Be prepared, this is a bit of a longer one, but it’s a blog post near and dear to my heart.
Two weeks ago, my team met and began to pray into what our ATL in Georgia was going to look like. We met at a coffee shop. We did some quick check-ins (something we do almost daily, just to see where we’re at physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually that day). Then we began with listening prayer. We were listening to see where the Lord was leading us. After hearing what we had all individually heard from the Lord, we prayed about it some more, and Meg thought it was best that we go on a week-long trek to get away from the city and have some internal ministry. We all felt a disconnect but we weren’t sure where it was coming from. And we wanted to be unified as a team to best do external ministry with those around us. We essentially planned the trek in a day and then on Wednesday, May 11th, we headed to Borjomi, Georgia to begin a 4-day long trek. We had our two SQLs with us, Al and Linds, and we set off with high hopes of the Lord working within our team.
DAY ONE:
When we got to Borjomi, we needed some food, as it had been a two-hour long bus ride and was right around lunchtime. We had food packed, but decided to keep that for the trek and get food in town. We stopped by a little restaurant that was owned by the sweetest old Georgian couple. They spoke no English but we felt so welcomed by them. We ate some good food before heading to the National Park Tourist Center to get information on where to head next for the trek we were wanting to do.
My team and I at the restaurant we went to!
When we got to the center, the guy working informed us that the one we wanted to do was closed because of snow. However, he quickly showed us a new route and we walked about 2 hours to the entrance of the other park that would begin our trek. On our walk to the park, we met a guy who had just finished the trek we were about to do. He gave us some advice on where to go and where to camp and which views to see. He was so kind and it was a sweet moment that ended up in getting to pray with him. He teared up as no one had ever prayed for him before. We continue to pray that this man continues to encounter Jesus!
One of our new friends that we made!
Finally, after a lot of walking in the heat and uphill, we get to the entrance of the park. From there, we hiked to the base to camp there for the night. We set up our tents and sleeping pads and then had dinner around a firepit that we did not light. We did, however, move to a different firepit that we tried to light but unfortunately, it had rained so much that week before that the wood was totally soaked through. So you know what we did? The six of us piled into my and Elizabeth’s tent to keep warm as we did feedback (also part of our daily routine where we encourage each other by acknowledging things that we saw of Christ in them or calling them higher to be more like Christ). After feedback, we began our nightly routine of “tent talks.” This was a space where someone would pose a deep question and we all had to answer it and dive deeper with one another. It was a great way to start off the beginning of our trek.
DAY TWO:
The next day, May 12th, we finally began the trek. And it was all uphill. Like 96-97% uphill. Very few times did it level out. We all felt like we were dying a little bit (but also not really). We stopped a few times, to catch our breath, to scream (it was good for the soul), for water, to let people pass us. Some of the people to pass us were two German girls. They were about our age. We actually ended up crossing paths three different times. Each time we were able to talk to them and even get their contact information to potentially connect with them back in Tbilisi! Another sweet moment of external ministry the Lord allowed us to have as we were spending intentional time as a team.
We continued uphill all day. With about two hours left to our destination for the day, we stopped where the paths split and there was a small little flat area where we ended up laying down and napping in the sunshine. It was just the thing we all needed to finish our trail. When we got to our stopping point for the day, we found a little tourist station. We walked inside and there were 6 bunk beds and a fireplace. It was small and cozy. We set up for the night and after dinner, had a time of worship. We prayed over the station we were in. We prayed for safety. We prayed for all the people coming in and out of the station and that they would encounter Jesus.
Our sunny napping spot
My team and I in front of the tourist station
Then Nan led us into a hot seat feedback session. One person sat in the middle and we all did listening prayer. We gave feedback to the person based on what we heard from the Lord. This hot seat feedback was a pivotal moment for our team. We shared things that called each other towards Christ. We shared things that we saw in them that are of Christ. Tears were in our eyes. We prayed over each person after everyone had shared. It was a sweet time and something we didn’t know our team needed.
DAY THREE:
The next morning, May 13th, we woke up and there was a change in our plans. One of the six of us was sick and wouldn’t be able to continue on the rest of the trek. We spent some time in prayer, deciding if part of us would go back and town and the others would continue, or if we would all stick together and head back down the mountain as one. The Lord placed it on all of our hearts to stick together. So down the mountain we headed. And let me tell you if we thought coming up the mountain was hard, coming back down was even harder. It was STEEP. There were quite a few slips and slides. But all of it was done with laughter and smiles on our faces. We all had really sweet conversations about things we were working on personally and about how we could love and understand each other better. We made many snack breaks, and of course to enjoy the view God was giving us.
Where we had stopped the day prior to nap, we stopped again but this time a dog came out of nowhere and joined us. We were hesitant at first, but that dog went with us all the way to the bottom. She stopped when she got too ahead of us to make sure we were okay and wouldn’t start walking until we caught up with her. She stayed with us until we arrived safely at the bottom and had a ride back into town.
Our cute little friend
The Lord was really looking out for us that day. He gave us perfect weather. He let us see the most beautiful views, some of the most beautiful views I’ve seen on my entire race thus far. He sent an angel in the form of a dog to protect us and look out for us. As steep as it was and as many falls as we had, no one got hurt. The Lord had His hand over us and it was evident.
When we made it to the bottom of the trail, we began the walk back to town but were in prayer about getting a ride. It was already pretty late in the evening and we had a two to there hour walk back into town. We passed by a hotel/restaurant and the man who ran it offered us a ride back. We gladly took him up on his offer. When we made it back to town, through the kindness of locals, we found a guesthouse that was within our budget. There we were able to have a warm place to stay and even warm showers!
DAY FOUR (kinda):
Now this day we obviously weren’t trekking, however, I want to include this day as it was again another pivotal moment for our team. We started the day off with worship and devo and then decided to do a quick check-in. Well, that quick check-in quickly turned into a two-hour-long check-in where everyone was incredibly raw and real and vulnerable with where they were at. Everyone cried. And not in a bad way, but in a way where we were able to share our feelings and carry them together. Again, it was one of the sweetest moments we have had thus far.
The rest of the day was spent adventuring the area around us. And each one of us can attest that we all felt lighter. We felt freer. We experienced joy together. It was absolutely beautiful.
So although our trek didn’t go exactly as we thought it would. The Lord worked through our time and we became more unified as a team, which was our hope and dream as we entered this week.
If you’ve stuck with me this far, I appreciate your care in reading this. This was one of the sweetest weeks I’ve experienced and I wanted to share just a glimpse of it with you all. <3
As a treat for sticking with me all this way, here are some fun photos from last week!
