I Remember Central America…

I remember leaving
Africa and a long bunch of plane rides to San Jose,Costa Rica. I remember our day and a half layover in Madrid, Spain and absolutely loving it there. I remember wishing we could
stay longer.

I remember the
excitement of finally getting to Central
America, the place I have been most
excited to go all year. I remember using my broken Spanish for the first time, and
getting excited about successfully navigating my way through the city.

I remember my
heart breaking a second time, when my teammate Mark told us he would be going
home. I remember wishing he could stay, but knowing in my heart that he was
doing the right thing, and feeling proud of him. I remember saying goodbye and
wishing we had more time.

I remember seeing
Sarah again for the first time in over three months. I remember our first one
on one at the coffee shop in San Jose, and thinking to myself how much I missed her and how happy
I was to have her back. I remember praising God for the ways he has restored
and strengthened our relationship.

I remember the
beach in Panama. I remember God’s beautiful creation as I went running one
morning, thinking to myself how blessed I was to be there. I remember seeing
Colleen and Team Less by complete surprise, and thanking God for little
reminders of his love.

I remember sitting
at the kitchen table trying to work through our issues as a team. I remember
praying and fighting the thought that this would never be resolved, that our
team would remain broken. I remember feeling helpless.

I remember the
long bus ride to Nicaragua. I remember 2 days spent on Tica bus, hoping that the next
movie would be in English or at least have subtitles. I remember crossing the Nicaragua border, and realizing that the next border I crossed would
be the United
States.

I remember the
first night we were in Granada. I remember being so excited for ministry and all that we
would do, and I remember my heart sinking when Brandon told us that something was wrong at home, and Sarah needed
to call her family. I remember praying that there was some kind of mistake and
Sarah wouldn’t have to leave. 

I remember saying
goodbye to Sarah for the second time. I remember feeling an odd sense of peace
and joy that Sarah was doing what she knew God wanted her to do. I remember the
word of encouragement she gave us before leaving, and her smile as she walked through
security.

I remember the
first 2 weeks we spent in Granada. I remember loving every second of the medical clinic, and
wishing I had more medical knowledge to be able to help. I remember wishing I
knew more Spanish to understand people better. I remember Pam trying to
encourage me to be a nurse.

I remember waking
up at 515am on June 15^th, Brandon‘s birthday. I remember a popping balloon, Brandon steamrolling over each of us, pushing us off our mattresses,
running and dancing around the room, and an all-too-early in the morning pillow
fight. I remember all of us girls laughing histerically as Brandon began his birthday fun.

I remember our
first day of construction in Puerto Cabezas. I remember an over-stuffed school
bus speeding through the dirt road, and feeling relief that we had decided to
fly instead of travel by bus.

 I remember fighting
the feeling of giving up. I remember counting down the days till we returned to
Granada for debrief, and eventually back home. I remember wishing
the days would come faster. I remember being ready to go home.