What is debrief? Debrief is a time where the whole squad gets together and we get a chance to discuss the weeks before, how our team is doing, and our personal struggles or celebrations. The Race recognizes that rest and ministry are equally important so we get to have debrief every few months. Our first debrief was in Montenegro, which was absolutely beautiful.
When the bus arrived to pick my team and me up we immediately went to see our other friends on the squad. I didn’t realize how much I missed everyone until I stepped onto the bus and saw their smiling faces! The ride there took about 4 hours and we also had a break at a gas station to get food, where I found gluten free chocolate cornflakes, praise Jesus for that. After getting off the bus we walked over to the hostel where we would stay for the next 6 days. When we got inside the common area I couldn’t help but feel cozy and at home, there were books on the banisters, old pictures and antiques on the walls, and tons of chairs for everyone to sit plus a hammock outside beneath a beautiful tree. I threw my stuff into my room and grabbed some of my friends to go exploring around the bay after I looked and saw how incredible it was down by the water. Throughout the next couple of days, we went exploring, hung out at the beach, and even better a group of us met one of the hostels neighbors and quickly became friends with her and her niece who she was caring for. She told us about her struggles over coffee the day after we met her and after we came back she invited us into her home for even more coffee, and if you know me I can’t turn down coffee! So we sat and drank probably the best Turkish coffee I’ve ever had and talked about God. As we talked she asked if I could sing so nervously I turned on some music from my phone to sing along with. Halfway through the song she started to cry, I switched the music to my worship play list and walked over to sit next to her. As she sat in my arms and cried I started to pray for her and Ashely, Lincoln, Danielle, and Christal joined me. Each of us started to speak life into her and as we did I could feel God invading the room. I sat back and just listened to him speak through my friends; while I continued to sing along to the music with chills went up my arms and legs.
God was so present in that space and even throughout the time we came back from meeting with her, each person looked so uplifted and excited about what God had just done through us. The rest of the week we continued to see her and her niece also meeting new people along the way. Everyday was a new adventure, we went on a boat ride to Kotor Montenegro and climbed a mountain up to the ruins of an old church, and I even found a bakery with gluten free products including the BEST gluten free brownie I have ever had. I fell in love with the area but the amazing thing was that I missed being in Lezehe, I missed the friends I made on the farm, and even the smelly animals there.
On our last night a few of us decided to pull an all-nighter together. We drove around with one of our friends that worked at the hostel and ended up at the beach watching the amber colored moon set across the ocean. As I watched it go down it was completely silent and I remembered one of the prophetic art pieces my friend painted for me. It said, “be still.” God spoke to me about how I needed to be still in the time that I am in Lezehe and how he put that longing to be back there in me. I thought about the saying “be where your feet are” is true to my life on the race. I need to be in the moments of praying over strangers and I need to be in the work on the farm, not just thinking about what the future holds for me.
My time at debrief was exactly what I needed, it wasn’t all rest but it wasn’t a ton of work either. I was blessed with the opportunity to paint the blank wall at the hostel and after we finished it the people who worked there couldn’t take the smiles off of their faces. I also got the chance to do some adventuring and literally taking the path up a mountain that is less traveled on. The best part was that I got to have fun and experience God with my friends. It was the perfect balance of God, rest, and adventure. So now you can see why debrief is so important, it not only gives us a chance to see everyone on the squad and rest before we go back into our ministries but it gives us a chance to explore and see God work in new ways.
