As most of you already know
I’m home.
Like in the U.S.
in Kansas.
Also as most of you know,
I wasn’t supposed to be home until end of April.
My trip was cut short
my team was pulled out
due to this pandemic.
A week ago I woke up to a text from my mentor that said “please call me ASAP. Things are changing.”
It was 5:30am in India and I immediately woke up my co-leader and we hopped on a call with Jeremy.
Jeremy went on to explain the situation and what was occurring world wide and describing how things were changing quickly and that they had decided to pull us out.
Dang. How was I going to tell my team?
After much prayer and a phone call to my parents, Haley and I went in to team prayer just like any other morning. We sat there, my heart was racing as we broke the news. People started crying and sharing their thoughts and feelings. Some even expressed some anger toward the decision.
I sat there and remembered that God was not surprised by this. He knew when we left the States that we would returning just 7 weeks later. And of the course of the next few days I would come to truly realize that His timing is absolutely perfect.
Jeremy just told us they would let us know when exactly we were leaving. The next three days that followed felt so long. Every moment I was just waiting for a text to tell us we were leaving. They told us to be physically and emotionally prepared to leave quickly.
We waited.
We sat with friends and broke the news to them.
We were preparing to say our farewells at any moment.
But we wanted to leave India well. And our friends well. And our team well.
Finally we got the message. We were leaving on Wednesday morning. Finally, a breath, we could say our final goodbyes.
We were told that we would meet up in Atlanta and have a quick debrief. Several hours later, things changed. We were told we needed to fly straight home upon arrival in Atlanta because cities were shutting down. I sat there in shock and disbelief. I had no idea what I was about to walk into. My world that I had left would not be the same world I would be returning to. I had been living the past 7 weeks overseas in a bubble, blissfully unaware what was happening at home and around the world.
3 days, 5 plane rides, and 2 road trips later, I made it home.
We were told we needed to quarantine for 2 weeks, isolated if possible. I chose to self isolate as to not risk possible exposure of my family members.
My sweet father picked me up from the airport with a mask on. We bumped elbows. And he took me to a house to be alone.
In all of this, there is so much to be upset about.
I’m feeling so alone. I miss my friends on my team and friends in India. I could feel angry that my trip was cut in half, that I can’t see my family, that I can’t see anyone. Frustrated that I’m exhausted but I can’t sleep. I could feel frightened that I might contract this virus or that my friends and family might as well.
But God reminded me this morning as I sat alone on a couch at 3am.
Remember gratitude.
I’m grateful.
I’m grateful for the time I got to spend traveling and living abroad. I’m grateful for my people on my squad who I got a sweet season of leading them and walking along side of them. I’m grateful for my beautiful friends in Nepal and India. I’m grateful for a community here that welcomed me with open arms (figuratively not literally, obviously, social distancing people). I’m grateful for a place that I can come to and isolate and quarantine myself as to not risk exposing others. I’m grateful for my father who met me in Kansas City at 11pm to then drive me 3 hours to drop me off, risking exposure. I’m grateful that we got a few days to say goodbye. I’m grateful for God’s perfect timing that allowed us to get out and back to the US just in time. The next day India was on lock down not allowing anyone in or out. In the state in India that we were in, they closed their markets for 5 days! FIVE DAYS! How are these people supposed to get food? All they wanted was a bag of rice. One family needed formula for their 4 month old baby but it was too expensive so they are going to crush up rice and mix it with water to feed her.
I’m grateful for perspective.
God you were not surprised by this and I’m grateful that you are good and your timing is so perfect.
So be grateful today.
