so here’s the thing,
i’m sitting on a hostel bed in san jose, costa rica. & that wasn’t the plan.
but i had a lot of other plans that haven’t gone exactly the way i was hoping or expecting.
how did i get here? let’s go back to almost a month ago…
i finished up my time as alumni team leader for my 5 gals - literal angels whom my heart cannot help but love so much. we spent two weeks at la montaña christian camp with staff and campers. it was restful and helped prepare my heart for the things to come.
on the mountain my phone broke, kind of. so if i haven’t texted you back don’t worry, i’ll see em soon :)
then my team met up with all the women of our squad in downtown san jose to then drive to puerto viejo on the caribbean side of the country !
this is when the switch really started for me. i started to see the faces i would be leading right in front of me - nervous & excited we drove out !
3 weeks in puerto viejo was something else. a jungle of new friends, great hosts, spiritual warfare, manual labor, and sickness. lots of sickness.
the first week i came down with a cold, and then the squad came down with stomach issues… but quickly was over and thought i was back to normal.
my stomach never really recovered, but most of us didn’t see that happening anytime soon.
the last week a handful of us came down with several different things. next thing you know i have parasite and so do others! i’ll spare the details ;)
inbetween sickness i was falling into the groove of new team times and ministry tasks. raking the jungle with team rooted, celebrating christmas with team anav, feedback with the boys, & painting parties with eden.
if i wasn’t in bed i was with my people ! & it was really good.
we rang in the new year dancing in the streets of puerto viejo, took several trips for kombucha, and worshipped our hearts out as a squad.
there were a lot of good things. a lot of hard things !
i started to define what loneliness means, faced lies the enemy was throwing my way, began to understand my value of friendship, grieved.
once we got to san jose for a quick stay & covid testing i felt comfortable knowing guatemala was in reach.
and then someone from our squad tested positive for covid.
about a month ago they changed our route from colombia to guatemala for several reasons. while staying in puerto viejo new mandates were announced for entrance into guatemala that wouldn’t really effect us too much, we just needed to get in as soon as we could - before the 10th of january.
a whirlwind of decisions & a meeting or two later it was decided i would stay in costa rica with my sweet friend while the rest of the squad flew to guatemala for debrief. with the duration of our stay up in the air, i was shaky and quite honestly full of doubt.
i was ready to leave & begin a new thing. yet here i was, in costa rica, by myself for the first time in a long time.
i mustered up the courage to sort plans out and join my quarantined friend in her hostel. that is when i started to pray.
in order for us both to make it into the country we needed to test negative for covid the following day to fly out the 9th.
i woke up this morning thinking only of my squad who now lives a couple countries away. a song i listen to frequently speaks of anxious steps & still, small breaths. those are the words i could use to describe my heart as we walked to the hospital.
at this point i told as many people as i could to pray. only jesus could get us to guatemala now.
hours later we wait on results, receiving my negative test first and waiting for hers.
joy comes in the morning as abisha always says.
negative tests came in and we fly out tomorrow.
it’s been a whirlwind of emotions and new things. i’m learning He gives us not what we can handle but what He wants to equip us for. He is faithful and good ALWAYS. and He calls us into trials and gives us faith.
so i’ll see you tomorrow guatemala. i’ll see you too gap i ! thanks for making it worth it !
ps: plans change but God doesn’t ;)
-gretchy jean
