From my last blog, you probably read I have graciously moved to a Team Leader position within the squad.  Right now we’re staying in Busia, Kenya which is right on the border of Uganda.  I’ll have pictures soon but it’s pretty amazing here 🙂  

Prior to finding out my team (which is prayed about for months and months by the Squad Leaders), I had been praying that God would reveal who we are/who we were to become moving forward. 

I came to 2 Samuel 22.

 I would highly, highly encourage you to go and read it…seriously, right now. It’s freakin’ awesome. Our God is powerful and mighty. He loves love, He IS love…but man, when someone messes with one of His kids, He’s ready for a fight! i read it once and it just moved me, so i had to share it with my team and squad…multiple times. i love it! now go read it and trust that He’s in control. We are His sons and daughters and He is so much bigger than any evil. He always wins.

Now, I would love to introduce to you….

drumroll pleaaase…..

Team Redemption!

 

 As we were choosing a team name, we had come up with multiple ideas that built off of eachother but it was almost as if we were choosing the individual pieces of the puzzle instead of coming up with the ultimate big picture of who we were as a team. Nathan then brought up this verse that encompassed basically every key name and idea that we discussed.

Psalm 34 : 17-22

The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them,

He delivers them from their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,

But the Lord delivers him from them all.

He protects all his bones;

Not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked,

The foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems his servants,

                       No one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him.                

…that’s good stuff.

Now to introduce you to my amazing new teammates J

Jennifer Miele

One word comes to mind; Joy. She brings a lightheartedness to the team and is able to make you laugh even when you’re having a bad day. She offers encouragement continuously and has a servants heart. She has a love and passion for the Lord that she is constantly pursuing which is extremely encouraging to be around.  She also has a gift for describing delicious food that at this point we can only dream about. We served together in Romania which was an amazing experience to say the least. We shared what started as a forced run and ended 3 miles later full of motivation and inspiration for where we were and what’s to come. Loved it.

Jeremiah Reynolds

Jeremiah in my mind is key in the foundation of our team. He is extremely trustworthy, loyal and reliable. He continuously steps forward to get things taken care of and has a huge love for the Lord that he is always diving deeper into. He is always quick to serve and has a big heart that helps to make this team a safe place.  I also served with Jeremiah in Romania which is where I saw many of his awesome qualities come out. We shared an amazing run through the hills and fields of Romania which ended with a gorgeous sunset on one side of the field and a rainbow on the other. Amazing.

Jessica Sims

I had the privilege of working with Jessica last month in Ireland, and I was stoked when I found out she was on my team.   When I think of her, the word Love comes to mind. She wears her heart on her sleeve and she is extremely loyal to those around her. She’s easy going and can make a bad or ridiculous situation into a hilarious one without much effort at all. One example is when we had to wash all of the dirt off the wooden pegs that kept that tents into the mud after family camp in the pouring freezing rain.  It was a ridiculous couple of hours made into a hilarious memory. Jessica and I ran together quite a bit in Dublin which always ended in encouraging conversations since we can relate on a variety of levels … and we happen to have the exact same pace which we’ve found to be very rare J

Jonathan Beckman

Jonathan has been described on numerous occasions as ‘John the Baptist’. He has an abundance of wisdom that offers a new perspective to the group. He also has a really funny side that we’re seeing more and more of throughout our time together. He came into the group with a full beard that he changed into a ridiculous new dew in hopes of embarrassing his new team, but little did he know we would embrace it and encourage the ridiculousness. Jonathan has a lot to bring to the team and I’m so excited to be able to experience more of it throughout the race.

Nathan Salley

Nathan cracks me up. He has a presence about him that makes you feel comfortable and safe wherever you may be. He has an awesome sense of humor and has a gift of creating a vision to keep everyone moving forward in their relationship with eachother and with Christ. Nathan is also one of the Squad Leaders which is going to be amazing at. He’s humble yet confident, and I’m pumped to have him on the team as we keep on keepin’ on. 

Rachelle Uribe

Rachelle is a strong woman of God.  She’s extremely honest with herself and with the team which encourages others to follow in that way. She has a gift for bringing out the best in people because she is free in telling them what she sees in them and what God sees in them which is truly encouraging. She is very loyal in her relationships and brings a lot to the team.
 
I am so excited to start this new chapter of the race.   Please pray for us as we continue to serve God through Africa and grow as a family. 
 
At this point I am about $1200 away from hitting my support goal.  Thank you so much for your continued prayers!!!!   Please consider financially supporting Rachelle as she has a bit to go with her support raising.  She adds so much to the team, and I know that God has her here for a specific reason and purpose.  Please pray about supporting her.