Debrief and Travel days!

(This blog was wrote on 12/21 Sorry.. just now able to upload it)

Hey there!

It’s been a minute since I last wrote. We are officially in South Africa! I’m writing this blog on the bus ride to Heidelberg, and I thought it would be a great time to update you on what I’ve been up to!

Debrief

We spent our last week in Guatemala in the beautiful city of Antigua. On the World Race, we do debriefs after each major section of the journey. These times are filled with teachings, relaxing free time, team debriefs, and one-on-one meetings with our coaches and mentors, who visit us from the States.

During our debrief, we did so many fun things—eating way too much ice cream, exploring the city, visiting Lake Atitlán, grabbing Chinese food, playing with kids in the park, getting our nails done, and just hanging out as a squad. Since our squad is being split up for South Africa, this week was especially sweet. It felt like a chance to soak up one last week as a family.

My favorite day was definitely when we visited the lake. It was beautiful! We took a boat to a spot where you jumped off a 50-foot platform. Let me tell you—that was a lot scarier than it looked. When I jumped, it felt like I was free-falling forever before my feet finally hit the water. We stayed there for a while, enjoying the perfect day together.

Sadly, our debrief ended on a sadder note. One of our squadmates had to go home and leave the trip early. It all happened so quickly and was completely unexpected. Saying goodbye was incredibly emotional and difficult. It’s hard to imagine continuing this journey without them, especially after all we’ve been through together. They were such a big part of our family, and we’ll miss them deeply. Please keep them in your prayers—for a smooth transition back to life in the States, for their family, and that their relationship with God will grow even stronger through this season.

Travel Adventures

Travel day? More like travel week.

We were initially told this journey to South Africa would take 50 hours, but we’re currently at over 70 hours and still have at least 20 more to go. Let me break it down for you:

We left our hostel in Guatemala at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and headed to the airport for a two-hour flight to Miami. We had a decent layover there, which wasn’t so bad because… Chick-fil-A! Oh, how I missed it.

Later that night, we boarded a 13.5-hour flight to Qatar. This was my first long-haul flight, and surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad! I ate some decent food, slept for 10 hours, woke up, ate again, watched a movie, and before I knew it we were landing.

We arrived in Qatar at 9 p.m. local time, even though we’d left at 10 p.m. the night before—time zones are weird. With a 12-hour layover, we decided to explore the city. We visited a market, admired the skyline, and even tried some local chocolate before heading back to the airport. Qatar’s airport is one of the nicest in the world, so there was plenty to explore while we waited for our next flight.

Next was an 8-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. This leg of the trip was a breeze because I slept the entire time. We landed at 3:30 p.m., but here’s where things got tricky—our bus wasn’t leaving until 3:30 p.m. the next day. We were prepared to camp out on the airport floor for 24 hours, but some incredibly generous parents surprised us by paying for a hotel room.

After saying our emotional goodbyes to the friends we’d traveled with from other teams, we headed to the hotel. It was heavenly—I had the best hot shower of my life, filled my water bottle with ice (for the first time in two months), and slept in the most comfortable bed ever. It was amazing.

This morning, we headed to the bus station. Now, we’re on an 18-hour (ended up being close to 20) bus ride to… somewhere (honestly, I’ve lost track), and then we’ll take a one-hour taxi to the church where we’ll be staying.

Leaving Guatemala was bittersweet, but I’m so excited for what’s ahead. I can’t wait to dive into a new ministry, meet new people, and witness all the incredible ways God will move in South Africa.

That’s all for now—thank you for reading my update!

With love,

Ashlyn

P.S. Merry Christmas! I keep forgetting it’s this week.