It’s hard to believe that my team and I are about to wrap up our time in Panama later this week. With that, comes the end of month 3 and the end of our time here in Central America.
Central America has been absolutely incredible. I’ve gotten to experience God in new ways here, I’ve gotten to know my squad mates, and made lasting friendships and memories along the way. To end my time here I’m going to give y’all my top 7 favorite memories/lessons from Central America. So here it goes (in no particular order)-
1. The Lord doesn’t want me to be anyone other than who I am. I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not or hide behind different masks to be loved and accepted. The Lord loves me exactly as I am- which is exactly the way He created me to be.
2. Getting to practice my Spanish. I began learning Spanish in third grade and took it through most of high school and for two semesters in college. I know A LOT of Spanish but had been too nervous to speak it. Being in Central America has allowed me the opportunity to step out and just SPEAK SPANISH. I still surprise myself whenever I have full on conversations with locals but it has been an amazing opportunity to practice and learn more.
3. The amount of times I have or have almost crapped my pants. I never in my life have had this much of a challenge getting to a toilet before it’s too late. I can’t have everything though and man does this keep me humble.
4. Community is hard but so so worth it. I love my team and I love my squad mates but being around them 24/7 can get overwhelming. There are many days when I have to actively choose into spending time with them but I’m always glad when I do.
5. The Lord loves me more than I will ever comprehend. Time and time again the Lord has reminded me of how vastly intricate His love is for me, specifically. Sometimes those reminders come in the form of ice cream cones or breathtaking sunsets. Other times they come in the form of ceiling fans and making it to the toilet in time. His reminders look different but they always come perfectly packaged for me and are delivered at just the right times.
6. I was never not supposed to be right here, right now. After not launching in 2018, I often struggled to believe that I was supposed to even do the World Race. Since launching and being out on the field the Lord has made it abundantly clear that this was ALWAYS the plan. Launching in 2019 and being on Q Squad was ALWAYS the plan. This isn’t Plan B. I’m living out Plan A exactly the way I was intended to.
7. To go boxes are for quitters. I’m going to eat the whole thing anyway- might as well save myself the trouble and eat it all at the restaurant.
