I spent a lot of time thinking about and praying for community before arriving at the YWAM base in Harpenden, England. We, a group of total strangers (besides a few moments of Instagram stalking prior to arrival) were getting ready to spend six months together - for better or worse. Every day was about to be a mix of meals, roommates, compromise, and intentional learning. Wow! What an absolute blessing, but that type of blessing doesn't come without challenge. We were about to be with one another, in some capacity, 24/7, and you can’t spend that amount of time with a group without seeing the worst and the best.
I’ve lived in this type of community environment on multiple occasions, and each time has held different challenges, times of growth, and moments of joy, and this was my hope for these next six months with this new group. I prayed that we could grow to love one another as Christ loves us, in our victories and in our differences. That we could easily blend this mix of strangers into a family, bonded by a desire to go deep with God and share the amazing Gift of life with Christ with each other and the Nations.
As a group we held the hope that all 27 of the students and staff would be together for the start of our Discipleship Training School (DTS) on January 12. Because of the ever changing UK rules regarding Covid, a portion of our group would be arriving on January 1st and would be made to quarantine for ten days. The rest of our entourage would arrive on the 12th and school, as a full collective, would begin on the 17th.
At least, that was the hope.
Well, our group, almost from day one, was hit with our favorite lil virus. One by one our school was hit with positive test after positive test. Some symptomatic others a-symptomatic. Those two little blue lines on the rapid tests became the norm, but provided just as much chaos and frustrations as could be expected. Adjustments were made each time, and zoom became our dear friend, as individuals moved to the upstairs “quarantine ward.” The goal, of course, was to carry on as effectively and smoothly for everyone as possible - which wasn’t always an easy task with technology and the regular symptoms of Covid.
The day I tested positive, five others did as well. Ironically, the quarantine ward I call home these days has become more inhabited than the first floor of those who have already recovered or, by God’s grace, haven’t caught Covid. At the height of infection, sixteen of us were left in quarantine, leaving the other eleven students downstairs without staff, without tech support, and without meals. Another fun little factor was six of the eleven couldn’t leave the housing building due to UK rules regarding Covid exposure. So, five students were left to take care of those of us in quarantine (with some assistance from base staff, but the base has also been hit with Covid pretty hard).
To say the least, it has been an eventful first two weeks in England.
Life and positive tests have slowed down, praise God, but as many of us are healing and moving back downstairs, it is an adjustment to reintegrate the groups. We knew this would be the case. Those who quarantined together had their own individual experiences and moments of familiarity that couldn't be replicated - how ever much we might try. It's become sad to see people testing negative again and leaving our little quarantine oasis. We've thrown goodbye parties. We see each other through windows, and even reminisce of the time a few days ago that we were together. A few days somehow feels like a week.
We miss the others, but it's a different type of longing. We miss not knowing what it's like to all be together. We miss the opportunity that Covid has stolen to bond together in a more natural way. We support and love one another from afar, but we also truly do not know each other past anything surface level. It's an odd thing to go through something as personal as sickness and quarantine with people who start as strangers.
We miss what we feel has been taken from us. It's natural to morn unmet expectations, but still there is hope.
Between being sick in bed, zoom classes, and rest, I’ve had a lot of time to think about my prayer for community. At first I thought, "Wow, God didn’t answer that prayer. Our school was hit with sickness and segregation from day one." But as we lived and adapted together, I think I'd say that that prayer was indeed answered - just not how I might have imagined.
“That we could grow to love one another as Christ loves us, in our victories and in our differences. That we could easily blend this mix of strangers into a family, bonded by a desire to go deep with God and share the amazing Gift of life with Christ with each other and the Nations."
That's what I had prayed for, and that's exactly what God provided.
When I was lying in bed the first day after testing positive, my oxygen levels were pretty wonky, and my body felt like it had turned against me. In my sick haze I was in constant amazement that people I had met less than a week before would take such care of me. My dear quarantine roommate covered me with love in the form of making sure I was taking my meds, was hydrated, and had everything I needed. She created schedules for my medication and charted my oxygen levels and heart rate. If I was quiet too long she would check to make sure I was alive. She served me with such grace and compassion. She didn’t help me or care for me because she would gain, but instead loved me as Christ does. She was His hands and feet in that room. Others sent texts, prayers, and notes throughout the day, sometimes every hour or every few, to see if there had been any change. So many people truly, genuinely cared, and I felt their love and prayers in so many ways.
Once I graduated from my room and was able to walk around, those of us on the quarantine floor made the best of an awful situation. We ate together as we could and played games to continue getting to know one another. The others downstairs messaged us frequently and dropped off snacks and other items missed in the panic of leaving for quarantine. On Sunday we held a worship session on the floor outside our little kitchenette, and praised God for all of His characteristics. It was beautiful as we worshiped and laughed with one another.
In a situation that arguably should have divided us more than anything else, we, a group of total strangers, became a large, little crazy, community that might just be starting to look like a family.
How could this possibly happen? How could we miss being together as a group when we don’t even know what that looks like? How could there be such support for one another?
The answer? God.
We have been placed in a situation where we HAVE to serve one another. We GET to worship and pray together daily. And we CANNOT get away from seeing the good and the bad of one another.
Yes, we are not all together. We are divided by a floor, but daily we get to talk, serve, and support one another in unique ways. We all play a part. We all have one objective - to know God and make Him known. Maybe the goal was to go to the Nations, but we can make Him known to one another too. If we have that at the center of our hearts, everything else will fall into place, and even Covid cannot destroy the good plans of our Father.
At the end of last week our school talked about the book of Daniel in the Bible. Specifically the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego being thrown into the fiery furnace. Once the three were thrown in, King Nebuchadnezzar looked in and saw not three men walking around but four. Jesus stood with them.
Daniel 3:24-25 - “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counselors, ‘Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’ they answered and said unto the king, ‘True, O king.’ He answered and said, ‘Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’”
So, as we, a group of 27, have been stuck inside the confines of building #9 growing community and worshiping the Father, this story came back to mind. We realized that while we were struggling through the fires of Covid and isolation, we hadn’t lost sight of Christ, and to those looking into our confinement, we prayed they saw not 27 but instead 28 dancing for the Lord.
When God has a plan, His good work cannot be dissuaded by anything. Is this how we would have chosen to start our time together as a community? No, but good can still come out of situations we do not understand.
I’m so thankful.
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