The past week has been a blur when I look back over it. So much has happened, and is still happening. It seems like the race just goes by faster and faster and faster…
We finally wrapped up our 3 months in Easter Europe, and what an adventure it was! It had some of the most highs on the whole race, and sadly, probably some of the most lows. Nonetheless, it was a blessing and I am so thankful for the opportunity to have spent my time there. I have friends and family there now and I am so thankful for each one of the folks I came in contact with.
Our squad, after 3 months of being separated, finally had the opportunity to meet back up in Budapest, Hungary for a couple days before we headed into our month 8 debrief and then eventually on into month 9 of the World Race!
It was a great and refreshing time for all of us. A much needed reunion and some much needed rest!
At 9am on Tuesday morning, our squad checked out of our hostels, and began to make our way into another crazy long travel day. Travel days for me are always bittersweet. On one hand, I love meeting up with all our squad and heading into a new culture for another month, but on the other hand, I still (after 10ish flights or so in 8 months), don’t enjoy flying all that much. Normally I wake up and the very thought that I have to get on an airplane, usually goes hand in hand with a few trip to the baño (this is the Spanish word for bathroom…), cause my nerves tend to get the best of me. The Lord is helping me over come this though… Slowly…
So anyways, we took a bus ride to the airport, and eventually boarded our flight to Warsaw, Poland. After a while, our plan left Warsaw at about 4:30pm and we flew to JFK (New York City)! We landed about 9pm, and the jet lag began to set in… Some of us had never had the opportunity though to see New York City, so we hopped a subway and headed into town to help our 8-hour layover pass by.
New York City was INCREDIBLE! I’ve never seen anything like it! Jess and Tim had been there before, but Francis, Britni, and myself had not. The 3 of us though were like kids in a candy store! All the lights, taxis, buildings, etc.… It was so cool! Then we took the subway to Ground Zero, where the World Trade Center once stood towering over the city. It was a humbling experience. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. I was sitting in Coach Josh Brooks’ keyboarding class and Michelle Brooks busted through the door asking if we’d seen the plane that hit the building in NYC. Now, there we stood, on the very US turf where it took place. The ironic thing was, it was after midnight and already May 2nd… Exactly one year to the day of Bin Laden’s death.
After spending some time in the city, we boarded our subway and began our trek back to the airport. I would be lying if I said that being back in the USA wasn’t overwhelming… No, it was very overwhelming actually. I was thankful for the opportunity though and would like to one day explore more of “The Big Apple!”
Once we arrived back at the airport, most the others were asleep, haha. Our squad kinda takes over the place when we go somewhere. Welcome to the World Race, haha. We waited around until around 6am, and then boarded our flight to Miami. It was a quick layover at MIA, and then we headed out on our last leg of the travel day. Eventually we landed in Guatemala City, Guatemala, grabbed our luggage, and took an hour bus ride to our hostel.
All in all, our travel day involved 5 countries, 3 continents, 4 flights, and about 40+ hours total of travel time. Crazy, huh?!?!
So, now, here I set in Antigua, Guatemala still trying to recover from jet lag. We are wrapping up our month 8 debrief, and getting ready to dive into month 9 of our journey. Which brings on a whole new season in itself… I’ll talk more about that in a minute though…
Debrief, if I'm being honest, has been "so-so" for me. I feel like I left having more questions than I got answers. However, the city here is beautiful! Antigua sits at the base of a HUGE volcano, that’s actually active. It erupted about 2 years ago. Pretty cool if you ask me!
Debrief has also brought on some new changes in our teams and our squad.
After 8 months of team leading, pouring into the folks around me, doing logistics for our team, finding transportation to each country, meeting with our contacts to organize ministry, etc.… I have officially stepped down from team leading. I’m thankful for the season I’ve had to serve on leadership for our squad, but now I’m excited about the opportunity to just be a “normal racer” for the last 3 months of the race. God has so much more to teach me and I’m excited to continue to grow. Team leading was a blessing to me and I grew more in the past 8 months than I think I have in my entire life. As I set here and type this, I look back at the Dusty Dills who began this journey in September… He’s a different man now. I’m excited now to be able to continue to grow and just rest in whom the Lord has developed me into. It’s not been easy by any means, but I’m thankful for it.
My team hasn’t changed, other than our team name 🙂 I’ll blog about that later though! The biggest difference in me stepping down is that we needed a new team leader… And I am happy to announce that, Jenn Watson, one of my original team members from the very beginning, will now be leading our team. I have nothing but love for her and I am excited about this new season in her life! Hallelujah!
The last thing I want to mention is that tomorrow we will begin month 9 of our WR. It’s gonna be a different month completely! It’s “MANistry” month! This means that we are split up this month, men and women, and so tomorrow we will say our goodbyes for the month, and us men will all head to our ministry site, 7 hours away, on the Gulf Coast of Guatemala in the town of Puerto Barrios! I am so excited about what the Lord has planned, and I just ask that you would continue to cover us all in prayer as we begin month 9, Guatemala!
Love y’all!
P.S…
I forgot to mention… August 5th… I'll be back on U.S turf! Get ready friends and family! I can't wait to see you 😀
