Nepal Update 5 - Debriefing

Hard to fathom that we are already at debriefing back in Kathmandu. It seems like May 27^th (when I left) was only like 60ish days ago, but here we are. The students had been so engaged in the ministry and staying focused on the everyday that it actually caught a few of them by surprise that I was now starting the debriefing process.

Debriefing is actually my favorite part of the trip. No, not because I am anxious to get back to American foods, American toilets, baseball, my dog, my bed, air-conditioning, not living out of a bag, being able to find a place where there is not somebody else, sleep, Reese’s peanut butter cups, meat, a bed room I don’t have to walk up five flights of stairs a dozen times a day to get to, doing laundry in a washing machine, not getting soaked by rain or anything else- nope never crossed my mind. All these things the students are eagerly seeking but they are also having dread over leaving their team members and saying goodbye to a country, and a people, they have fallen in love with. 

So much has changed since we left, and I am not just talking about the deaths of Ozzy Osbourne, Sly Stone and Hulk Hogan! I have seen a group of “unsure of what I am getting into” teens that showed up at training camp turn into a team of focused, and, yes dad, ambitious workers for the kingdom who have developed spiritual habits and friends to last a lifetime.  

You can expect a young tired man or woman when they get home. One that will be trying to deal with adjusting back to an American reality that is not always as Christ centric as the summer they have been experiencing. I remember when my daughter Jessica came back from her first trip, she stayed in her room crying because of missing her experience and adjusting back. She did eventually get over it and we had to walk her through it well. Then again some will act like they just walked in the door from a day at school and grab a box of Cheez-it’s and a Coke and move your stuff out of the way and plop down in your recliner.

The real reason I love debriefing is the time I am spending with these guys on a more personal level. Like getting to thank Isabel P for the fantastic job she did and how she served her girls well and how she and one of the girls in her group, Allie G. really were a great stabilizing force with some other girls. Also how I got to know guys like Jude G. saw him open up but also got to enjoy the way he just jumped into anything that had to be done with both feet.

I am really gonna miss this team. We were able to do a lot that I know God is going to build on through the men at the church here who have been working with us. However, I am also excited to see them apply all they learned through the discipleship teaching as well as the experiences that they walked through this summer

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