After ending month one in Belize, my team and I headed to Caye Caulker to meet our whole squad, our squad leader, squad mentor and squad coaches for all squad debrief. Caye Caulker was amazing. It’s a teeny tiny island in Belize that we had to take an hour boat ride to get to. My squad and I stayed in three different hostels and we were on the island for five days. It was so awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to process month one. Debrief was filled with teachings, worship, one on ones with leadership, and relaxation. The theme of debrief was vulnerability. If we’re not vulnerable before the Lord then it makes it more difficult for Him to work in our lives. Everyone definitely brought their vulnerability. It was amazing to be among 39 other individuals who weren’t hiding anything, especially since we live in a world where it’s the norm for people to hide behind their “perfect life” that they present to the world. Sharing my difficulties and hearing everyone else’s was freeing and comforting. One night we learned about false identities that people can put forward with out even realizing it. This can be a learned identity or an identity we show to others because of our own insecurities. This teaching really shook me and made me think about my own possible false identities.
The five days were amazing. My squad is truly blessed to have our leadership team. They are so invested in our walks with the Lord and how we are growing on the race. During debrief I was overcome with so much gratefulness for where God has brought me since I gave my life to Him 2 years ago. He has me on this journey surrounded by so many loving people who truly care and want to help me live a life free in Christ.
When debrief was over, my squad and I left for Honduras for all squad month. We traveled by boat and two different buses for 30 hours to get to Valle de Angeles, Honduras. That was the longest bus ride I had ever been on and I ended up sleeping on the floor in the middle aisle most of the time because that was more comfortable for me. Travel days can be hectic, with language barriers and especially the border crossings, but it was still fun to be with my whole squad again.
Like I said, month two is all squad month. That means my whole squad is living together and doing ministry together, instead of broken into our teams in different locations across the country. Thirty eight of us are in one house with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Finding an available bathroom is probably the hardest part haha. This month we’re working with Fundacion Hogar Los Angeles, which is a ministry that cares for adults with disabilities. I’ve never worked with people with disabilities before, so this is really new to me. It’s definitely stretching but I’m excited to see how the Lord is going to use my squad this month in this ministry. The “kids” (which is what the workers at Fundacion Hogar Los Angeles call the adults) are full of joy and love. I know they will be teaching me and my squad a lot.
I’ll be writing another blog soon about what God has been showing me so far in Honduras.
Love you all! Thank you for following along 🙂 Please pray that my squad and I will be surrendered to God’s plan each day for how He wants to use us at Hope at Hand.
