Several weeks ago we had our Month 6 Debrief in Lilongwe, Malawi. We stayed in a hostel with beds, hot showers, and great food! Typically debrief is a time for some good R&R, but this debrief looked a bit different, beginning with our travel there.
My team had to travel from Arusha to Morogoro, Tanzania, a 10-hour bus ride. The entire squad spend two nights in Morogoro before heading on to Lilongwe. The journey was supposed to be 21 hours, but ended up taking 38 hours! The Tanzanian/Malawian border was closed when we arrived, which meant sleeping on the bus and crossing the border in the morning. Then it took 4 hours to exit Tanzania and enter Malawi! We finally arrived at our final destination 17 hours later than planned!
While we were in Morogoro, we met as a team to check in with each other. During this particular meeting, our team leader, Ashlee, challenged us to be intentional during debrief – to spend time with people we don't know well – even after 6 months of traveling and working with the same 50+ people, there are people I don't know well. She wanted us to each name three people on the squad whom we'd like to know better – then invite those people to hang out during debrief.
During our first session at debrief, one of our squad leaders challenged us to look around at the squad at the gifts that each person has – if someone has a spiritual gift you want, ask that person to impart that gift into you through prayer. Then another person challenged us not to be selective with whom we share our "stuff" with – it's easy to talk to the same people – but it's the people we may not normally talk to who need to hear what we have to say. Step out and talk to someone new!
It's cool to see God confirm something in various ways within a few days! It was obvious that this debrief would be about spending quality time with new people verses sleeping and focusing on oneself.
I'm not usually a very outgoing person – I quickly become comfortable with selected people and don't branch out from there – needless to say, this wasn't the easiest challenge for me. However, I stepped out, made the first move, and invited three people from within the squad for a date during debrief. Each of these women blessed me through our conversations and I'd like to think I blessed them too – in ways that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't branched out.
Several people saw something within me that they wanted me to pray into them! Sometimes I struggle with the feeling of not being seen or known – however, through these individuals seeking me out to pray for them made me feel loved! It made me feel seen and known!
This debrief was a turning point for the squad – something changed within each if us – now I feel as if I could talk to any person on the squad about anything whether I know them well or not!
