Five years ago, the call we heard from God was to be available, and it is still true today.

We returned to NC last night after two weeks of solid travel. We started in Adrian, GA, serving alongside our team as 80+ World Racers served at Camp Adrian. A lot of work got done, but some of my favorite parts were watching relationships deepen and seeing these new teams start to come together.

Our kids look forward to the two weeks a year we get to host the World Racers. It’s basically like summer camp with your very own counselor. I love that our kids get to grow up around people who are hungry to serve God, to grow as people and to simply help others. They get to watch people choose to do hard and uncomfortable things because they believe God is asking them to. It’s one of the greatest privileges of this calling.

From GA, I hopped on a plane and headed to MN for a quick 72-hour trip, where I spent time with my sisters, parents and the Petron family at a reunion at my brother’s house. It was a whirlwind trip, but I’m grateful for the time together, stories shared and how God met me every step of the way.

From MN, I met Chris and the kids (plus Bethany, one of our team members) in Jacksonville, FL, for a leadership summit at the Church of Eleven22.

We unexpectedly got poured into through the teaching and the Holy Spirit-rich environment that this movement is walking out. So much so that the first morning I woke up in FL, I mentioned to Chris that I wasn’t sure we were actually going to leave on Wednesday as planned.

He chuckled because he was discerning the same thing.

We didn't really know why. We just kept asking the Lord about our next step and asked some of our people to pray for open doors and whatever God might have for us there.

So we extended our stay... twice more!

Those extra four days in Jax Beach ended up being full. We had conversations with people we never would have met had we left when we planned. We got to testify to what God has been doing and invite people to either join us in Adventures Relief or simply come with us to Saturated, the annual five-day event Eleven22 was hosting.

We even ended up attending a beautiful gala for a colleague of ours and her husband, who build suspension bridges in Panama. It was a really special evening surrounded by people whose callings look very different from ours but who share something we deeply believe: we aren't called to be the saviors of the world. We are simply called to say yes to what God is asking of us and trust that He will make a way.

None of these two weeks would have been possible without the team holding things down in both NC and Jamaica. Adventures Relief is more than a ministry to us. It’s a framily, a group of people who love God, love each other and choose in, day after day, to take the next faithful step.

And maybe that's what I'm sitting with as we finally get home.

Five years ago, God asked our family to be available. At the time, we had no idea what that would mean. Five years later, I don't think we have it figured out any more than we did then.

Our plans change. Sometimes we go. Sometimes we stay longer than expected. Sometimes the thing we thought we were going for isn't actually the reason God had us there at all.

But we're still available.

People ask me all the time if I'm writing these stories down. I usually say, "I'm trying."

But if I'm being truthful, I really haven't been- not in a way that I can reflect on years to come.

There are so many stories from the last five years. People we've met, places we've ended up, things God has done that I never want to forget. And somewhere along the way I keep thinking I'll have time to sit down and write them later.

So, here's to actually trying.