Rachel Tarvin was raised in a godly environment. She grew up in church every Sunday, where she learned Bible songs, and was memorizing Bible verses almost as soon as she could talk. As she learned Bible stories she intellectually knew that Jesus had died on the cross to pay for the sin of all mankind. It was not until she was 7 that she realized that she needed to accept His free gift of salvation. she accepted his gift on Easter Sunday 1988.
She followed Jesus' example of baptism in February of 1991. In Junior High at Awana Scholarship Camp, Rachel committed to be willing to do whatever God wanted for her life. She has always been interested in missions. She has loved meeting the many missionaries that have visited her church. In the summer of 1994 the Tuttle family came to visit her church. They were serving the Lord in southern Peru. That night while Andy was preaching the Holy Spirit prompted her to go. It was not an audible voice speaking to her, it was louder than that. It was a confident assurance of what God wanted her to do.
Starting in 1995 she began studying Spanish at her Christian High School. God had given her a heart for the Latino peoples and she wanted to get as far ahead as she could on language work. She was able to memorize and study God’s Word in the Awana program, completing her Citation Award in 1999. In 2003 she finished a Missions degree at Pensacola Christian College. She minored in Elementary Education and Spanish. Over the next two summers she completed a Master’s Degree in English Education. She has had the amazing blessing of Christian education from Kindergarten through Master’s Degree. For two years she took classes in Sign Language at the Campus Church, allowing her to grasp the basics of sign interpretation and deaf culture. She attended 4 months (testing into second semester) of Spanish language school in South Texas during 2008 before going to Peru.
