Hurry Up and Wait

WOW — what a whirlwind the past 4 days have been. 

Wednesday started early with a 4 am drive to the airport (thanks dad!!!!) and a short flight to Atlanta to start training camp. We started training camp by worshipping alongside the people we would be spending the next 3 months with. 

Thursday we focused on mission and what it means to live a life where mission isn’t done on one trip or in one place, but where its integrated into the way we ARE. 

Friday we focused on intimacy with God, spending lots of time in prayer and worship. 

Saturday was all about community. We learned about living intentionally in a community that calls itself to a higher standard each day. 

The three and a half days were about creating a foundational base to build these three months from, learning the skills we would need to live a life focused on loving others like Christ, and serving those around us in humility and with grace. 

It felt a lot like three and a half days of HURRY HURRY HURRY, okay, now wait a while. Some moments felt rushed and chaotic, and the next would be full of peace and patience. It felt like this big game of hurry up and wait. 

Right now, my team is sitting in the Atlanta airport (going on hour 8 wooooo) and every other semesters team has left. It’s just the six of us, and we’re anxiously awaiting getting to check in and get on our way. We’ll fly overnight, layover briefly in Istanbul, and then catch a second flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! Addis is the capital and we’ll be transported to our ministry location, HOPEthiopia, the following morning. 

This morning was full of hurrying and now we just wait… and wait… and wait. 

From what we know right now, it feels like this semester might be full of hurry up and wait. Some fast-paced, seemingly chaotic moments following by sweet and slow ones. We’ll really be leaning big into the days when God whispers wait for me to us, and reveling in the days he tells us to GO. 

Overall, we’re excited! We’re grateful! We’re ready! 

The past three days have been humbling and energizing, long and full, and altogether eye-opening. 

I feel like all the ways God has been preparing me and my team–not just through this past season of fundraising and planning, but for much of our lives–are becoming clearer each day. We come from different backgrounds and experiences, and we bring different skills and talents to the team. We’re similar in many great ways and different in many great ways. 

I’m really excited to see the ways we continue to grow individually and together, and how God will use each and every part of us for His good in this semester. 

God is so good! And I am so ready to see Him at work in Ethiopia!