Today is March 13 (as of this writing!). It is so crazy what has taken place on this fateful day, and I just wanted to look back and reflect. Just two days ago last year, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared the Covid-19 virus as a pandemic. Immediately, things began to change around me. On March 12, I got the notification that Lenoir-Rhyne was releasing students (indefinitely), and it was advised that we get our belongings in the event that we would not be able to get back to our dorms for a long time. In the future, people may ask me: “Where were you at when the pandemic hit?”. I would tell them that March 13 was the day that everything changed. Anything before March 13 was (arguably) “pre-covid” times; after that… it is now this current season.
On March 13, 2020, I woke up with my belongings packed; most of which were in my car. The dorm room was emptier than usual with most of my belongings ready to take their final journey home. This was the last day of my college undergraduate career on campus, and I just had two classes to attend that morning: Microbiology and Nuclear Physics. Immediately, the atmosphere was different. We were excited to catch a break from school, but there was this sense of foreboding uncertainty as we did not know what the new coronavirus would bring. We said our goodbyes as friends, and most of us understood that this thing was probably going to last a while. As the morning classes wrapped up, I drove on from campus back to home and reunited with my family.
That afternoon, our family and I finalized plans to travel to Ohio in the evening to visit relatives and have a reunion just before the Covid-19 shutdowns took place. While we had planned this a few months back, we decided to take this trip to see each other over the weekend. We did not know when the opportunity would come to pass once again. As someone who was signed up for the August 2020 route, I will not forget the email that came as we were driving through the mountains of southwest Virginia: Adventures in Missions is sending all World Race missionaries back home. This shocked me, and we understood that this was no ordinary virus. This was going to be a big pandemic.
Shortly thereafter, we entered the Cumberland Gap Tunnel. This is the tunnel that goes under the Cumberland Gap to link Tennessee and Kentucky, and my family and I travelled through it since I was young. Yet there was a different feel to it as I look back. It is a long tunnel, and once entered, it is hard to clearly see the end until you are right up on it. Signs flashed above us that said: “Stay in Lane”. All we were supposed to do was stay in our lane and trust that we were going to get to the end of the tunnel. Long story short, we emerged out the other side and got to see family during the weekend. While the visit was brief, it was terrific to have fellowship with one another. A couple days later, we made our way back into the Appalachian Mountains- ready to hunker down for what could come next.
Just like that tunnel, I was entering a difficult season of perseverance and trust as the pandemic began to grip the world. God called me to trust Him, and He challenged me to “Stay in His Lane”. This was not an easy task. At many points in April 2020 and the darkest moments of the Pandemic, I tried to swerve and change lanes- but He continued to challenge me to trust Him. This involved a lot reckoning in my heart- and I had to let a lot of things go- including plans to launch on the World Race in 2020. Surrender is not easy. Surrender requires one to be at peace with whatever God does in the midst of the circumstances- even if it is not something that can easily be understood at the time. And amid the messiness of March and April 2020, I did not know why things were taken place the way they were.
Today, I look back at that tunnel and am beginning to see the end of it. The sign to “Stay in Lane” flashes above me, but in a short distance (if it is in God’s will / timing), there will be no more tunnel, and the lane will change from a solid while line to a dotted line again. Yet as I look back on this year, I cannot help but think how perfect and wise God is. I cannot help but think of His guidance through this time. There was a post by the World Race a few days back (https://www.instagram.com/p/CMS5dP9s9oq/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), that talks about the story of Phillip in the book of Acts (8: 26-40). Phillip is commanded to go on the road leading towards Gaza. Yet he does not make it to Gaza. Instead, he baptizes an Ethiopian and gets taken up to a different location. God miraculously changes his plans, and he preaches the Gospel and eventually reaches Caesarea. He never reaches Gaza, but God used him and took him where He wanted him to be. All he was called to do was trust Him and proclaim Him to those that the Lord put in his path.
2020 was my Gaza. The 2020 World Race Expedition did not take place. I did not make it to Turkey. Or to Mongolia. Or to western China. Or to Tibet.
Yet a year from March 13, 2020, God has done so much in this time. I am thankful for what has taken place- even though it was not what I would have expected. In March 2020, little did I know that He was going to put me with a new church and education community in Boone, NC. Little did I know that He was laying the foundations in my life and local ministry in Boone for the mission work ahead. Little did I know that He was going to use the months ahead to challenge and prepare my heart for the overseas mission field. Little did I know that He would raise up a tight-knit 2021 Expedition Squad ready to travel internationally as the world began to open up. Little did I realize the implications of what was taking place back then. As someone who is much better prepared for the 2021 World Race because of 2020, I am thankful that God gave me the chance to lay a proper and thorough foundation for missions- instead of going after the World Race as a fun “Gap Year” excursion and then moving onto something else.
We have all been affected by this pandemic in some capacity. The world is not the same as it was over a year ago, and we have all been affected in some way. Most of us have been challenged in certain ways. Continue to pray and chase after God. Continue to seek Him even in the midst of the storm. Out of all of the craziness that surrounded 2020 and since March 13, the best thing that we can do is to tightly cling to Jesus during these storms- even when worldly voices say otherwise. One of my good friends, LaUna, commented on a previous post: “Don’t fret the disease, look to Jesus, He’s walking on the water to you. Keep your eyes on Jesus and you won’t sink in the waves of this old world.”. This is so powerful. Immediately, imagery from Matthew 14 comes to mind.
Long before that tunnel was built, Daniel Boone crossed the Cumberland Gap into a new land- Kentucky. The Gap at that time was a gateway to the “frontier” that was little known to European settlers back then. Today, we do not know what life “post-pandemic” will be like. We are getting glimpses of travel in the Covid era as vaccines begin to proliferate, and certain places are slowly beginning to open back up. God is beginning to open doors for ministry overseas and in faraway places, but we are called to trust Him and remain flexible. Yet like Kentucky, we are in the process of entering a new season in our lives. Just as Phillip got taken up in that whirlwind in Acts 8, we do not know where we will end up. Yet there is beauty in releasing the “details” to the Lord and having Him fit the pieces of ministry together. The 2021 squad is in the process of getting sent out. And, it is exciting to see where we will end up and serve in ministry!
Thank you for continuing to pray over mission work and this trip. May the Lord continue to use this time to teach and guide us as we are reminded of what took place one year ago…
“Then Phillip began with that (Isaiah 53: 7-8) very passage of Scripture and told him about the good news of Jesus. As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is some water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”. And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Phillip and the eunuch went down into the water and Phillip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the Gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea”. Acts 8: 35-40
Brett,
This is a great recap on what happened in the last year. I remember I was working a shift at Harris Teeter in Charlotte during Spring break as a cashier when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a Pandemic. I agree that sometimes things can go crazy even when we have different plans. It’s important to remember God will glorify himself to the utmost in every situation. The story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch is a great story.
That is for sure! And a lot happened since March of last year. And yes, that story of Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch is a terrific passage to dwell on and examine as God changes plans!
Well written words of wisdom Brett! God will always take all things and work them together for our good. This pandemic has been terrible, however if we pause for a moment we can see all the wonderful works that our Heavenly Father has done and come rubies to do through it. Continual prayers and many blessings as you continue your passionate pursuit of God and the fulfillment of HIS kingdom!
For sure. The pandemic has been very crazy and made things extremely uncertain. Yet I am thankful for what the Lord has done, and He has given us purpose in the field even though our route has taken a very different direction than intended!