{As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen}
I think that at times the Lord blesses us with people in our lives and the funny thing is, in the moment of meeting them, you have no idea what that impact is going to be. I am constantly blessed with meeting new people on a regular basis and in that I have the opportunity of getting to connect and get to know them. I love that! I love that I can meet people and just talk to them, it doesn’t have to be about major topics either, it could simply be about the weather or sports. Mostly it is because I don’t speak their language, but it still fun to hear the genuine laugh of other humans.
STORY TIME!!!!
Our first week in Nicaragua was doing debrief in Granada, it is a beautiful little town and our hostel was on the corner of gringo street which is the word that the locals call white people. Our first day was really relaxing and I just enjoyed getting to sit and enjoy the down time. As the days went on we got news that we weren’t allowed to meet at the place that our squad leaders/mentors were staying anymore. Which was hard because we had been having worship & debrief session there, funny how the Lord provides because the next morning we were blessed with an AIM base that was super close by. We had session that morning and then we went about our day. As I walked into our hostel I thought that my friend Erin was in the rocking chair so I proceed to walk up behind it and pull it back slowly and look down at her making a ridiculous face. As I looked down I slowly realized that this person was in fact not Erin but that she was chill enough to make a goofy face back and as I awkwardly laughed and apologized I went about my day thinking nothing into it and later we had worship.
As I stood there I helping our worship person with his music we started to get into the message part of the night so I wanted to sit down and instead of sitting on the floor like I usually do, I went and sat on the couch next to one of the girls who I believed to work at the AIM base. Her name is Maddi, and I don’t know how the conversation started but I am glad it did because within a minute I had made a comment about growing up in Leavenworth and it blew open the start of a rad friendship. She had recently had a dream about the word Leavenworth and had no idea what it was connected to but she knew she needed to find out and then I just walked in. WHAT!? The next morning, we went on a run together and shared our lives, I learned that she has family in Washington and that she grew up in Oregon super close to some of my family! That we both have a passion for the outdoors and photography and as we continued to laugh and bond I knew that this friendship didn’t happen just by chance. As we left Granada I was sad to think I wouldn’t see this new friend for 10 months when it had been such a joy to bond and connect with someone in such a deep way.
Then this last weekend we as a team had to go to Leon, Nathan who is a friend of Maddi’s they work together at the base, well he was coming into Leon to see the squad. As I walked out of a coffee shop I saw Nathen and proceed to hug him and say hello, it however hadn’t processed that Maddi might be with him, but as I asked where’s Maddi I turned to then freak out with excitement and joy! I got to spend two days laughing and exploring with someone that in less than a month I would consider to be a very close friend. That is insane and such a huge blessing! We joked and made plans for adventures in 9 months when I come home and about how the PNW is the best. I knew coming into this trip that I would come home with close friends but I never would have thought that that friend wouldn’t be on the race with me. That’s hard, to think that I have to wait 9 months to see my friends and family and to continue this friendship, yet so awesome to look forward to!
I think that is just another way the Lord is trying to teach me about his love and patience, He doesn’t just want to be our father who loves us deeply and wants the best for us. He wants to be our friend. He wants to share in the laughter, share in the memoires, and walk alongside us through the uncomfortable times. It takes time though, so as much as I want to be at home or want to hang out with Maddi, I can learn to wait because there will be a day closer than I know that I will get to see them in that I have hope that I will learn so much as I experience this once in a life time opportunity.
