After being back on the World Race scene for several days now, I never thought the two words to describe my first week as a squad leader would be…well…pinch me.
I think that after months of praying and reading and preparing as best as I could, I have been pleased with how enjoyable it really is, despite stories of how overwhelming it can be. Granted, this may be a bit of a honeymoon…
I find that aspects of my own World Race that were an adjustment back in 2012 now feel normal and easy. Spending the first week living at Camp Caribe in Ponce, Puerto Rico, a place committed to being a safe place and simple but comfortable retreat for all varieties of people, may admittedly have me spoiled.
Our host took us snorkeling in a lagoon on an off day.
Mornings smell like sunscreen and coffee made in travel French press mugs, and nights smell like deet and campfires.
The discipline of getting up in the morning to go find time to talk with my Jesus is both harder and sweeter than it is in the comfort of my own room at home. Here, I wake up with the sun, sit on a bench 20 feet from where the waves are crashing, and watch the sky change colors as I dive into a “power hour” of prayer and worship.
Did I mention that we are right on the beach? So much so that the sound of crashing waves was almost loud enough to keep me awake at night, but now just takes me back to all those summer vacations growing up. Most evenings are spent salty, sandy, and barefoot…as long as you can avoid stepping on a red and orange centipede that will send you to the emergency room.
Something about the beach just beckons me to be carefree and fun and in the moment…a state of mind where I don’t think twice about asking the random local passerby if I can ride his horse around on the beach, or urging my girls to come out for a moonlit swim.
Bucket list item.
The daily ministry of serving various needs in the local soup kitchen and drug rehab center has already begun to blossom fruitful relationships for my squad mates.
Stumbling along in Spanglish, we all dive in to helping those we encounter see themselves as valuable and worthy of love, no matter what sort of living situation or addiction they have found themselves in.
Scrubbing furniture, sorting clothes, serving food, and making friends at the soup kitchen.
The day ends with 15 people cooking massive quantities of delicious food creatively concocted on a small budget. After laughing as new personality quirks are constantly discovered, we all clean up the camp kitchen, dancing around to everything from Hillsong to Brad Paisley to Katy Perry, before splitting off for focused team times that are sometimes hilarious and sometimes tearful.
Such an environment always makes me relaxed in a way, but much more so than normal at the moment. I find I have an unexpected peace and Godly contentment taking me over, and I really think it goes well beyond the outward comfort of seeing and smelling ocean everywhere I go.
Only answered prayer and the Spirit of God can be credited for this, as I probably should be more stressed out now that I have really faced head-on the list of tangible and intangible squad leader responsibilities.
But I am realizing now that God taught me a lot last year about the fine line between Godly peace and human complacency. The two can not be interchanged. One is beneficial, one is detrimental; one is above circumstances, one is dependent upon perfectly calculated plans.
The sunset over the beach we live on at Camp Caribe.
Nothing at home prevented me from having this Godly peace and contentment last year, other than the fact that I didn’t know how to seek and choose it.
But I also truly believe that a life that is focused on me…my income, my exercise regimen, my weekend plans, my agenda…is going to turn me into a person that is victim to my circumstances when I choose it over the freedom that comes with serving an eternal God that is better equipped to provide for me than I ever could be for myself.
Honestly, life is a whole lot more enjoyable and stress-free when, quite frankly, we get over ourselves.
As a squad leader, I am finding that all I have to do is trust that God is answering my prayers for guidance in hard conversations, for favor when circumstances get tough, for wisdom to finalize hard decisions, and most of all to walk in the constant presence of His Spirit and love.
When I do this, true peace and joy are natural by products that can follow me anywhere in life. Which can be true whether I am digging my toes into the sand at the beach or scrubbing toilets all day, as long as I wake up in the morning intending to serve local folks in ministry or my own squad in hard but necessary conversations.
Cartwheels at sunset.
I have no idea what tomorrow will look like, really, and the next 5 months have the potential to carry some of the most stressful situations I have ever found myself in. So maybe God decided to go ahead and teach me to choose peace and Godly contentment in week one. And of course He knew starting me off at the beach would help.
I head to Arecibo, Puerto Rico tomorrow to spend time with the other 5 teams that Sam and I will visit before heading to the Dominican Republic at the end of the month. I hope to blog more but will also be extremely busy, so please keep me in your prayers as I continue to walk in the peace of God, moment to moment. Psalm 23…
And a HUGE thank you and shout out to you, anonymous donor! You provided the perfect surprise to find at launch!
Downtown Ponce is full of quirky, fun sites and buildings.
