Final debrief is a time of relaxation, but more importantly, processing through the experiences of the past three months. As many of you know, there has been a ton going on this whole time, so this was hugely necessary. Each person needs to find closure and it’s extremely important to end well. We spent the first few days talking about where they were before the trip and what has happened during the past three months. The second part of debrief we spent talking about going home–re-entry, reverse culture-shock, and entering the next season of life.
We lounged on the beach or under palm trees to think through different questions we, as leaders, gave the team–Driver and I also worked through them. We were accompanied by several monkeys that regularly broke in and stole food. We also spent some time doing fun team activities. One day we went out snorkeling together, another day we split up–the boys went out deep-sea fishing while the girls went for some pampering at the spa. We even got dressed up and had a nice dinner out one night inside a natural cave. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to begin moving out of this term as well as solidifying friendships for the future.
Many of the team will be going back to university after the summer, while some of them that are finished will either enter a career or even return to the mission field. In either case, it is really important to recognize the end of this season and begin to decipher how to integrate the things they have learned into the next. I am really excited to see how different each individual will be after such exposure to the world and other cultures, not to mention what God has done in their hearts while out here.
Please continue to pray for complete closure, re-entry, and that we would all begin to work out the things that the Lord has changed and grown within each of us. Pray for our travel back to the states, and the disassembling of the team. This can be a very difficult time. Pray against depression or loneliness, as it can easily sink in after an intense period of community living.
