The past
few days flew by too quickly. We left
Kampala Saturday afternoon; we arrived as strangers and left as friends, some
of them a bit tearful. We arrived in
Jinja, set up camp by the Nile at Adrift, a rafting company.
On
Sunday, most of us set off for a day of rafting. We suited up in lifejackets, helmets and
paddles and got in. Our guide, Mic,
briefed us on what to do and what not to do and led us through some drills.
We
traversed through some rapids, ranging from class 2-5; I managed to stay in the
raft for only two of those rapids. By
lunchtime, I decided that I was comfortable with my experience and did not want
to risk getting stuck in a whirlpool or waterfall – namely, rapids with a name
like “the BAD place” – so I called it a half-day and spent the rest of the day
chillin’ (out, relaxin’, maxin’ all cool, shootin’ some b-ball outside of the
school. . . )
All that
sounds quite exciting and adventurous – it is indeed – but what has most of
G-squad anxious and/or excited is [dun dun dun] team changes.
We were
told at our previous debrief that changes were a’ comin’ – two squad leaders
would emerge, which would involve shifting around of personnel. My team has since then kept these transitions
in prayer; however, truth be told, I anticipated minor changes.
Then the
night before we confronted the Nile, Allison informed us that no team would
remain as is and that the changes would be announced on Wednesday. Just like that, my days with Dunamis as I
knew it were numbered.
Flexibility
would be key, we were told; but we had no idea that would include our
community. Sure, we saw things like new
squad leaders coming, but I think I speak for most of us when we say that we
each looked to our 5-6 teammates as family for the year. We’ve learned to handle new responsibilities,
adapt to different cultures, fit into various ministry settings, but for some
of us, changes in teammates is our threshold.
I’m not
sure what to think. When Allison first
dropped the bomb on us, I thought “Oh crap.”
I really like Dunamis. I was
expecting to grow with them and grow closer to them throughout the eleven
months, seven of which have been pulled out from under me like an Ikea rug.
But as I
chatted with other squadmates, I also realized that we’ve been covering this in
prayer. If the leadership followed the
Lord at Ignition in setting up our teams, which turned out pretty stellar, then
surely the leadership could not fail this time around.
Marisa
just told me that she’s excited because she wants to grow, and what I’ve
learned is that we grow a lot through transitions and change. And I realized that now I’ll get to know 5-6
other squadmates I haven’t known that well much better. It’s hard to get to know 49 people well, so
if I can finish this race having known about a dozen of them in community,
instead of just a half-dozen, then I guess I’ll be okay.
Please
continue to keep my Dunamis-ers in your prayers. I will miss “us” – the hilarity and
awkwardness and sweetness and conflict, the whole kit and caboodle – and I hope
grieving the end of this little era will be more sweet than bitter. And to my new teammates, I know you’ll miss
your first loves, as will I, but I look forward to getting to know you outside
of debriefs.
New wine requires new wineskin, so that the latter
can stretch as the former matures (read more interesting thoughts on the passage here). Here’s
to some stretching. Cheers.
