Beyond My Borders: Heather Bush

My name is Heather and I was born and raised in Hillsboro, Oregon. When I was 22 I left my hometown and I moved to Belize to do a discipleship training school through Youth With a Mission (YWAM).

After I graduated high school I went to one year of University. Upon realizing that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and that college was overly expensive I dropped out and moved back to Hillsboro. For the next few years, I worked at Old Navy and went to community college off and on.

Over those few years I just found it so mundane and I knew that God had put an adventurous spirit inside of me for a reason!! I knew a bunch of people who had done a YWAM DTS before and they had loved it!! I wanted to see the world and experience new things while I was young. I also wanted whatever I was doing to be meaningful and be able to impact the lives of others. I figured that college would always be there.

In the last two years, my main home has been Belize, but I have spent time in Venezuela, Costa Rica and El Salvador as well as I have travelled through Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. I have had SO many experiences that I NEVER would have gotten when I was in Hillsboro. I have also met some of the most amazing and loving people and had some amazing deep friendships. One of those being my future husband.

God has opened my eyes and my heart to the world and to His children in a way that I had never imagined. YWAM has a saying “Ruined For the Ordinary” that is so true. I can no longer have just a normal/ordinary life. I now know that there is so much more out there. I am stoked to see how else God is going to use me and where in the world He is going to lead me.

I would definitely recommend to anyone to leave their hometown for a bit. Step out of their comfort zone. To see the world while you can. Turns out you can learn so much from that, maybe even more than you would sitting in a classroom all day. My advice would be to just do it! Dive in and see where it takes you!

Beyond My Borders: Alyson Raabe

Growing up, I feel I was fortunate to be born and raised in one place: Glastonbury, Connecticut. The majority of my extended family lived within 20 minutes. I had a great group of friends, some of whom I met in kindergarten and still call my best friends to this day. I loved my friends and loved my family, but realized I also loved “traveling” when I was 16.

Homesickness has never been an issue for me. When I was 10, I went to sleepover camp in New Hampshire for the first time. As soon as I was old enough, I started working there. I lived and worked at camp anywhere between 9 and 14 weeks for 5 summers in a row. My camp friends were my second family. Homesickness simply wasn’t a factor.

Just before I turned 16, I participated in a study abroad program through my high school. We had a student from Spain live with us for two weeks that September, and the following February I lived with him and his family in Madrid. Seeing the world “on my own” was eye opening and thus inspired my passion for traveling.

When deciding where I would go to college, I knew I wanted “something different” for 4 years. My friend from camp recommended going to the Midwest, where he had decided to go after growing up in Connecticut (and Summers at camp in New Hampshire.) He said he would do it all over again, and he was about to graduate. My main concern when it came to picking schools was finding a school with a great study abroad program. Spain had my heart at 16 and I was determined to go back. A year after talking to my friend from camp about the Midwest, I moved into my dorm at Valparaiso University in Indiana. I was one of the farthest from home of my group of friends, but sure enough… I would do it all over again, too.

Because Spain was a business-only study abroad and was not compatible with my future elementary education career, I chose to study abroad in Cambridge, England. I loved being able to call another city my “home.” I loved making (and dating) English friends, traveling through Europe, and making lifelong memories. It was then that I knew I was going to be an international elementary teacher. It was the perfect plan for me. I knew since I was a little girl that I would be a teacher, and to incorporate that with travel and making friends from around the world? There was nothing that sounded more perfect. I knew I had to do it upon graduation before I “settled” down (in any sense of the word).

Senior year of college, I traveled to Iowa for the largest annual international education job fair in the USA. There, I signed a contract for an elementary position in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Call me crazy. Moving to Kuwait was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But, it was also the biggest “personal growth” year of my life. I saw parts of the world that not many people would be willing nor are able to see. I befriended some of the most wonderful people from Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, and more. Towards the end of the school year, I knew it was time to move on.

It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Kuwait, as I made some of the best friends I’ve ever had while I was there. However, I had faith that something better was out there. A month after deciding to leave at the end of the school year, I accepted a 4th grade teaching position in San Jose, Costa Rica. The move here was a thousand times easier – perhaps because it was the second major international move, or perhaps because Costa Rica is so similar to the States in so many ways. The sight of this country in the rainy season brought tears to my eyes daily, after spending a year in the desert. I have never been happier or more certain that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. I found my pura vida.

