Nineties.
I was born in the 1990’s - 1994 to be exact. Last month my grandma Eleanor completed her 95th trip around the sun. The average normal body temperature is 98.6°F. In marketing there are 90 types of demand in this world. There’s a Q-pop group called 91 that I just discovered and know 0% of what they’re saying but they’re vibey so it’s fine. While these are fascinating and seemingly random facts, the next one I want to share with you is pretty astronomical:
Today I am completing 95 days in mandatory quarantine in Lima, Peru.
That’s 3.1 months, or 13.6 weeks, or better yet 2280 hours. In. My. Home. Am I mad that it’s lasted this long? not necessarily. Did I ever imagine that at 26 I would be confined to an apartment, in a country I’m still getting to know that’s over 4,000 miles away from my hometown, with a Chihuahua puppy, and a law requiring me to wear a mask whenever I’m outside, and a relentless consumption of pasta?… To quote the great Randy Jackson, “It’s gonna be a no for me, dawg.”
Isn’t it incredible that life doesn’t happen like we plan or expect? The reality is that an expectation is simply a hypothesis of one possibility of how a situation, day, season, or conversation is going to go. What often happens is our calculations were off or there were other variables unaccounted for and we end up feeling blue that our expectations didn’t come to pass. Ironically, the phrase I touted as I processed moving across the world was “I’m expecting the unexpected.” Technically, that was a correct expectation to have. This last year has been WEIRD and PAINFUL and FULFILLING and SO WEIRD. I’ve gone through loss of two people very close to my heart, voyaged deep within my soul in search of memories that need Jesus’ healing touch, met the kindest people, met very high maintenance people, and now I see zero people (except my roomie, love you Katie S). Unexpected.
While my year personally has been a jarbled mixture of unexpected events, I am still here. My insecurities say that reality is unexpected and I should be in a puddle as a failure. My God says he works all things for good and is in the business of exceeded expectations. As I march on in the tension of expecting the unexpected, I’m confident I’ll come out on top. I’m confident people will see there’s a God that’s itching to turn the tables on unmet expectations, and is ready with a healing embrace for marred and broken hearts.
A fun fact that I want to leave you with is this: over the last 95 days, my church (caminodevida) has been able to bless 92,000 people in Peru. From tutoring children virtually - as this entire school year has been cancelled - to calling on senior citizens to see if they need a grocery run, we’ve managed to continue to prove that God is the master of unexpected. The gospel is being spread like wildfire, and yet everyone is at home? Unexpected. Going from a maximum monthly church attendance of 6,500 before quarantine, to over 20,000 in attendance online during a worldwide pandemic? You guessed it, unexpected.
Expecting the unexpected doesn’t seem so risky after all. In fact, it might be one of the best decisions I’ve made. I hope when I’m in my 90’s I can look back and say “yep, all those incredible, tough, amazing, fulfilling, and rich experiences were possible by expecting the unexpected.”
Staring into an empty sanctuary that just a few weeks prior was packed out for Sunday services.
The kiddos found the suckers.
Picture this times 100. This was a one-day packing initiative to be able to bless 100 families connected to our Kids Club with basic necessities.
One of the Kids Club families receiving their bag!
Caminodevida created a sanitation station for essential workers and police officers managing the pandemic.
The tiniest and perhaps cutest volunteer.
Local law enforcement partnering with our teams to reach the unreached.
Delivering water and snacks for hospital staff facing an influx of COVID-19 patients.
When the pandemic was still “new” and the grocery store line was hundreds of people deep.
New normal: all staff chapel from my couch.
Grandma Eleanor’s 95th birthday zoom call!
I was itching for a new creative outlet so Sisi and I played African Safari.