How our 2 days of travel turned into 15 – Part 2

Hello again friends! 

So you came back to hear the rest of my story, how thoughtful. When we left our 17 weary travelers they were just arriving at the New Jersey airport to catch their flight to South Africa. 

We arrived at the airport ready to check in for our flight but there was a problem with our Covid tests. You only have 72 hours to reach your destination and we had taken the tests while still in Honduras. The kind people at the check in desk looked into it for us and they said “as long as it’s still good when you leave you should be fine”. Great! We don’t have to take another one and after waiting to get this straightened out and making it through security our plane is boarding soon. 

Everything is normal at the gate, we line up and there’s only a couple people left ‘til our turn and we’re all super excited about getting to South Africa. We get to the front of the line and they pull us aside…we’re not boarding. They called ahead for us and it turns out if we make this 16 hour plane trip to South Africa with our current covid tests we will immediately be deported and sent back to the states. But God is still good! The airline covers a hotel for the night as well as three meal vouchers for each person. Then God sends us this sweet woman named Crystal, she works for the airline. When she saw how well this group of 20 somethings took the news that we couldn’t get on the plane she was shocked. She was so impressed in fact that she bought all 17 of us dinner out of her own pocket. It was so kind and created this beautiful opportunity to not only share Jesus’ love with her but we also had the privilege of praying with her. We love you Crystal!

After spending the night in our own hotel rooms (alone, which is quite the commodity on the Race) we were ready to head back to the airport and try this thing again. We went straight to the Covid testing site at the airport and lined up. We sat in the waiting area and watched as each person’s results came back negative and they were casually handed the paper. My test was towards the end, they came out with no paper and called my name…my heart sank. They asked me to come back to the little testing room and I knew before she said it…I had tested positive. 

While I was beyond surprised, especially since three days earlier I had tested negative and even now did not have a single symptom, I also had a peace that this was all a part of God’s plan. He had this in his hand so there was no need to worry.  After this everything became a bit hectic, talking with the CDC, canceling flights, figuring out where in the world we’re going to stay. But a few things stand out in my mind, the people with the CDC were incredibly kind and even though most of the communication was between them and my squad leader they made every effort to keep me in the loop with what was happening, they also kept checking in to make sure I was doing okay. I also remember several beautiful conversations I had the privilege of having with the people from the CDC about what I’d been doing in Central America and how God was moving there. I know now there were many reasons God allowed me to test positive but if his only reason had been for those sweet conversations with the folks at the CDC I would gladly do it all over again. 

Long story short I ended up quarantined alone in a hotel room for 10 days. God was so kind to me and I never developed any symptoms at all. During those 10 days our travel plans shifted from South Africa to Romania (we also found out that had we been successful in reaching South Africa we would not be able to travel to other countries after that). Another thing that happened in those 10 days was several squadmates made the decision to go home and not continue on the Race with us. I believe each of them made the right call and that they talked to God about it a lot before making the decision but it was still really hard to say goodbye. I cried a lot and I’m really thankful for the space I had with God in that New Jersey hotel room. 

Fast forward to the end of our 10 days, we’ve gotten negative tests and been given permission to break quarantine a day early to leave for Romania! We’re finally getting out of New Jersey! At the airport we’re told that everyone who has had covid in the last 2 months can leave but anyone who hasn’t tested positive will have to go back to another 10 day quarantine because they rode in a car with me. The 7 who had covid before left for Romania and the rest of us went back to the hotel. By the grace of God we only had to stay at the hotel for 2 more nights and then we were able to leave for Romania as well. 

We arrived safely to Romania in just the right way. Thanks for sticking it out to the end of my long story, I really hope you can see all the blessings God brought out of a really hard season. He cared for us so well and gave each one of us exactly what we needed.

Peace and Joy,

Rebekah

P.S. I’d also like to give a huge shout out to my squad leaders Annie and Suze for leading with such grace and wisdom during this whole story! Love y’all!