Like many phrases, this will become a frequent one in my dictionary this next year.
If you’ve been following, I landed in the Dominican Republic on August 8th after attending Launch in Atlanta, GA August 3rd-7th. It was a crazy travel day and from my training sessions, I’ve come to understand that logistics will get wonky in other countries and to not expect everything to be perfect.
I may have shared this with you all but for those who are unaware; I have the role of a Logistics Leader. I may have this role for the entire 11 months or until the Lord calls me to step down or enter into a different role. My job includes figuring out details for travel days (minus booking flights if we’re flying) and coordinating with owners of places where our entire squad can sleep for Debriefs which happens about 5 times during the duration of the Race. My entire squad will be traveling together on travel days, so I am responsible for getting every team to a central location and getting them to their next location. No, I am not alone in this. Not only do I have help from two awesome squadmates, but also the Lord (because I for sure know that I could not do this without Him!).
Let me talk a little bit about our first travel day. We flew out of Atlanta around 2pm and landed in Fort Lauderdale by 4. Our 7 1/2 hour layover turned into 12 ½ hours after our plane arrived and was short a flight attendant. Although it was definitely unexpected, I thought it was hilarious because God sure does have a sense of humor. We were told at Training Camp and Launch that we need to be okay with our plans not actually coming to fruition. Yes, this is my job, but I cannot plan for everything! We finally got to our ministry (since it’s all squad month, we were all together) after a 5 hour bus ride (also being told it will take 3) and could all finally breathe and relax.
Once we arrived, our ministry hosts Vicki and Ruben made us aware that 3 of their children are very ill and one of them has a seizure disorder that is perpetuated by sicknesses. They ended up taking both of their children to the hospital and they spend about 3 nights there getting better. We were given no direction and for the first few days, I definitely felt lost and was unsure how we were actually going to do ministry this month.
You’re starting to sense a theme, right?!
I’ll tell you another quick story that happened a couple days ago. Again, very unexpected. My squad was helping clean up the property and Ruben’s father, Manuel, pulled Wes, an intern for Hope Mountain DR, to the side and asked if he could get help tending to one of their cow’s who injured its leg. A couple of my squadmates and I were in the vicinity and were asked to tag along. We had absolutely no idea where we were going or what he needed from us. We hiked through the jungle for about 15 minutes until we saw a barbed wire enclosure. We hopped the wires and helped wrangles this injured cow (which took about 30 minutes). After it escaped the enclosure and almost tumbled down the mountainside, we finally got it tied up brief enough to undo its saturated bandages and replace with garlic infused cloths and an ace bandage. After the bandage was applied, we made our way back to the house and spoke of our adventure to the rest of the squad. Definitely did not expect to find myself helping wrangle a cow and wrap its injured leg on day 3 of the Race. I laughed and reminded myself that I am here to be used by my Father and my mind cannot comprehend how he’s going to use me this next year.
I’m quickly learning that it’s silly to come into situations with expectations. Expectations hinder me from seeing the mighty power of God in my midst because I am focusing on what I want to see or how I have things planned in my mind. Letting go of the control I have on my surroundings allows me to embrace every situation with a fresh set of eyes. I’m able to see the Lord move in ways my mind can’t comprehend and who knows, I may find myself trekking through the jungle again to help a stranger with a yes in my spirit because I know the Lord is opening up my eyes to see the unexpected and fully trust in Him.
I know I’m going to have a laundry list full of these stories so stay tuned!
Much love,
~A
