Recently our Squad Mentor sent us an email encouraging us to try and write a blog beginning to wrap this thing up, since the end is coming in like, two weeks or something now. We just recently had our last C&C responses, which are questions we’ve had to answer on a weekly basis so our leadership back in the states, Squad Leaders, and anyone else I may be forgetting can keep up with how we are doing. One of our questions this week was “What will you miss most about the Race?” I wrote a short answer, but wanted to take time to write a little bit more about what I will miss most about the Race, which is the people — like I probably won’t ever stop talking about them when I get home, so I might as well write them all down, eh?
Anyway, this is, in no way, my best piece of writing and in no way wraps this entire thing up; I don’t think any amount of words — ever — will be able to, but this is a short glimpse into the people I’ve met from everywhere who have made this entire year what it was for me — who I will miss far more than the places themselves, because at the end of the day, it’s the people that make up the places we live in.
From Africa I will miss holding Vanessa, swinging with Cathy, walking and holding hands with Isaac, and Moses and his wonderful family. I will miss Malessa and Abiti singing Jesus loves me with me along with Sintu and Sintayu, Ralph and Glenda sharing their stories with us, and I will miss Gadisa, who was like an older brother to me. I will miss the doctors from Canada and the Born Family, who took our team in like their own daughters. I will miss my travel-hearted friend named Caitlin, who wasn’t christian, but our friendship flourished for the two weeks we crossed paths.
From Asia, I will miss our host’s children, Smarty and Spooty, who are probably the smartest under-10-year old’s I’ve met in my lifetime. I will miss Dalik from Cambodia, as my heart still aches to see her again one day. Goy from the bars in Thailand, her sweet smile still etched in my memory. Scott and Christina, who both made such a lasting impact on our team by just being themselves. Christina dreamt with me, teaching me that His Will is the better dream that we actually get to take part in and when we wait on His perfect time in obedience, everything is beautiful and possible.
I will miss our hilarious host Luis, and I will miss Michelle Lucio, who I got the chance to meet in Central Parque at a coffee shop, to hear of her adventures and stories, learning from her faith-walk and how the Lord divinely brought her to her current place in His timing. I will miss everyone from TLC in Honduras, our hosts Haley and Joseph as well as their kids, Micah, Abbey, and Baby Emma and all the girls who I got to spend time with talking music, watching movies, just spending the most precious and free thing there is: Time. I will miss the interns who are here at Vision Nicaragua with us, Lauren, Cassie, and Daniel, who bring a very refreshing and fun dynamic to this place.
Finally, I will miss the teams that I spent life with this entire year, Parresia, Abundant Life, and Steadfast Pursuit. Each of the women I have spent all of my time with this year from my teams have made a special mark on my heart and I will never forget them or stop talking about how Carly says “Bag” with her A’s really long and has grown so much in her identity this year, and when Courtney talks fast, her Canadian accent will come out naturally and how her smile and laugh are like the brightest piece of sunshine, or when Katie gets excited about something smart, she lights up like a lightbulb and how she deeply cares for the individuals around her, or how Amanda is probably the deepest person I have ever met in my life and I am a better person because of all her inquiring questions and long conversations, and how Raelynn is really observant and in-tune with the spirit of God and discerns when to speak and when to leave things alone. I will miss Logan and the way she sat with me one night in Malaysia on “her swing” as I cried my eyes out and just sobbed and I will remember all the times she made us laugh together as a team. I will miss Caitlin’s high pitched scream in Rwanda when a cockroach crawled across her pillow and miss how she literally held me as I was upset about something during Month 2. I will miss nights like the one Rachel, Alexa, Caitlin and I all stayed up way too late past bedtime talking with Ingrid about life and boys. I will miss one-on-one’s like the one Lupita and I had dinner over Papoosa’s in El Salvador and ones like the lunch I had with Anissa in the same place and how much more natural everything felt with them after time apart. I will remember Morgan’s passion over video-making and the video we made together in Rwanda with our team to that One Direction song with Alexa as our fearless leader… Oh, the memories!
I am #AlreadyCryingRiversOfTears thinking about leaving all of this behind in a couple short weeks, but the beauty in it is that this has been an experience with people I deeply love that are making it harder and harder to say goodbye… The names from all my former teams don’t even touch the other people on my squad who have made an impact on me like Taylor Baker and Brantley, all the guys, and the plethora of Z-Squad I am missing. Seriously, every person on Z-Squad has left some sort of impact on me this year, and that’s what is going to make it hard to say goodbye, because somehow and some way, they all became like family.
Over and Out, more on wrap-up thoughts later!
~Ash
