Our squad had some rough times last month. There was a lot of justifiable room for sorrow, fear, and frustration. One team, if you haven’t seen the blogs, was in a particularly sketchy situation due to riots in their town in Ethiopia. Everyone is now safe, but it definitely left a lot of us feeling unsettled. Many people had family members at home take a turn for the worst or lost family members. Our team was doing ATL (ask the Lord) in a town pretty far out in the desert which filled us with lots of unknowns as well. Within about a week and a half our squad of 48 had 5 people return home (one is getting to come back this week!). Basically we were emotionally worn out. Typically, squads have debrief at the end of month 8. Due to a bunch of other crazy circumstances (God) ours had been moved to the end of month 9, and ALL of our leadership got to come. The Lord knew we needed this time of rest and healing together. And it was good. We talked and prayed and worshipped together.
It could be easy to fall into a rut. But A Squad refuses! So how to we avoid it? Thankfulness.
To start out this month, my team and I looked back at the past 9 months to see where the Lord had been present in the big and little things. Many more came to mind, but here are 3 (or 4 or 5) things I am thankful for over each of the past 9 months.
Month One: Chile
1. Sweet friendship with Stephi. Being able to have hard heart conversations of healing and confession.
2. Tío José and his cheese empenadas!
3. My teacher at Escuela Las Rosas. Denise welcomed us into her classroom and her home for a dinner party.
Month Two: Argentina
1. Being met with grace after sharing my testimony with my whole squad and YWAM staff
2. A rest day where pretty much the whole squad was gone and I got to play so much volleyball with the staff
3. Hammock city/ general bonding time getting to know the whole squad
Month Three: Bolivia
1. Good. Food. In Apolo. Lots of veggies! Pan! Soup! Quinoa! Eggs! Avocado!
2. Juan and his family guiding us, translating, and making us brownies! Being a family for us.
3. Protection/ the whole experience of the hike.
Month Four: Cambodia
1. Getting to visit with Hannah and Da and the whole family.
2. Seeing new parts of a country I already love so much.
3. New tools for sharing the gospel and presenting my testimony.
4. Being able to help lead worship at Awakening for so many squads!
Month Five: Thailand
1. Homestyle food (mostly biscuits and gravy) from “Butter is Better”
2. Fun relationship with Phil- our painting instructor and general Australian friend.
3. Surprise package from my family/ connections to home
Month Six: Serbia
1. Family dinners/ cooking with my squad/ really. Good. Food.
2. Cold weather- causing good food and cute clothes
3. Exploring Budapest with pals for my birthday
4. Learning so much from the prophecy conference
5. Headphone worship- the space to really worship fully and freely with my team
Month Seven: Romania
1. Time with Mom, Dad, and the Rices! An actual blessing.
2. My knee being well enough to do the hike in the valley
3. Good ministry relationships with Zsolt, Claudia and family, and pastor Merchel and family
Month Eight: Bulgaria
1. A day with tedious detail work! (not kidding) Using checklist and sorting supplies for Young Life camps.
2. Beautiful hike up Mt. Vitosha finally giving me the space and silence to process the jungle.
3. A book with paper pages to read
4. Getting to see the Rices again in Varna (on the BEACH!)
5. Zoe Church- Worship I knew and preaching in English.
Month Nine: Ethiopia
1. Tamerat. His guidance, faithfulness, prayer and friendship. We would not have made it to Awash without him.
2. Kajela, Abebe, and Berhanu- translation and allowing us to be a part of their church
3. Mimi! Sweet friendship with her family. Many shared cups of coffee.
4. Provision- food. Home. Guide. Safety.
God is good! ALL. THE. TIME!
My squad is now settled into month 10 here in Rwanda. It may be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Really. We are being hosted by an actual family and get to stay in their home which I haven’t had in a while. I have three little brothers, a bed, and GOOD food! Their ministry is sound. They are bold. They are taking care of us so well. My team is preaching, doing outreach, and teaching a little English in the church’s preschool. I’m honestly thriving in Africa. I love it. Home feels close, which is weird, but I am excited and expectant for the next 50 days. That’s right. Just 50! Wow. Please continue praying for me, my team, and my squad.
PS: If you would like to hear more about one of my thankful things, let me know! I can maybe expand in a future blog. Love you all!
