Dear iSquad,
One day in Swaziland, when Fierce Pursuit and Team Degel still existed, all 13 of us were running down the street trying to make it to the bus before it left us. We were already late – Jochem was holding the bus for us while they threatened to leave – and it was all we could do to get there in time. The problem was, we were carrying pounds and pounds of groceries. People’s grocery bags were tearing and food was going everywhere. We were trying to run up hills, cross streets and dodge traffic all while carrying our food for the week. At one point, Erin Smith was in front of me and while we were trying to cross a street she dropped a huge block of cheese. As I’m yelling, “Just leave it!” and bending over to pick it up for her, she kicked the cheese across the road to safety. As you can imagine, it was chaotic. But one thing that I will never forget is what Angela kept yelling at us.
Since that day, we have laughed hysterically about that little phrase. What the heck was Angela even talking about? We didn’t train for this! We slept on busses and ate nasty food prepared for us in a cafeteria. The madness of Africa was not what we trained for. But the phrase was funny and kept us going long enough to make it to the bus, sweaty and out of breath. Regardless though, we made it.
It’s the middle of month 7 now and I imagine that you may be feeling similar to how I did that day. I didn’t want to run any further. I didn’t want to carry anyone else’s broken grocery bag in my arms. I was tired and hot and all I wanted to do was retreat.
At this point, our race is more than half over. We are getting ready to fly back through the States to Central America, which is going to be a real challenge for a lot of us. Some of us are preparing for our parents to come to Guatemala for a week and after that, we have about two and a half months left. I know that you have noticed by now – our race is going to be over before we know it.
Last debrief I heard Vanessa say, “My days drag on and my months fly by.” Several of you who heard her agreed, because it’s true. It seems like it was just last week that I was saying goodbye to my parents in Chicago. During month 2, I wrote in my journal about how we only have one year to do this thing. ONE YEAR. And then it’s over.
Yesterday Liz and I were reminiscing back to something that happened in month one. “We were so young and innocent back then,” she said.
And I’ll never forget the time I asked Amy Dizzle for a profound quote and she replied, “If the Lord drops it like it’s hot on me, I’ll pass it on to you.” It’s crazy to think we are even far enough into our race to have “old memories.”
In 4 ½ months our race will be over and we will never get this year back. So I pray that by the time this letter reaches your computer screen you can see the place in my heart that it is coming from.
I want to encourage you by reminding you of a few things:
Our race has not been wasted. Our time on the field has not been wasted. Our relationships with each other, with our contacts, and with the people we serve has not been wasted. Under attack? Absolutely … but not wasted. Let us not forget the sovereignty of the One we serve.
He is not surprised by the way our race has gone. He wasn’t surprised when you got homesick and called your mom crying. He wasn’t surprised when Imelda got sick and went to the hospital … twice. Or when Adam went home or when the March 1st deadline passed and you didn’t have all your money or when you got that call from home that someone you love had passed away. NONE of this surprised Him.
And let us not forget that our whole life has been training for this. Every trial we’ve been through and every time we’ve come out of it victoriously – we were training for this. Is our whole life not training to become more like Christ?
So listen, this is crunch time. I know that the honeymoon phase is over and this is our life now. But let’s remember just that. This is our life – at least for the next 5 or so months and we will never be able to relive it again. One day we are going to look back on this year of our lives and be able to recall the memories we made. My desire is that every single one of us look back and think, “Man we were living the glory days!”
This is the home stretch.
Let’s keep going hard.
Let’s not forget about the prize set before us. (Hebrews 12)
Let’s not lose hope and let’s definitely not forget where it comes from.
In the words of Donald Miller, “Let’s show up to life. Let’s prove how beautiful it can really be. Let’s face the conflict, redeem it, conquer it, and allow it to mold our character. Let’s participate in what God is doing in the world.”
I love you, iSquad, and I speak with pride when I tell others about you.
this is what we trained for.
