Hi!!
Today, I am leaving for Jaco, Costa Rica! A lot has happened since I first started in September. I was in Gainesville, GA for about 5 weeks for training camp before going to New Orleans for 2 weeks for hurricane relief work.
Training camp consisted of a lot of sessions, a lot of tenting, and a lot of new relationships.
Training camp
I found myself resenting the idea of training camp when I first found out about it. I honestly felt annoyed that I had to spend 2 months in the U.S. when I signed up for 9 months of traveling.
When I was leaving Gainesville last night, I realized how much this place had affected me in a positive way.
The first week being here was absolutely crazy. One day would feel like one week, and I remember feeling at the end of the week like I had already been gone for a month. Getting to the airport and seeing all of the people I would be spending life with for 9 months felt insane. I was scared, excited, and a little overwhelmed.
I got to set up my tent I would be living in for the next 5 weeks. I got to deal with the spiders and bugs and humid weather. I got to hear alarms go on forever because people wouldn’t wake up. I got shower in showers filled with mold. Our only toilets were porta potties. I got to sacrifice comfort in so many different things from home.
Although all of this seems like it would be tough, honestly, it wasn’t that hard. I feel like I found the joy in being able to experience these things and sacrifice my comfort.
We had sessions daily. There were teachings about culture, miracles, mental health, sharing stories, who God is, and so many other things. Our days were packed with teachings, different ways to bond with the squad, testimonies, team times, and a lot of time with God.
I got to spend intentional time with the Lord and other people my age who also love the Lord. It was incredible to not only see the people around me grow, but to see myself grow, too.
I feel like my faith has grown and I’ve become so infatuated with God and who he is.
Training camp was so fruitful for me, and I feel like it genuinely prepared me to go out and spread the gospel. The sessions, the people, and the Lord have prepared my heart to be sent across the globe.
Samaritan’s Purse
After training camp, we got the opportunity to go to New Orleans and help with hurricane relief through Samaritan’s Purse.
The first night, my whole team was beaming with excitement because of the delicious food that they made for us. It was delicious home cooked meals every night with desert after. That was something that we all missed. And the showers. Let me tell you – these showers were amazing. We had our own space with an actual door and NO mold. We were all super excited because we haven’t had the luxury of having our own showers in about 5 weeks.
Sunday, we got the opportunity to go to the French Quarter. A few of my friends and I got to get beignets from Cafe Du Monde. We walked around, went into a few shops and got to explore a little. It was beautiful and it was very nice to explore a new place.
We found out our teams on Monday morning, and got to work immediately after. Our work consisted of clearing out debris in yards, tarping roofs, tearing down insides of houses, and clearing out lots of mold.
It was so amazing to really be able to bond with the people on my teams, and some of the homeowners as well. It was amazing to see how some of these homeowners had their houses completely wrecked and destroyed by this hurricane, but their faith in God remained the same. It was so inspiring to see how much pain they could be in, but they chose to see the good in all of the things that God had planned, including their houses being wrecked.
Overall, my two weeks in Louisiana were not the best. I dealt with a lot of issues with leadership and I dealt with a lot of spiritual warfare. I found myself comparing my team to the other teams who got to do fun things, or go to fun places, while it seemed like we got the super heavy jobs that were physically, emotionally, and spiritually draining.
I was honestly down in the dumps. I tried my best to keep a positive attitude, but I felt like I just got the worst of it.
I caught myself, and realized that God had handpicked these jobs for these specific people. There were houses that we went to that completely made sense for this specific group of people to be working on. In the midst of hardship, God made himself so evident in situations, and it really put me in my place.
God placed me in those houses, God placed me under the leadership He did, and God placed me in the specific team He did for a reason.
I took away so much from this experience, and even though it wasn’t the best, I feel like I walked away feeling more confident in my abilities of ministering to people.
Fun things
I am SO excited for this next season of life after training camp. I’m actually writing this on the plane to San Jose (thanks JetBlue for your awesome WiFi).
We found out a few weeks ago that Thailand (our second country), was canceled. Although it was upsetting, I know that it was God’s plan.
BUT, while we were at Samaritan’s Purse, our squad found out that our next country is…. COLOMBIA! I am SO excited and I know that this country is going to be so amazing.
More fun news is about a beautiful friend of mine named Gretchen. She is currently my team leader. The current team leaders are alumni from last year, and are only staying for 3 months with us, meaning they will leave after month one of Costa Rica. Gretchen is such a light and such an amazing friend to me and so many others, that it was so heartbreaking to know she wouldn’t be staying with us the whole time. My team and I were already planning out the best send-offs we can do to spend the most time with her before she leaves.
Anyways, she was given the opportunity to STAY for the rest of the trip with us and become a squad leader. I’m SOOOOO excited. I love her so much and I know that she is going to do an amazing job as a squad leader.
Learning
Yesterday, we had silence and solitude for about 2 1/2 hours. In that time, I read the book Esther. I’ve heard the story before, but I haven’t taken the time to really read and process it for myself. Going off the theme from Samaritan’s Purse of God placing people exactly where He needs them, this story reminded me of that. I’ve had doubts about if I’m worthy of being on this trip, or if God really needs me here. Just like how God placed Esther in the kingdom at the perfect time, I think he placed me on this trip at the perfect time, too. I feel like reading this story, it was a good reminder that God doesn’t make mistakes.
I’ve also learned that God does give you the desires of your heart, but He also changes the desires of your heart. There have been so many different things that I’ve wanted in the moment, like going to college right after high school, being a surgeon, and so many other things. God had given me exactly what my heart desired, to travel, but this wasn’t always what I wanted. He changed my desires into his plans, and I couldn’t be happier with where I am right now.
I’m also learning that being vulnerable does not mean that you’re weak. I’m not one to talk about my feelings or really about anything in my life. God has really been telling me that emotions are not something to be embarrassed about. It’s been a really hard learning experience for me so far, because I’ve been this way my whole life. I’m still learning, and I still have a lot of learning to do, but I’ve seen progress and I’m grateful for how I’ve learned so far.
I encourage you to read Isaiah 61 (this is my squads passage)
I also encourage you to read Romans 8. It has been placed on my heart recently.
Habakkuk 1:5 says “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if I told.”
LOVE YOU ALL!!! Thank you for your prayers. Wish me luck!
