hello all! I have been MIA lately but some crazy things have still been happening. I am currently in Costa Rica & have been for about a month. since I have slacked at telling you what life has been looking like, I am here to catch you up! with three separate blogs!!!! wanted to keep them as short & sweet as possible so here we are.
#3
after our adventures in Puerto Viejo we headed back to the base for a couple days before heading to debrief. so as you could have guessed, this blog is about debrief!!! if you are a new reader of my blogs and/or unaware of what debrief is, it is a needed (& very appreciated) time of rest for our squad. we have three debriefs over the whole race— after month one, halfway through & final debrief which occurs right before we head home. so yes we have made it to the halfway point of the race & it seems pretty unbelievable. it feels as if I was in Georgia yesterday for training camp!!! time really is flying. we were in the mountains with not much to do other than sit in the presence of nature, each other, & the Lord, of course. although I was able to sit with a lot during this retreat, I would like to point out the reminder the Lord showed me multiple times during the week.
Hailey, our squad mentor, spoke on the first night about the sacrifice that it is to sit in silence & stillness with Jesus, but how fruitful it is. I personally have a super hard sitting still. I get bored super easily & will do just about anything to entertain, or at least distract, myself. it takes a LOT of discipline for me to give that time to the Lord but once it happens, it’s seriously wonderful. with the race being halfway over, I have come to realize the importance of being still with the Father & how necessary it is for me especially to fight for that time. for silence. maybe not even reading or journaling or listening to music. just sitting with God. with this realization being made, I can’t wait to see what my silent time will look from this point forward. for the crazy things the Lord will teach me as a result of saying “yes” over & over again to simply being in His presence.
that’s all I have for you. I hope this gave you a little picture of what has been going on this past month & coming soon will be an update of what the remainder of our two months here will look like!
alive & well -olivia