Teaching internationally is one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve ever had. I have learned so much from my students, both in Kuwait and now in Costa Rica. The relationships I’ve made with their parents, with school staff, and with my coworkers are amazing and eye opening. I feel like I’m completely fulfilling my life dream: traveling, teaching, and learning about the world.

I am a huge advocate for getting out there in the world while you can. For anyone who is willing to ask the question, “Should I do it?” when it comes to traveling or making the big move, there is only one answer: yes. I haven’t met a single person who has regretted living abroad, no matter what career, what age, or what the reason being the move is. I truly believe there is nothing a person could benefit from more. And I truly believe it is something people could so regret, if they only knew the adventures they would be missing. I live and breathe these quotes, daily:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

"Find something you are passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it." - Julia Child

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

This is the time. Adventures are out there.

Post Post-Grad

    Some posts ago I said I was finishing up grad school in less than one week, however things have changed! Now, a few blog posts later and grad school has been over for the last 3 weeks (No matter how many times I say that out loud or in my head, realizations like that make me squeel like a little girl who was just hugged by Harry Styles). 

      Given that, I’m sure everybody wants to know what my future plans are (and by everybody I mean probably just my parents, siblings, and a few relatives who have invested a lot of time, words of wisdom, prayers, money, extra bedrooms for me to crash in, and effort into any part of my educational career). Well let me tell you, my plans post post-grad go as follows:

1. Live life. 

2. Repeat step one while doing so in Sydney, Australia. 

      Yep, 12 years of grade school, 4 years of secondary eduction and a one-and-half-year post-graduate degree later the best answer I can come up with is to live life. I’m aware of the fact that my answer doesn’t sound too thorough or stable but still… Isn’t that the best answer any of us can come up with?

      The year before I graduated college I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Truth be told, that was a grand part of the reason why I decided to go to get my master’s degree. Everyone around me at the time had some sense of what they wanted, what they were good at (Maybe I missed the memo about that meeting). So I did what I usually do in situations like that, I prayed. Afterwards I sent in my application for grad school and that was that. 

      While my  time spent in school  did help me figure out more of  what I was interested in it didn’t help me figure out what exactly I could and would do. That part was all God. He helped me realize that the years I spent stuck having a one-track mind were actually limiting me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to make a general goal of where you’d like to be in x-amount of years but we can never successfully devise the actual  steps to get there (Proverbs 16:9 || Jeremiah 29:11). That part, again is all God.

      “Be open to new, to the unknown and the unexperienced”, He said. “That’s where unexpected opportunities and trust in who I Am have the best chance of thriving.” He constantly had to remind me that He knows the desires of my heart - of all of ours - the depths of my mind, and the ability of my hands. He would not have given such things to all of us us if were supposed to stay glued to one thing  for the rest of our lives. 

      So here goes nothing everything. Here is to taking time to design more stuff, starting a  business of my own, volunteering, blogging more, growing roots, listening to people’s stories, taking pride in how far we all have come, late nights followed by late mornings or early mornings preceded by early nights, helping others, sharing my love of Christ with the world, strengthening relationships, travelling, more photos, getting blown away by God’s unconditional and unending grace, new connections, roads less traveled, new customs, old traditions, family, friends, strangers, peers, co-workers, love, never stopping my education long after school has ended, unplanned moments, meticulously planned schedules,
living, imagination, faith, and excitement. 

I’ve been sitting in front this page for the last few days attempting to think of something cool and profound to say. I came up with a few good words but they didn’t feel authentic. Not that anyone would have noticed if I did not say this but I had to delete everything and start over.
You see, what I have been trying to do is come up with a way to thank God for a great life. I am truly grateful to Him for all that I have. I am well aware that there is no way I could possibly repay Him for all that He has given me but to just say “Thanks” would feel even below inadequate.

You cannot know how deeply indebted I feel unless you have lived in the blessing that is my life. Now I know latter half of that sentence probably came off as arrogant or boastful but it’s not my own that I take pride in. It is His actions, and His actions alone that I do so. I would have nothing without Him and that is a fact. However I must not stop the story there. Aside from the obvious money and health it’s amazing how much He has been a part of everything. It’s not like He plainly gave me all that I have and left me to my own but He put Himself in the details too so that I could make the most of it all!

