My life is an absolute whirlwind. After a year of stability, in mere moments that all changed.
I know so many people are curious, so here is how I ended up back in Guatemala.
A week ago I was at work. I was doing the same thing I do every day. Working for a chiropractor, running the front desk, answering the phone, checking people in, seeing our regulars as they came in to our office. It was an ordinary Friday. I was planning where to go to lunch with my coworkers, and thinking about a concert I was going to on Saturday after work.
At about 10:25 a.m. my friend and World Race teammate Kelly sent me a text that asked me what I was doing for the next two months and if I was interested in leading a Passport (college age) trip of girls to Guatemala. My immediate reaction was “WHAT?! Are you serious? When would I have to leave?” She then told me that I would need to get to Georgia for training camp, as soon as possible. Kelly also told me that I needed to let them know as soon as possible, and to take 15 minutes to pray about it and talk to my boss if I was feeling called. So I did. I started praying. I asked a few of my friends to pray as well. At the end of that 15 minutes, I was feeling like I absolutely needed to do it. Everyone else I asked to pray was feeling the same thing. Within minutes I spoke to my boss about leaving my job for 2 months. She gave me her blessing and by 11:00 a.m. it was decided. I was going to lead a group of 11 college age young women and I was leaving in two days.
My weekend to-do list had just grown exponentially and I suddenly needed to move out of the house I have been living in for the last 11 months. I needed to pack up everything and move in less than a day. I spent my last moments with my roommates and packed up my life again. I traded my closet of clothes for a backpack once again; my brand new bed for the possibility of sleeping on my sleeping pad for two months. Then on Sunday morning at 3:30 a.m. my mom drove me to the airport so that I could catch my flight to Georgia. In less than two days God threw all the plans I had been making into a blender and hit puree.
One of my favorite things is that my co-leader for the other Guatemala team is a guy who I got to watch grow because I was his Squad Leader. He is currently leading the other team in a different town and next month we will be together.
On Tuesday I arrived in Guatemala with my team of crazy girls. My team is at Lake Atitlan. This is the place where I came for a weekend trip in between Guatemala and El Salvador on my race, then I came back again when I was squad leading for one night. It is the place that God told me I would come back to. Now my team is here for a whole month.
Getting back into life on the field has not been easy. I got really comfortable in America. I enjoyed my 8:30-5 job and my netflix and my easy access to anything I could ever want. But that life left my heart more empty than I realized. Now that I am here I remember how much I truly enjoy living out of what is considered normal. Team leading has been stretching in a way I never knew it could be. But I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m exactly where I should be for this season.
What a difference seven days makes.
Here is to joy abounding and grace overflowing.
Much Love,
–A
