With All My Love, Isabel

I’m sitting in the Johannesburg airport thinking that I’ve shed every tear there is left to cry in my body. But I haven’t cause I’m still crying as I type this on my phone. I’ve said my final goodbyes to my South African sisters and brothers. They have left a mark in my life in more ways than one. I can’t even begin to put into words how blessed I feel for the laughs and memories that have been stored away in my heart these last 3 months with these people. I’m going to miss them rescuing me from gigantic spiders in my suitcase, the spontaneous late nights jumping in the ocean with our clothes on, playing “Up and Down the River”, trying to learn the ukelele I bought from Clarissa and Uné, late night walks to McDonald’s for an ice cream, taking discipleship classes together, getting to see Adri’s baptism at sunrise, sharing each other’s testimonies for team time, praying over the nations together, riding on top of Oom Paul and Tannie’s Land Cruiser in beautiful Zithulele, beautiful beach days filled with ultimate frisbee and spike ball, imitating Frankie say “WHATS CRACKIN’ YOU, GUYS?! LEKKER!, Adrian and Julian making Pitbull -aka Mr. World Wide- aka Mr. 305-  the center of our jokes, enjoying Anri’s delicious cakes and brownies, hearing “Molo, sissy!” from our Xhosa brothers in the Transkei, Jonathan and Carla’s sweet Spanish accents that reminded me of home, Father Corney’s contagious laughter, embracing Wendy’s hugs, feeling at home with Anita’s sweet greetings, and wondering why in the world the sink was filled with dirty dishes again. I can’t guarantee that I’ll see everyone of these people again in this lifetime, but with the hope of Heaven I’m promised to see them face to face again. Also, praise the Lord for FaceTime. 🙂 

Leaving South Africa not only means leaving my South African family, it also means my World Race experience has come to an end. A chapter has ended, and it’s time to say my “goodbyes” to my sweet World Race team. They aren’t just my team though. They’re my family. They’re my sisters and brothers. Somewhere at some time on the field the reality of no one really understanding what I’ve been through or the things I’ve seen on the field hit me like a bus.  How do you actually explain what it was like spending 9 months of your life in 6 different countries? How long would it take to name the countless times I saw God’s hand move in miraculous ways? How do I express how different I am from when I started this journey? The truth is I can try my best, but I couldn’t possibly sum it up the way I would want to. 

Just the way only siblings can connect through certain memories and have a deep understanding about each other, the only people that can know how life changing this journey was, and what it entailed are the people that embarked it with me in October 2019. They understand how hard “goodbyes” are after connecting and loving people you’ve served with for an extended amount of time. They understand how exhausting “travel day” is. They know what it felt like getting pulled off the field because of a pandemic in the middle of our Race. They know how emotionally confusing it was to return to the States so suddenly. They understand how incredibly hard it was to wait and hear when we would relaunch. They know the spirit of flexibility you need to ask the Lord for while on the Race. They know what sometimes felt like a lonely road of confusion for what the Lord was planning for our lives. They’ve seen me in brokenness. They’ve seen me struggle. They’ve seen the Lord rebuild and restore what was once broken. They’ve seen the many times I flinched or screamed when a bug came my way. They’ve heard me say “Ew, that’s disgusting” way too many times. They’ve seen me pee my pants from laughing too hard. They know how often I “ping” my phone through my Apple Watch because I misplaced my phone for the 100th time that day. They know me and dairy are not a good pair, and how I ignore that fact on a regular basis. They know my biggest insecurities. They know the lies I sometimes believe about myself. They know and understand too much for them not to be considered my family. There’s deep sadness in saying goodbye to them, but there’s so much to be thankful for in the adventure God has taken me with my brothers and sisters from “A” Squad. 

My last 3 months with Rachel, Kierin, Hannah H, Hannah K, David, and Isaac was a gift. It was a ride I never expected, but it was exhilarating. I’m going to miss David taking out his guitar and playing the same 2 songs on repeat, and singing 2 octaves higher than the original notes just to get on my nerves. I’m going to miss his dad jokes. I’m going to miss him talking about his crops back at the farm. I’m going to miss him saying random things in Spanish. I’m going to miss hearing his doctrinally sound perspective on life. I’m going to miss Isaac and his random moments of laughter. I’m going to miss him disappearing and showing up again like some sort of phantom. I’m going to miss him rolling his eyes when we ask him questions he doesn’t want to answer. I’m going to miss his wisdom and humility. I’m going to miss Rachel and her trying to avoid any chance of a hugging opportunity. I’m going to miss seeing what kind of Nando’s sauce she found at the store. I’m going to miss her randomly showing up to team times with a box of cookies for everyone to share. I’m going to miss her servants heart and how she makes sure everyone is taken care of before herself. I’m going to miss Hannah Hughs and her need to be fed every 2 hours because she’s always hungry. I’m going to miss working out with her. I’m going to miss hearing the most insane medical experiences she’s had throughout her young life. I’m going to miss her youthful spirit for crazy adventures. I’m going to miss her hugs and laughter. I’m going to miss being impressed by her extreme maturity in the Lord and her awareness of those around her. I’m going to miss Hannah K and watching the silliest memes/reels that not everyone would find funny. I’m going to miss her saying how sleepy she is even after taking her daily naps. I’m going to miss the immense laughing sessions we create by spitting up insane scenarios that would never happen in real life. I’m going to miss dreaming with her and dwelling on how incredible the Lord we serve is to us. I’m going to miss winking at her from across the room. I’m going to miss her confidence. I’m going to miss being absolutely immature and doing weird things that no one else in the room understands. I’m going to miss hearing her passion and drive to continuously be holy before the Lord. I’m going to miss her coming right up to me and saying, “hey, lil’ mama”. I’m going to miss Kierin and how we both know way too much about pop culture. I’m going to miss hearing her angelic singing filling the room as she practices the guitar. I’m going to miss going to her with anything that’s on my heart and knowing there’s not an ounce of judgement going through her mind. I’m going to miss reading each other’s minds with just one look. I’m going to miss hearing what new album or song I should be listening to because she has amazing taste in music. I’m going to miss hearing what what new revelation the Holy Spirit has revealed about Himself to her and it being something I can learn from. I’m going to miss the Jay-Z to my Beyoncé and my forever travel day bus buddy. I could go on and on about all 6 of them; but it would take a 3 part blog, and I’ve done that one too many times. The thing that will stay with me the most about each of them is their passion to serve, please, and obey the Lord. There’s nothing more beautiful than being in a community where each person is pursuing the same goal in life – living and loving like Jesus. These brothers and sisters are some of the strongest in the faith. I don’t know what I did in this lifetime to deserve the time I spent serving with them and learning from them. All the glory and praise goes to the God who beautifully weaved our journey together and moved in each of us. Thank you, Super Seven – aka Blessed and Highly Flavored- aka the Leftovers for making the last months of this journey the best time I had on my entire Race. I love you guys with all of my heart. See you later ??