Month 5 looked like anything but a normal month on the Race
(if there is such a thing).
It
started with my entire squad living a few extra days at our debrief location
while we waited to receive our visas for India. As we waited, we were spending money our World Race budgets
couldnt support for much longer. So
we moved to a church near by called Manna Christian Fellowship. They had a campground where we could
set up our tents, use their outdoor facilities, as well as help out with
projects around the church to keep us from being idle.
And they offered it all for free.
It was such an answer to prayer. It was provision when we needed it the most. It was only supposed to be for a week,
10 days max.
Then, the days began to tick by. It began to feel like we were stuck in a holding pattern. Like the Indian embassy was holding our
passports hostage as part of a stupid joke that wasnt funny anymore. I began to wonder if wed ever leave
South Africa. I began to wonder
how long Manna would be able to find things for us to do. I began to wonder what the point of
this month was.
Finally, once we were past the halfway point of the month,
the decision was made to stay at Manna until the end of November and move onto
Swaziland in December. Mozambique
would no longer be a part of our race (which is probably best since theres
some civil unrest anyway).
Month 5 looked like anything but a normal month on the Race
and it was going to stay that way.
It was so easy to feel stuck this month. To think that this couldnt be what God
had planned for us. Surely we were
meant to move on. Surely there was
something bigger waiting for us on the other side once we got our passports
back.
But I saw how destructive that thinking was. I started to look around and see the
ways we were blessing Manna, the projects we helped them accomplish that would
have taken their staff weeks.
And as I looked harder, the ways we blessed Manna paled in
comparison to the ways Manna had blessed us. They took us in as part of their family. As brothers and sisters in need and
gave us a place to stayfor free!
They opened the church to us for movie nights and celebrations. Even provided a place for several of us
to sleep indoors when a terrible stomach bug made its way through the squad.
As the month drew to a close, it started to become clear
that wed been stuck right where we belonged the entire time.
Month 5 looked like anything but a normal month on the Race;
but it was exactly the month God wanted for Q squad.
It was a month where I got to learn once more to go with the
flow and trust in Gods sovereignty.
To believe in Gods power and His plan for not only my life but my World
Race too.
It was a month when I had to once again acknowledge that God
knew what He was doing way more than I gave Him credit for. A month where even though I might have
done it differently, God did it better.
His plan, His purpose, His will is always better.
And as icing on the cake, we were able to spend our first
big holiday away from home and our families, all together as a Q squad family
with the most beautiful Thanksgiving dinner Ive ever seen. A dinner I am so grateful to add to the
memories of the Race I wont soon forget.
Month 5 looked like anything but a normal month on the Race;
but it was always the right month.
It just took me a little while to realize it.
