I squad got to spend our next debrief in Nelspruit, South Africa for about 4 days. We bonded together through rebuke and encouragement. We celebrated each other and the ways in which God used us to further His kingdom on earth. We also gave words of correction in order to continue to hold each other accountable for our words and actions, or lack thereof. It’s not fun to walk through rebuke and correction, but I can attest to how much healthier my relationships with God and my teammates are. Oh yeah, we also went on a day-long safari!!!!!!!!!
At this debrief, we celebrated two key things: our ½ way point on this June 2009 World Race (which incidentally was also an important spiritual crossroads) and Thanksgiving! This is such a unique experience for all of us. This is the longest time I’ve been away from home and especially being overseas, I am no stranger to homesickness and wanting to “check out” and be comfortable. Like everyone else at home in the US who intentionally lives to minister and serve others, my strength and motivation have waned. Like anyone else, I miss going to the movies, I miss coming home to my own house and having solitude, I miss a lot of freedoms and home comforts (luxuries). I was becoming so distracted in wishing I had all of those things that I put that in front of wanting to serve others and trusting in God to give me rest in Him. My pursuit was about things and selfish desires, rather than opening my eyes to the many great things God had right in front of my own two eyes. So at this debrief, I came to my crossroads and I crossed an important bridge of surrender. It’s amazing how God has given me a fresh breath of air in my lungs. I’m speaking more life into people because I’m breathing in more life from my Creator. I’m seeing things so differently and it’s refreshing and a new responsibility that I’m bearing in confidence.
Kent, Seay and Terry (a former WR, now semi-permanent resident) at the Betor House where we retreated, made a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving dinner for the entire squad! We got to have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, several desserts and my all time MUST…cranberry sauce!! Our World Race is bizarre in that our squad is experiencing over a year of summer. We left in the summer, every country we are visiting is in their summer, and when we return to the States we will be there just in time for…yep, summer! Haha. So getting to enjoy a real Thanksgiving meal and talk about family traditions amongst our whole group on a strangely chilly and rainy night was a HUGE treat for me! I’m not celebrating some major holidays with my family this year, but gifts like this make it special.
So that brings me to a wonderful experience…an African safari!! While we were in Nelspruit, we brought with us a bizarre rainy weather system. It rained every day EXCEPT the 19th when our squad went on a day-long safari at Kruger National Park!! It was a fun experience and we had a great Christian brother named Ernst as our guide. We had a close encounter with an elephant, saw lions, impala, lots of elephants, several rhinos, a couple of hippos, a croc, King Buck deer, beautiful birds and more. Enjoy some pictures!!
