Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is really hard to post but I am home from the World Race. I do not know if I will be relaunched domestically, internationally, or if I will just continue with missions at home. What I do know is that I promised God 11 months and I shall stick to my YES wherever I land. That being said, I would like to tell you a little bit about my experience over the past week.
We heard about the COVID-19 back in January. Being on the field we prayed for the countries affected and then continued our work in Nicaragua. I remember we were packing backpacks with school supplies for the local children when our team leader told us about the virus. In the coming months, it kept on becoming more and more evident that this virus was affecting the world. On March 13th we were informed that most racers were being pulled off the field and sent home but we were currently one of the few teams allowed to remain on the field. We praised God and went to bed happy to be staying in Peru. The next day, we were gathered in the ministry living room and our squad leaders told us that our World Race was over and we were being sent back to the US. I audibly gasped and felt the blood rush from my head when I heard the announcement. How could God do this? We were promised 11 whole months!
Our leaders told us that we would have about 72 hours left in Peru. Those 72 hours quickly became 1 day. We all discussed our perfect last day in Peru and decided to enjoy our last day as a squad. Personally, I pushed away my feelings of hurt and sadness as we ventured out for one last day as a family. We were told that we had a flight booked for 10 pm the next day so we planned to spend the time before the flight cooking and cleaning as a family. We were awakened at 5 am the next morning and told our flight had been moved to 10 am and we had an hour to pack and leave. We were shocked and packed as quickly as possible. Peru was shutting its borders and had started a mandated quarantine so we had to get out. I later found out that our flight had been canceled without us knowing and the Holy Spirit had told our logistics to look at the flight and that’s how Adventures in Missions knew to book us another flight. Wow God!
I have made it home and I am not afraid of the virus. I’m not afraid of being quarantined. I am afraid of missing out on what’s next because I’m too busy clinging to what I thought was guaranteed. God has been reminding me of his steadfast love and the reason I went on the race. I did not go for comfort or safety. In fact just the opposite, I went because God called me out of my comfort zone and told me to walk on the water. James 1:2-4 says it best, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” I am determined to let this trial grow my faith. I will cling to Jesus instead of what I thought was guaranteed. God is the only one that never changes.
I plan to use my blog as a platform to bring hope and encouragement in the midst of this confusion. Please continue to trust that God is in control. If we do not then the devil wins!
