the window because I didn’t want to see the people begging on the street. God spoke to me right then and said “Don’t look away.” I realized that my faith had to be more than words and thoughts I kept to myself, that I had to show this hope in my life by living it in word and deed. The love that God has poured into my life is not meant to be contained by my heart, it should shine from me that others might see that there is a Father in heaven who loves them.

Orphans have always had a place in my heart, but through my own family’s adoption journey I learned so much more about the global crisis of orphaned children. My heart was broken for the millions of children who had no family. I wanted to meet these children who had been orphaned, the ones God told us to visit and care for, the people Jesus said he was among. So I traveled to China in 2008 to visit orphans, and that was where I met Ellie Mestas. We had no idea what God was going to start through those two weeks. Ellie and I have been friends ever since, traveling to Guatemala in 2009 to visit orphans again, and now starting Etaala International.

As  God has opened my eyes to others and has taken me on this journey, my heart has been broken for the injustice and need that is everywhere in this world. But it is also set afire by the hope I see rising. I believe that this generation can change the world for good, I believe we will change it by the way we love others. My passion is to see hope and love brought to the darkest places in our world, to see people in every corner of the earth find their place in the eyes of the Father. Through Etaala I’m hoping that we can help young people to see and meet the need of others, while maybe discovering the value of all our lives is much deeper than we realized.

I’m currently living in Arkansas with my parents, my younger brother and sister, and a very old dog who thinks he’s still a baby. I’ll be in college this spring, possibly studying towards some kind of social work degree. I’m so excited about Etaala International and that YOU are checking out our blog. Keep coming back to see what’s going on in Etaala.

Family