A Mom’s Eye View (Guest Blog)

May. It was May that the whirlwind began. As Britt described in a previous post other plans she had made fell through, and she was disappointed and confused. We both found the World Race website the same day on different sites. As soon as I saw the website I knew this was perfect for her (and for me! Can I just say I LOVE how organized and easy it was to navigate the AIM website, and this was just the beginning). Brittany and I talked about the gap year program, her concerns about raising money so quickly and being gone for 9 months. We talked with the rest of the family and prayed about it. The next day she woke up saying this is what I want to do. She applied and was accepted. This is where the enormity of everything we needed to do in 4 months (including graduate High School) hit us!! Fundraising, shopping for supplies we knew nothing about: backpack sizes, tent weights, what vaccines to get etc..
Fast forward to September and all the preparations are complete. Now the focus is on Launch Weekend and the goodbye! I found myself crying randomly if people asked me about Britt or her trip. It might be that I wasn’t handling it as well as I thought!
Goodbyes were said to family and friends and the 5 of us got in the car and headed to Atlanta. I’m still crying on and off. Walking into the conference rooms that weekend, I am aware once again that the attention to details were impeccable!! It definitely helped alleviate my stress. This was a huge organization. They knew what they were doing, they would help keep my baby safe. My baby, my 18 year old baby, my oldest! I’m not sure how much easier it would have been to say goodbye at college, I guess at least she would be closer to home. Either way I wasn’t ready; ready to say goodbye and move on to this next stage of our relationship. She was ready I knew she could handle it, I just wasn’t sure I could. It was at this point I started realizing this wasn’t just about Britt’s journey it was about my own as well. How was I going to handle this? She made this decision. She decided to follow the calling that had been on her heart since she was a young child. I never wanted to hear that this was her passion. I applied for colleges for her and hoped she would go a more traditional route. She continued to look for something different and now it was happening. We ate our last lunch together as a family for 9 months and took lots of pictures, lots of hugs, and sooo many tears. We said goodbye and headed home! I’m crying, even now, as I recall those last few moments together. We drove away, none of us spoke for about an hour. I just sobbed and sobbed wondering how I could ever do this. We got home and spoke to Brittany all of us feeling stressed and apprehensive. I started praying that as soon as she arrived in Ecuador she would feel peaceful and at ease. Specifically, as soon as her feet touched the ground that there would be an overwhelming sense of contentment and sense of purpose.
I received a message from her that weekend telling me all about her ministry assignment, how beautiful Ecuador was, how much she loved her team, etc..
Praise God!!
Now 2 and a half month later we are still getting those excited texts and calls!! I could not be more thankful to hear her voice and how truly happy she is!! This is where Brittany is meant to be! This is where she is thriving and growing! I can’t even explain the joy I feel hearing how well she is doing. To see her living the life God has for her, to be living more abundantly than we could have ever imagined! Yes, we all miss her and it’s definitely much quieter here than it used to be. But, as usual God has met us when we were fearful and anxious and exceeded any expectations we had about this whole situation!! I continue to be in awe of these young adults and their leadership team! They are truly the hands and feet of God. The love and support they pour out on each other and their ministry partners is incredible. I look forward to following V squad over the next few months and seeing how they continue to grow and reach others!! I am thankful for the relationships she has made. I’m also incredibly grateful to our friends and family at home that are encouraging us, praying for Britt and following along on this journey.
It’s funny though, leading up to launch I just kept thinking 9 months, we can make it 9 months and then she will be home. However, the more I speak to her or get texts saying “Hi, mom! I love you! I’m soo happy! I love my team, and I love it here!”
The more I think who am I kidding this is not a 9 month trip, this is a lifestyle and there will be a whole lot more trips in her future (and hopefully the rest of ours too) but I guess we will cross that bridge as it comes. Right now I will enjoy watching how God is moving in our lives and look forward to getting that next FaceTime ??