Take my friends for example. He placed them in my life for something. Some friendships, I’m not gonna lie, I thought would not make it to the long-term. However, He knew I would need them and appreciate them more down the line. He somehow planned for them to stick around despite myself.

My four years at the University of Oregon, although extremely stressful and at times uncertain, they were some of the best years of my life. Filled with the cliches of love, laughter, and lasting memories.

My spiritual mentors, again, no one I would have picked but it was done that way for the better.  Man, I cannot say how much I love you guys. You were placed in at a time in my life when I didn’t know how much I actually needed you. You all stuck around even long after.

Every job I have ever had. Each one was able to fill more than my pockets but my mind with new values and lessons; my hands with new abilities; and my heart with a stronger passion for my calling in life.

Family, yes we have had our ups but the downs have made our bond stronger than fortified diamonds. I needn’t say anymore lest I desire to cry.

Self love. While it’s important to have love for others, I also got mad love for myself. I now know it is not who I am but whose I am.

All these words may come off as ramblings but I had trouble expressing such a raw form of appreciation. I could continue on forever, literally because God’s wonders never do cease, but even all the positive adjectives in the world could not measure up to one iota of how grateful I am.

I’ve been sitting in front this page for the last few days attempting to think of something cool and profound to say. I came up with a few good words but they didn’t feel authentic. Not that anyone would have noticed if I did not say this but I had to delete everything and start over.
You see, what I have been trying to do is come up with a way to thank God for a great life. I am truly grateful to Him for all that I have. I am well aware that there is no way I could possibly repay Him for all that He has given me but to just say “Thanks” would feel even below inadequate.

You cannot know how deeply indebted I feel unless you have lived in the blessing that is my life. Now I know latter half of that sentence probably came off as arrogant or boastful but it’s not my own that I take pride in. It is His actions, and His actions alone that I do so. I would have nothing without Him and that is a fact. However I must not stop the story there. Aside from the obvious money and health it’s amazing how much He has been a part of everything. It’s not like He plainly gave me all that I have and left me to my own but He put Himself in the details too so that I could make the most of it all!

Take my friends for example. He placed them in my life for something. Some friendships, I’m not gonna lie, I thought would not make it to the long-term. However, He knew I would need them and appreciate them more down the line. He somehow planned for them to stick around despite myself.

My four years at the University of Oregon, although extremely stressful and at times uncertain, they were some of the best years of my life. Filled with the cliches of love, laughter, and lasting memories.

My spiritual mentors, again, no one I would have picked but it was done that way for the better.  Man, I cannot say how much I love you guys. You were placed in at a time in my life when I didn’t know how much I actually needed you. You all stuck around even long after.

Every job I have ever had. Each one was able to fill more than my pockets but my mind with new values and lessons; my hands with new abilities; and my heart with a stronger passion for my calling in life.

Family, yes we have had our ups but the downs have made our bond stronger than fortified diamonds. I needn’t say anymore lest I desire to cry.

Self love. While it’s important to have love for others, I also got mad love for myself. I now know it is not who I am but whose I am.

All these words may come off as ramblings but I had trouble expressing such a raw form of appreciation. I could continue on forever, literally because God’s wonders never do cease, but even all the positive adjectives in the world could not measure up to one iota of how grateful I am.

I’ve been sitting in front this page for the last few days attempting to think of something cool and profound to say. I came up with a few good words but they didn’t feel authentic. Not that anyone would have noticed if I did not say this but I had to delete everything and start over.
You see, what I have been trying to do is come up with a way to thank God for a great life. I am truly grateful to Him for all that I have. I am well aware that there is no way I could possibly repay Him for all that He has given me but to just say “Thanks” would feel even below inadequate.

You cannot know how deeply indebted I feel unless you have lived in the blessing that is my life. Now I know latter half of that sentence probably came off as arrogant or boastful but it’s not my own that I take pride in. It is His actions, and His actions alone that I do so. I would have nothing without Him and that is a fact. However I must not stop the story there. Aside from the obvious money and health it’s amazing how much He has been a part of everything. It’s not like He plainly gave me all that I have and left me to my own but He put Himself in the details too so that I could make the most of it all!

Take my friends for example. He placed them in my life for something. Some friendships, I’m not gonna lie, I thought would not make it to the long-term. However, He knew I would need them and appreciate them more down the line. He somehow planned for them to stick around despite myself.

