Meet Rachel Cherico

Hi, My name is Rachel. I grew up in  New York until I was 11 years old. My family moved to Minnesota when I was in 5^th grade and I’ve lived here most of my life (except, I did live in the Dominican Republic for a year!).

I chose to follow Jesus after I heard the gospel from my Sunday School teacher. I was very young, but I knew I wanted to follow God. Even though I’ve been a Christian a long time, I have been through some challenging times, and I am always trying to follow Christ better. I was typically a shy kid when I was younger, but one day in junior high, after hearing many missionaries at church speak about their adventures of following where He called them to all over the world, I decided I wanted to give missions a try. My parents almost didn’t even believe me at first! But they sent me off to a city near Chicago where I worked with little kids. Through various missions trips that followed, I developed a heart for children. I knew that I wanted to do something that would make a difference for them.

I now work as a 3^rd grade teacher in a diverse community of children that come from all kinds of home lives and situations. Whether I’m tying shoelaces, grading tests, or reading a story, I love that I know teaching young kids is exactly what God wants me to do and He began to put that desire in my heart a long time ago.

I first heard about the Fusion Czech trip and I wanted to go, because I thought it would challenge me in my own faith. I’m comfortable talking to kids, but I don’t always feel comfortable talking to my peers about my faith; and I knew that was going to be part of what we were doing in the Czech. I had to get special permission from the principal at my school and the superintendent of all the schools to get time off to come on the trip. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to go, but I decided that I would allow God to work out those details.  My boss approved the trip, and I am so excited to meet Christians from another part of the world, learn about the Czech culture and see where the relationship between Fusion and Kostel Jinak takes us.

FUN FACTS: I jam to Beyonce and Adele. I have 2 nieces - Maxine & Penelope - and they’re the cutest little girls on this planet. My guilty pleasure is making pancakes on Saturdays. I can whistle to Christmas songs really well!