“What is debrief?” you may ask… well, debrief is a time of debrief, or rest, that is given at the end of each country. We get to see our amazing couches and our very wise Squad Mentor. It is time we get to spend with the whole squad (aka: family). It is basically amazing and so much fun!
For me… our Guatemalan Debrief brakes down into three main parts.
1) Processing
I have been learning, in the past year, that processing holds so much value. It affects the way you can learn from experiences and takes it to such a deeper level.
The time of processing allowed us to reflect on all our memories in Guatemala (good and bad) and how big God is and how present God is. I had the chance to recount the lessons God taught me in Guatemala. Such as, what using self control can look like (even when it comes to snacks and food), learning to love people through the eyes of God, and how important it is to SPEND TIME WITH GOD.
Being in such a great community also gave me the chance to check my relationship with God! My relationship that I get to have with the creator of the universe! How crazy is it that sometimes we let daily life get in the way of that beautiful and precious relationship? God knows that is likely to happen… that’s why He gave us the gift of Resting with the Holy Spirit!
We also got to process and grow as a team. Making sure we can be as united as possible – at that moment in time – in the body of Christ. We got to receive feedback and encouragements from people who care and want to see us grow closer Jesus Christ… our Sunshine!
2) Getting Excited!
Our last week in Guatemala (before debrief) required much of our attention and emotions. We were simply — present. That was a blessing because we know that we truly gave it our all till the last day. However, debrief gave us a time finally feel free to be excited for our next country without the fear of “not being present”.
Along with that, much of the excitement was refreshed for me during worship & realizing what a beautiful gift it is to be able to be apart of what God is doing. What a celebration it is! It isn’t about what I am doing for God but rather what God has done and is doing already.
3) Always need a time for ADVENTURE
Debrief took place at one of the worlds most beautiful lakes surrounded by mountains and volcanoes! We got to explore the small town, I got to kayaking, and eat plenty of cheep street food.
Living on team budget (for me at least) is so fun and and hard. $4 or $5 is all you get for the whole day… 3 meals… I was surprised at first that that was even possible. But it was! I might not have met all of the categories in the food triangle. However, there is this prayer that I grew up saying… my whole life… and never did I ever truly understand the genuine meaning until then. “God please bless this food we are about to eat and help it nourish our bodies… Amen.” Reliance on God.
Our last morning many of us got up at 3:30AM to go on a morning hike up to the top of a mountain to watch the sunrise! Our group walked outside slight silence and oooooooh I saw many stars (not as many as in Crested Butte) but they were amazing and more than I had seen on the entire race put together. We took a boat across the lake in the moonlight and the night time air. We walked across this still and dark little town to the trailhead. This hike was one of the hardest hikes I had ever done. It was just climbing straight up the steep mountain… It was worth every step! The view from the top was BREATH TAKING. Like it actually Took Away My Breath! I saw God’s face in that sun rise for sure! The wind blew wild and everybody’s hair was messy. I felt so blessed to be there with amazing friends I call family.
We left Lake Atitlan that day, headed for the airport, said goodbye to Guatemala and made a pit stop in America’s famous In-N-Out Burger. The next two days was spent seeing suitcase roll by, high heals clicking on white tiled floors, and a bunch of tired yet gitty racers all sleeping on each other shoulders.
So incase you didn’t know…
We made it to Thailand!
