It’s day 50. That’s how many days its been since I packed up everything I planned to use for the next five months into an (even smaller) backpack and headed for the Atlanta airport, then on to Washington DC for launch. From there I flew with 47 other new friends to Johannesburg, where we took a 39 hour bus ride to Dondo, Mozambique. And so began another crazy journey.
This is the second time I’ve done this. I left in July 2011 for the World Race with W squad, did my 11 months, had my paradigms completely shifted for the better. This time I headed out as a squad leader for P squad, ready to see a similar journey play out in those I would be leading. I expected things would be different, obviously, but it’s always hard to anticipate what your challenges will be and what God will teach you through your experiences. I will say this – the past month and half has been incredible. I have loved every moment I have gotten to spend hanging out with people and diving into friendships, I have seen God show up in some really cool ways, and I have learned a lot about being content in every moment. In an effort to sum up, without really summing up, the last few months, I figured I would just share some things I have learned, personally, and through others.
– I think one of the key differences between my World Race and squad leading has been that I get the opportunity to celebrate the successes of others as opposed to just my own. What I mean by this is that for me, the World Race was about overcoming personal obstacles, healing from things in my past, learning to live and do life with five other people, and diving in to ministry in each country. My focus was on, well, myself, and those that I impacted in my small sphere of influence. This time around, my focus is not as much on the people in each country, but rather on the racers of P squad. I am able to find excitement on behalf of others in a whole new way. When Rachel hears the voice of the Lord for the first time, I celebrate with her. When Paul discovers that he has the gift of a pastor, and realizes that it is a gift and not a curse, I celebrate with him. When Sarah is able to raise over $1200 for an impoverished and disabled couple, I celebrate with her. When people grieve, I grieve with them – when relatives pass back home, when they walk through dealing with past wounds that are so painful, when they are stuck in bed for a week with malaria. So much of the joy of squad leading comes from seeing others step out and work towards their full potential in the Lord. And at the same time, being so much more invested in each person allows me to walk alongside them through their pains as well.
– I have really been learning what it means to be content in every moment. I feel like I am naturally pretty good at this, but to an extent. I typically always have some sort of schedule or agenda that I am working towards, which forces me to look ahead and not be fully present. For me, squad leading has been about living each moment with each person and knowing that God has placed me there intentionally. Last week I found myself stuck on the side of the road waiting for a bus for 3 hours. But, strangely enough, this turned out to be one of my favorite days of the week, because even though I was on the side of the road in the hot sun, I still got to spend some awesome quality time with Dot and Jess and get to know things about them that I would never have gotten the opportunity to do had we not been sitting at that busstop all afternoon. I had nowhere else I needed to be except exactly where I was. Squad leading for me has been full of these moments, as opposed to my race when I was more strictly to committed to being somewhere for ministry by a certain time. I’ve loved having so much freedom over my own schedule.
– The opportunity to go back to some of my ministry sites from my World Race presented itself. I got to spend a significant amount of time at Kedesh Sanctuario in Mozambique, a home for boys. I left my heart there last January, and was able to come back just pick up where I left off. This place does something for my soul – I literally feel completely at ease, I can just be myself, and I able to just live and love. Before coming down I was able to help raise the money for $700 worth of sports gear to bring to John and the boys and help meet a tangible need as well. One of my favorite moments of the month was getting to play basketball on the brand new net and rim with the boys. Upon heading to Swaziland, we stopped at El Shaddai Children’s home. One of my favorite little kiddos from last year, Kevin, lives at El Shaddai, and I was incredibly excited to see him, but unsure if he would even remember me. As we arrived I jumped out of the van and ran up to the fence where I saw Kevin waiting amongst the other kids. I ran up to him and said, “Kevin!”, to which he responded “…Steven?” He remembered me – I almost lost it right there. He then ran around the fence and came and leaped up in to my arms. It was a moment I will never forget. I left my race with no expectation of ever being able to return to these places, but here I was, exactly a year later (no joke, I entered Swaziland last year on 2/11/12 and this year on 2/11/13) , getting to be reunited with some very special people.
– I’ve had to realize that I am still walking my own journey even as I am trying to help people walk out theirs. I can’t neglect myself and what God is trying to teach me even as my first reaction may be to look to others. I walked through a specific journey on my World Race, and I am walking through a specific one now, as a squad leader. Prioritizing myself is a challenge for me. I have to continue to nurture my own growth and health, and to make that a first priority. I can’t do anything for anyone else if I’m unhealthy. I also have to ask myself hard questions about myself and what I am learning and not just ask questions about those around me. God is using this time to mold and shape me in ways I would never expect.
I’ve got three and a half more months to go, and the opportunities are pretty much unlimited. I fully expect God to show up in huge ways in my life and in the lives of P squad. 50 days has brought a lot already, and I can’t wait to see what the next 100 bring.
In order to be fully funded financially, I still need to raise $4192 to be able to stay on the field until June for the duration of squad leading. If you would like to be a part of helping make this happen financially, please click on the “Support Me” tab to the left of this blog. If you would prefer to send a check, please put my name in the memo line, make it payable to “Adventures in Missions” and mail to:
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353
