Phoebe's Gap Year

1. Tell us a bit about yourself? 

Hi, I’m Phoebe! I’m from Birmingham but currently a first year at the University of Southampton studying Environmental Science! I love to fill my time playing netball, drinking lots of overpriced coffee and hanging out with friends! I love playing and watching all kinds of sports and since starting university I have been introduced to the world of ultimate frisbee! 

2. So, your gap year… what did you do and where did you go? 

I always knew that going straight into university after A-levels wasn’t for me, I desperately needed a break from academic work and wanted to travel as much as I could. I began the start of my gap year by working as a receptionist in the NHS and looked intomany Christian organisations to go on short-term mission. At the time, my faith was quite weak and the large reason behind looking into Christian gap year opportunities was due to the fun I’d had on various Christian camps as well as the many positive experiences I’d heard from people around me who had done YWAM’s and… Latin Link! Whilst I didn’t enter into Latin Link as prayerfully as I should have, the application, orientation, bookings and everything else was so easy and looking back, it's so clear that God really created the way for me to end up on this trip! Me, and a team of 7 other young adults, spent 4 months serving with Latin Link across Ecuador and Colombia. In Ecuador, we worked alongside a church, helping them construct a roof for their church building as well as serving in their kids and youth ministry. In Colombia, we took part in many different ministries: mums and babies' group, teaching English, football and basketball clubs and then helping on 3 young people’s camps.  

3. What organisation was this with and how did they train you and support you? 

I went with Latin Link as part of their Step team; these are their short-term mission trips that take place either in the springtime (this is for four months) or summer ( for three – four weeks). Latin Link were incredible at equipping us for the trip. Before leaving to South America, we took part in a 4-day orientation to get to know each other better as well as getting to know the Latin Link team better. We learnt about culture, language, health and safety, what our days would look like as well as meeting our in-country coordinators over zoom. Once in SA, we kept in regular contact with the team back in the UK through WhatsApp as well as meeting with our in-country coordinators multiple times per week. It was lovely to form a genuine connection and friendship with the people supporting us. Around 2 months after getting back, we had an in-country debrief where we got to talk about our experiences from SA as well as provide feedback to Latin Link. 

4. What were some highlights of the year? 

The 4 months spent with Latin Link were just incredible. Unfortunately for everyone around me, I never shut up about my gap year because the time away changed my life. Some highlights of the trip have got to be leading worship in the church we worked with in Ecuador and on the camps in Colombia; especially teaching the youth “My Lighthouse” (Rend Collective) and watching everyone take part in the actions! In Ecuador, we spent a weekend in the rainforest, staying with our friends, this place was stunning and we spent our time swimming in the river, milking cows, relaxing in hammocks and toasting marshmallows. Our times of daily devotions as a team were always so encouraging and were one of my day-to-day highlights!  

5. What were biggest challenges of your year? 

Despite the abundance of good times, there were still some challenges. There were many times where we were exhausted; the mix of heat, social exhaustion from not understanding the language and physical exhaustion from the work we were doing made it difficult at times to have patience with one another. We also had some health problems within the team. Spiritual warfare was also an unexpected big challenge for us when we entered the desert region of Colombia. Despite these struggles, we always had an overwhelming amount of support, physically from the people around us and most importantly, prayerfully; from the team at Latin Link, our parents, who met weekly on zoom, the in-country coordinators and our friends. 

6. How did the year impact your faith?  How did God change you, challenge you, did it cause you to grow closer to him? 

I am so grateful for the way the Lord worked in my life over the time I was in SA. Being surrounded by so many Christians, especially young people going through similar struggles to me, helped me to see the need for a personal connection with God. They encouraged me to read the bible by myself and lean into God’s love. Through being able to open up to my teammates about my personal convictions and hear their testimonies and stories of God at work in their lives opened my eyes to what Jesus dying on the cross for me really meant. Our devotionals as a team led to many wonderful conversations and encouraged us daily. I realised the need for a personal relationship with Jesus and began living my life wholly for him. After coming back from SA, I wanted to get baptised to declare my faith and I publicly committed my life to Jesus in the following September.  

7. Would you recommend this as a gap year? Why? 

Simply, yes! I am so grateful for the experience I had and all the ways it grew me as a person. Strengthening my relationship with God, teaching me valuable life skills, learning independence whilst also learning how to work within a team, I could go on and on. The person that went on Latin Link is so different to the person that came back and she is better in every way. Latin Link supports Steppers so well and you make friends, memories and experiences for life.

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