My four years at the University of Oregon, although extremely stressful and at times uncertain, they were some of the best years of my life. Filled with the cliches of love, laughter, and lasting memories.

My spiritual mentors, again, no one I would have picked but it was done that way for the better.  Man, I cannot say how much I love you guys. You were placed in at a time in my life when I didn’t know how much I actually needed you. You all stuck around even long after.

Every job I have ever had. Each one was able to fill more than my pockets but my mind with new values and lessons; my hands with new abilities; and my heart with a stronger passion for my calling in life.

Family, yes we have had our ups but the downs have made our bond stronger than fortified diamonds. I needn’t say anymore lest I desire to cry.

Self love. While it’s important to have love for others, I also got mad love for myself. I now know it is not who I am but whose I am.

All these words may come off as ramblings but I had trouble expressing such a raw form of appreciation. I could continue on forever, literally because God’s wonders never do cease, but even all the positive adjectives in the world could not measure up to one iota of how grateful I am.

I’ve been sitting in front this page for the last few days attempting to think of something cool and profound to say. I came up with a few good words but they didn’t feel authentic. Not that anyone would have noticed if I did not say this but I had to delete everything and start over.
You see, what I have been trying to do is come up with a way to thank God for a great life. I am truly grateful to Him for all that I have. I am well aware that there is no way I could possibly repay Him for all that He has given me but to just say “Thanks” would feel even below inadequate.

You cannot know how deeply indebted I feel unless you have lived in the blessing that is my life. Now I know latter half of that sentence probably came off as arrogant or boastful but it’s not my own that I take pride in. It is His actions, and His actions alone that I do so. I would have nothing without Him and that is a fact. However I must not stop the story there. Aside from the obvious money and health it’s amazing how much He has been a part of everything. It’s not like He plainly gave me all that I have and left me to my own but He put Himself in the details too so that I could make the most of it all!

Take my friends for example. He placed them in my life for something. Some friendships, I’m not gonna lie, I thought would not make it to the long-term. However, He knew I would need them and appreciate them more down the line. He somehow planned for them to stick around despite myself.

My four years at the University of Oregon, although extremely stressful and at times uncertain, they were some of the best years of my life. Filled with the cliches of love, laughter, and lasting memories.

My spiritual mentors, again, no one I would have picked but it was done that way for the better.  Man, I cannot say how much I love you guys. You were placed in at a time in my life when I didn’t know how much I actually needed you. You all stuck around even long after.

Every job I have ever had. Each one was able to fill more than my pockets but my mind with new values and lessons; my hands with new abilities; and my heart with a stronger passion for my calling in life.

Family, yes we have had our ups but the downs have made our bond stronger than fortified diamonds. I needn’t say anymore lest I desire to cry.

Self love. While it’s important to have love for others, I also got mad love for myself. I now know it is not who I am but whose I am.

All these words may come off as ramblings but I had trouble expressing such a raw form of appreciation. I could continue on forever, literally because God’s wonders never do cease, but even all the positive adjectives in the world could not measure up to one iota of how grateful I am.

#20: Ten to Eleven

1. I am senior in college so that means that I have spent the greater part of my life in the education system, 

2. I am currently running on less than five hours of sleep.

3. My diet today consisted of carrots, granola, candy, pretzels and a peanut butter sandwich - basically all snack food.

4. It smells like Asian food in the hallway. Sadly none of that scent is coming from me

5. I know that I have to get up early in the morning

6. My computer is acting a fool.

7. I have to write a short essay for class tomorrow.

8. Writing papers while sleep deprived will eventually make you rewrite it later.

9. My bike has a flat.

10. I live on the other side of campus.

I could indeed go on for days talking about how terrrrrible my life is at the moment because it currently sucks. All I want to do is stay at home in the comfort of my own bedroom and fall asleep to my favorite movies. However, being that steps 1-10 plus a few unlisted one are blocking those short-term goals, I cannot. So it is with that I now stop my whining and look at the positive.

1. This final project is almost done.

2. I just yawned- which means I have air in my lungs

3. I have a home to walk to.

5. It’s my senior year for crying out loud!

6. My project partner is pretty dang amazing.

7. I can sleep this weekend. 

8. Four years later and my computer has not given up on me.

9. You are well aware that homework and school are not your life.

10. You are headed in the direction of your dreams.

11. God is amazing.

Stay positive. Live Well. Shut up and just go.