THE RETURN TO AMERICA
Wow- it is crazy to be back home. 11 months later, and I am back in the mountains of North Carolina. The birds chirp while a gray squirrel scrambles up one of the green trees outside. A short drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway opens up views of the surrounding mountains. This is home. And this is the story of an epic journey that culminated with getting the mail and walking with my “big pack” one last time up the driveway and to the steps of my family’s house.
On June 11, we left Craiova, Romania after doing Ukrainian refugee ministry there for a month (see https://bretthaas.theworldrace.org/post/a-collision-of-community-and-countries). All Squad month came to an end as we broke off into 5 groups for our 10 day “Squad vacation” period. Including the two travel days, this period totaled 12 days. The vision was for our Squad to have a chance to explore/ visit countries near Romania and fellowship together before going back home. It also served as a period of catching our breath before going home and re-entering into American life. We were doing a debrief during January when I first found out about AIM (Adventures in Missions) sending us in this fashion for the end of the Race. When the news broke, I cried tears of joy and felt such a presence of the Spirit. God has given me a strong passion for exploration, and using this towards the Kingdom during this period greatly excited me.
A small group of three of us assembled to travel together. Because my past team was Vessels of the Holy Spirit (VHS), we rebranded it as Team DVD (Devoutly Devoted). We all came from VHS and travelled to North Africa as Team DVD. And it was an impactful 10 days. God moved as relationships were built in this predominantly Muslim area of the world. I had never expected to be in this area in my life, but here we were as a small group. We were engulfed in a rich, vibrant culture as we made every last day count before the clock struck 12- ending the Race. If you would like to hear some of the stories that came out of this time, please message me. I would love to share them with you!
From here, we had a crazy time getting back to the States. We flew back to Romania to then jumped on another flight to America. Thankfully, we encountered no major delays. However, two of us were infected a nasty bug that left us weak and our stomachs in shambles. I went to a pharmacy during our short time in Romania to get anti parasite medication. After taking it and seeing no noticeable recovery progress, I went to urgent care in America to get on antibiotics. Thankfully, those did the trick. Meanwhile, on the flight back to America, I read “3D Gospel” by Jayson Georges. This short but powerful book filled me with takeaways about how to share the Gospel and examine it from the lens of guilt/ innocence, fear/ power, and honor/ shame cultures. We landed in Atlanta on June 23, where AIM took us and our luggage up to Gainesville to debrief and spend time together.
The last week of the Race in Gainesville, GA marked a bittersweet time. It’s hard ending something as crazy beautiful as this and adjusting back to normal American life. We laughed and shared together as the three squads (K, L, M) that launched together from the same place in Aug 2021 reunited for one final hurrah. We hung out at the lake, grilled dinner, shot off fireworks, and went to Walmart gawking at all of the American items at this huge supermarket that we did not see all year. Adding to the craziness though, was that around 15 people tested positive for Covid-19 while we were back on campus. This placed AIM on high alert, and I took multiple tests before coming home to make sure that I didn’t have the virus. Yet we worshipped the Lord together, listened to teachings, and fellowshipped with many people that we had not seen in a very long time. Final Debrief in a way served as a special reunion with friends to close out the Race.
Back in the country of Georgia, I wrote out a vision statement about my calling and where I see the Lord leading me in the future. It reads: “To Proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth while using my vocation as an explorer to penetrate into uncharted territory and empowering my sending community, along with building connections, towards the missional cause.” At this time ending the Race, I pondered this statement in light of what took place and how the Lord shepherded the whole thing. It has been a somewhat hard but truly amazing time of being awakened to missions across the world as the Lord reserved a lot of my talent / different opportunities for the future. As I exited AIM’s campus, I grew excited about the “treasure hunt” that the Lord seems to be orchestrating. This “treasure hunt” involves finding people and building vital connections over the coming months that will be crucial towards sustained missions overseas. After having life giving conversations with Drew Davidson (an alumni team lead that launched with us), Seth Barnes (the founder of AIM who still works and plays an active role with the organization), and Brandon Snodgrass (O Squad’s Squad Mentor), I was at a place of dreaming, casting vision, and anticipation before the Lord. It’s a beautiful place to be.
My parents drove down to Gainesville and picked me up on June 30, 2022. We drove out of the AIM campus a short time after I said goodbyes to close friends that went to the airport that morning. We stopped at Toccoa Falls, taking in this beautiful treasure while reflecting on the Race together. Goats on the Roof presented a humorous way to have lunch and continue to catch up. Yet Georgia (not the country) turned into North Carolina. The rolling hills turned into mountains. Just before 5 pm, we reached home, and I walked up the driveway and into the same house that I left 328 days ago. The World Race and a 3 year season of my life (which ultimately climaxed with the Race) was over. Deep in the mountains of Appalachia, a new chapter began.
“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” Hebrews 3: 4-6
As all the rest of your reports were outstanding, this is up there as one of the best. The lord has done a mighty work in you and it resonates in your writing. Welcome home and to the next chapter in your life.
Congratulations Navigator. I knew you were destined for great things when meeting you at the Gorge while you were still on school. Well done?!
Glad you are back home and looking forward to what God is preparing for you next. Thanks for the informative post!