Back in the States, due to COVID-19

Hello friends!

I wanted to let you all know that I am safe and doing well. The world has been turned upside-down with the outbreak of COVID-19, which has impacted me and my squad more significantly than any of us thought, so I wanted to give you a quick update. Some of you may have heard that our organization made the decision to send all squads home. 

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. I think back and all the days run together… some memories are a blur, as if they were in fast-forward. Other moments are quiet and peaceful, as if life was on pause. I sit here, thinking, remembering, reflecting, and have no idea how to make sense of it all. 

We had been aware of the outbreak of the Carona virus in China since the end of January, back when we were in Australia. It didn’t affect much as we flew to Indonesia, they may have given us a health notice upon arrive, but nothing concerning. As we watched it continue to spread, we wondered if it would affect our travel, but still were not overly concerned – we would adjust. The next country we landed in, it was a bit more serious, they had a brief health questionnaire and screening before we went through customs. We noticed the topic surfacing more frequently in our interactions with locals or in making travel plans. We sensed an underlying fear beginning to rise…

We knew we would most likely not be able to enter China as planned because of the outbreak, we were just waiting for a decision on how they would reroute our squad. That email came on March 10th, informing us that we would spend a month in Myanmar after Nepal, instead of China. However news of the spread of this virus became more serious each day, boarders were closing and travel between countries was becoming more challenging. A few days later I woke up to 1am chatter in the room about relocating ASAP. The new plan was for all teams to work our way back to a central location and fly to Kyrgyzstan, where there was less reported cases of the virus and a better healthcare system,  just in case. We had just settled in to our first long-term location; after a few weeks of moving around, we were all excited to stay in one place for a few weeks. So we were disappointed and dealing with the normal discomfort that comes with changing plans, but all willing to be flexible and walk forward into wherever the Lord would lead us. We took the next day to regroup and rearrange our travel plans. The following morning we woke up to the news that they had decided to bring all squads home. We were shocked and devastated.. The possibility of being sent home has been in the back of our minds, knowing they had made the decision to send some squads home already, but none of us wanted to believe it would come to that. When we said we would follow where He would lead, none of us expected that. We tackled the day, continuing to take steps forward, even though it felt like we were in a daze. We purchased our train tickets, and then spent the day sharing the news with family, packing up our life and soaking up the time we had together. Our reunion with the rest of squad was full of emotions, but still joyful and included plenty of tight hugs. We prayed and worshiped together. We made the most of the last few hours we had in this country we all grew to love. 

The day we found out the news was a blur. The train ride to the capitol felt like slow motion, strangely peaceful and romantic. Our time together as a squad was a blur, sprinkled with crazy moments where the Lord showed up. Overnight at the airport was a blur, no sleep and so much laughter. The first flight was 4 hours; I slept so hard. The second flight was 15 hours and surprisingly went by so fast, even though I barely slept at all (I probably spent 1/3 of it out of my seat). I crashed hard at the hotel the night we landed in NYC. Goodbyes the next day were all a blur; I was one of the last to leave, so they were spread out over the entire day. I think the reality finally sunk in that we were home, and that our tribe was splitting up. My plans continued to change, as I began to grasp the severity of the situation here. I ended up driving down to TN with a few friends from the squad to hunker down at a lake house that the Lord provided for us. We laid low for a while; we took time to decompress and start to process it all, but it also provided an out of the way place we could quarantine, just to be safe, especially after high exposure to everything from traveling. The days at the lake were slow and quiet, peace in the middle of all the chaos; but my time there flew by… I headed home to Kentucky a few days before they shut down state borders. I’m not exactly sure how many days I’ve been home for – it feels kind of like a strange vortex. I’ve been fighting for routine and rhythm, for discipline and motivation, trying to rest when I really desire purpose and direction. 

I never in a million years thought it would be God’s plan to send us home after 2 1/2 short months overseas. It causes us to question, “God what are you doing in this?” It would be absurd to think that a world wide pandemic was for the sole purpose of doing something in the lives of my squad. This is obviously much, much bigger than any of us. But I do believe that he is working in each of our personal experiences. There is purpose in this. There is a reason my squad was relocated to the States indefinitely. We are hoping and praying that we will be able to relaunch and complete our race once the world calms down a bit, but right now it’s a waiting game. In the waiting there are many unanswered questions for all of us, simple, yet weighty questions like, “How long will this last?”, “Where should I live?” or “What do I do during this time?” Something that was said many times over the last few months rings in my ears. “Ministry is life, life is ministry.” If that is true, then in a way, the race isn’t over… it’s not even just “on pause”. We have simply received a new assignment to an unexpected country and the mission remains the same, to make much of the name of Jesus in a world that desperately needs hope. 

P.S. I realize that I haven’t shared much in the last two months – I hope to take some of the free time I have to catch up on that. Stay tuned for pictures, stories and glimpses of what God has been teaching me!!