Exit Interview: Rachael Wright

Published on May 01, 2008 by Ryan Suzuki

20/20 Counselor, Ichthus Student Leader, Wrestler and Woman of God.

Where do you go to school and what is your major?
Right now I’m at Las Positas College in Livermore and my major is Liberal Studies.

What are a couple of your hobbies?
Wrestling, rock climbing, camping, wake boarding, and hanging out with my friends and family.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Well, when I grow up I’d like to be a stay at home mom, but until then I want to be a kindergarten teacher.

What are you reading in your Bible, and what have you been learning?
I am reading in 2 Samuel right now and I’ve been learning how much David trusted God for everything and I’m trying to do the same in my life.

What’s the most rewarding part of serving in ministry?
For me, the most rewarding part of ministry is the relationships God creates between myself and the other counselors and especially the girls.  The connection that I feel with my girls is so strong;  I’d do anything for them.  The way He uses that connection to help me teach them and grow myself in my walk with Him really is so special.

What is your favorite ministry  memory?
My favorite ministry memory is an all girls sleep over and we broke off into small groups to have discussions.  I had about fifteen girls join Kelly Kaufman’s and my group..  We were supposed to have a Bible study.  Kelly and I decided to have the girls ask us anything they wanted.  Needless to say, it turned into questions about boys.  We decided to keep things without names.  We created “hypothetical”, fake situations with fake names.  The names for all the boys were “George” and the girls were all “Sally”.  To this day, girls come up to me and say, “I have a George and Sally question.”  I smile and know that the question is about some boy and how he did this or that.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in ministry?
The most embarrassing thing, I’d have to say, was at summer camp this past year.  It was the last full day of camp and we were having our dye war.  My girls and I were all dressed up and ready to win.  The games start, and off I run to the red team to try to get them covered in my blue dye.  While I’m over there, I see a red counselor coming at me and I turn to run away.  I ran though a sprinkler head.  I didn’t hit the sprinkler head, I ran through it.  I stopped and looked down at my leg.  It had a large gash in it.  I looked at the other counselor and started to run again.  I played the whole game with the gash in my leg.  After, I went to the nurse.  She bandaged me up and said to come back to have her look at it more.  When I came back, she said she probably should have sent me to get stitches, but she didn’t.  I had to tell that story over and over again because I had a large blue bandage on my leg for weeks.  Every time I said, “I ran into a sprinkler head”, I felt so stupid.

What words of  wisdom do you have for our students transitioning into a new ministry?
My advice to all you students who are leaving Jr. High for High School, or High School for college, is don’t stop going to youth group.  High School is hard, and Omega helped me stay focused on God and helped me through a lot of difficult times.  When I graduated I didn’t really know if  I wanted to go to college group and I stopped going for a while.  I was afraid that I wouldn’t know anyone.  But I started going and made some really amazing friends.  You never really know what God has in store for you, but staying rooted in church helped me to understand His plans for me.

What tips would you offer future counselors?
I would tell new counselors that at first it’s hard and you might feel like you’re not getting close or connecting to your group, but you are.  And God will use you in amazing ways.

What do you want to do before you die?
Before I die, I want to love life, and try as many new things as I can.

What do you want other people to remember about you?
I’m just another person who loves God, and that’s all that really matters.