You may or may not be wondering what life looks like right now, and I would love to give you the brief overview! We have been living at a new ministry, El Refugio, now for almost two weeks, and been serving in all different capacities. It’s an outdoor adventure camp in the mountains, which feels right at home for me, thanks to Woodlands. We spend our ministry days doing anything from scrubbing mold off of roof tiles to yard work to climbing on top of an in-progress gazebo, working alongside the staff and interns here. It’s a wonderful time to practice learning more Spanish, have conversations with my teammates, and even spend time with the Lord.
Then, there’s the “weekends.” Two days a week, typically on Saturday and Sunday, we get to head up into the trails of the mountains and use machetes and hoes to turn overgrown forests into really nice paths fit for the four wheeler. This is hard work, especially when we have to start off the day with the hike up there, but it’s also been a time I have really loved. There’s no rush, no striving, but an abundance of time to just be. We just all get to be together, working on one task, talking and singing and making the most of these moments we have left.
One of the biggest things I’m starting to see as time winds down is the importance of choosing in and being here now. Would it be easier to keep the interns and our new friends from El Refugio an arm’s length away so that leaving in less than a week won’t be so sad? Yes. But would missing out on getting to know and love them be worth that bit of safety and security? No, I really don’t think so. Does it seem appealing at times to isolate myself and do my own thing so that when I have to go back to Georgia, it hurts less to be away from this team? Absolutely, but where would that get me?
On the wall in the living room back at Mabe and Fabi’s house, they have five little signs hanging up. They say…
- Choose Joy
- Be Here Now
- Challenge By Choice
- Give 110%
- Love Covers All
The day we got to Ecuador, Fabi talked us through each of these things and encouraged us to keep them on the forefront of our minds during our time here. Here I sit now, two weeks from heading home, and they’ve come back to me.
We are all being invited by the Lord into the beauty of just being. Just being joyful. Just being present. Just being challenged. Just being all in. Just being love. Whatever season of life you may be wrapping up or just beginning, you are invited to the table where to simply be is all you need. I wrote a song today, and it’s called just be. I invite you to listen closely to the words and consider pulling up a seat at the table, where you can be still and know, let go, and just be.
All my heart,
Abby
