After leaving HOPEthiopia, my squad went on a 3 hour road trip to the airport and spent 6 hours taking naps and eating snacks before boarding our flight. Then we took a 17 hour (but really an eternity) long flight to Toronto, Canada. After experiencing the culture shock of snow and Starbucks for 10 hours, we then hopped onto a plane for another 6 hours and arrived in Costa Rica. From here we took a 2.5 hour bus ride in the dark of the night to some random camp. By the time we arrived it was two in the morning, and after 44.5 hours of straight travel, my squad still had to get up at seven in the morning for announcements. In short, we came to Costa Rica exhausted, a little sad, and real unsure about what the next few days will hold.
Let me backtrack: the next country my squad is serving in is still Nicaragua. However, before moving to our new home, AIM (that’s the organization the race is under) put together this conference in Costa Rica called “The Awakening”. It’s an opportunity for multiple squads on the field to meet up and hang out for a few days. Along with my squad (Gap S), I got to hang out with Gap R (another gap year squad that launched with my squad in September), U Squad (a squad that goes to 11 countries in 11 months and had just launched in January), and a Semesters Squad (a squad that goes on the field for 3 months; they launched in February). After spending three months in almost seclusion, seeing that many people was pretty overwhelming. It was like Canada, except people kept trying to talk to me and know me a deeper level. It was a lot to take in, but I learned to go with it. That’s when awesome things started happening.
After our two days of travel (it was pretty rough to be honest) I woke up in a new world. The last time I saw the light of day was in Canada in a land of snow and ice. As I walked outside to this new place, my breath got caught in my throat. Before me were green mountains dotted with random fences and houses. All the peaks were covered in soft fog overlooking the richness of a tropical rainforest. The air was cool and smelt like rain, as though winter was gone and spring had just come. Oh friends, I was so excited!!
In order to reach breakfast, the squad had to hike over a hill, down a hill, over a bridge, down two flights of stairs, and down a very steep hill. However, this was a small challenge since most of us didn’t have dinner the night before. We hiked to the breakfast and were treated to a meal of eggs, pancakes, sausage, water melon, pineapple, an orange, coffee, and orange juice. While we always had enough to eat in Ethiopia, this rich buffet of various nutrients greatly excited the squad. We were very pleased.
Luckily my squad was the first to arrive at La Montaña (the camp), so we were able to take an afternoon and rest before sessions began in the evening. I used that time to sleep (of course) and begin working on my blog “See you in heaven (if not before)”. Since it was the last blog about Ethiopia, I spent way too long trying to make sure everything was perfect and sounded just right. I wrote and rewrote that blog so many times, so I only had it halfway done when I finally closed the computer and went to sessions.
I fell instantly in love with the camp La Montaña. Between the scenery (mountains, fog, AND RAINFOREST?!), the kind staff (who took fifteen minutes to rescue my key when I locked it in my room), and the great water pressure (I’ll take the cold shower for that), everything was so amazing. There was a mud run obstacle course and a big slide and a big swing and a water trampoline in the lake. What’s not to love?
As for the Awakening, spending a few days with three other squads was amazing. I got to learn new perspectives and share wisdom I’ve learned on the field, I saw leaders of God rise up to speak during worship, and I gained a new appreciation for my own squad. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something really great about being on Gap S.
During the second night of worship, one of my squad mates came up on stage and told everyone about his experience with healing. There was a time where he prayed over a girl with a swollen eye and saw it instantly healed by God. He didn’t say anything special, just a quick little prayer and the girl was healed. After that, he organized a healing night for our squad in which we prayed the impossible prayers over each other. I saw my squad mate be healed from a gluten intolerance, my other squad mate receive partial healing for scoliosis, another squad mate healed from fear, and so many more acts through the spirit. So you know what he did? He asked for all four squads to do the same, and this began a healing night that went for HOURS. There were so many people prayed over that we were up until after eleven at night (which is pretty late on the Race) praying for each other. And everyone who stayed up wanted to be there. It wasn’t an obligation to pray; it was a privilege and a desire.
During those few days I was wrestling with the Lord about public speaking. I know it’s one of the gifts He has given me, but I wasn’t sure if I spoke out of a pure heart or my own pride. I kept switching between pride and self pity so fast that it was honestly embarrassing, and I kept pushing off any pull to soak because “it wasn’t my place”. God kept pressing the story of Peter on my heart to share and I couldn’t understand why. After all, what made Peter so special? Shouldn’t I be telling people about Jesus and not making Peter look good? But then the Lord said, “If it’s alright for you to share your story, then why can’t you share his? Get up and speak.” So on the last day, right before we were about to leave for Nicaragua, I went up on stage and talked about Peter. I talked about his faith, how he would shift from undeniable belief to uncontainable doubt in a matter of seconds. I talked about how Peter was never able to go “all in” to serve Christ until he saw Jesus raised from the dead, and from there became the foundation of the church. No matter how many times Peter doubted or betrayed Jesus, Jesus never turned his back on him. No matter how faithless we are to God, God is always faithful to us. I encouraged the four squads to fearlessly serve Jesus because He will always be faithful and that we ought to be like Peter after Jesus rose from the dead- so confident in the hope we have that we would serve God even onto death. It was a pretty big message, but as I walked down to my seat I felt the peace of God overwhelm my body, and I knew I had said what the Lord has sent me to say.
The Awakening was a few days of crazy Jesus love and renewal for the country to come. I was able to encourage and be encouraged by people who are also on the field, people who understand what it’s like to serve the Lord away from home for a long time. It was nice to be around more people that “get it” so to speak, and I’m glad we got to spend a few days together in fellowship.
So after spending a few days in Costa Rica, the squad hopped on another bus and made our way to Nicaragua. The bus ride was suppose to be 10 hours, but we were stopped by an accident that added an extra four hours to clear up. Luckily we still made it to Nicaragua that night and arrived at our new home at around two in the morning. The squad was once again exhausted, and after a brief scorpion incident (in which my squad leader found a creature under her pillow) we all went right to sleep. I was still recuperating from the travel day and the Awakening AND I was about to see my parents in three days. However, for that night I had a cozy bed and that was enough.
~CLS
