Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I have the pleasure of introducing you to the fabulous ladies of Team R1:16. To understand our team, you first have to understand our name; naming something establishes mission and purpose, so we wanted to choose a name that we felt cast a vision for the time we have together. We chose our name for 3 main reasons.
Ruth 1:16 reads “But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
We love this verse because it shows sisterhood as a deeply rooted, strong bond that we as women possess with each other when we have Christ as our foundation. Ruth and Naomi actively chose and prioritized each other, and sacrificed to show each other the love of Christ Jesus. We aim to do the same.
Romans 1:16 reads “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
We want this team to be a group of women who are not ashamed of the Gospel, but who BOLDLY and with great JOY and LOVE tell the world about the things that Christ Jesus has done in our own lives and the things He longs to do in the hearts of everyone who believes in His saving grace.
The word “Radiance” was spoken over our team by a friend that we met in India and ran into the first day we spent time together as a new team. We strive to be a team of ladies through whom the love of Jesus RADIATES and whose fruit clearly displays our Gardener.
With that in mind… MEET ABBY!
Abby Thornburg (23)
5 of her favorite things: Chick-fil-a spicy sandwiches, rainy afternoon naps, books, fruit, music
Hometown: Johnson City, Tennessee
Birth order: Second of 3
Favorite Color: Purple or green
Favorite Snack Food: Barbeque Baked Lays
Favorite Flavor of Ice Cream: Chocolate or Mint Chocolate Chip
Biggest Pet Peeve: When people can’t admit that they’re wrong (when they’ve been proven wrong)
Crunchy or smooth peanut butter? Crunchy
Strangest thing eaten on the Race thus far: Tarantula legs (Cambodia)
What do you miss the most about home?
“Probably springtime in East Tennessee. It’s so beautiful. I miss sitting on the porch with my mom and talking to her… we would do that a lot.”
What have you been reading lately?
The Mark of the Lion series my Francine Rivers
Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
What’s something that’s happened on the Race that made you laugh?
“Wow, so many moments of laughter. One instance was when we were watching The Goonies in Cambodia and there was this huge storm going on and if the wind blew too hard, the door would slam shut. So the movie ends and the lights are off and the wind slams the door shut and we all freaked out, but it was really hilarious.”
How has your faith changed while on the Race thus far?
“I would say I’m learning to overcome a lot of fear and to choose faith over fear because the Lord is securing me in my identity of Him. My faith has been challenged in understanding more and more that God is outside the boxes that my expectations of Him and literally nothing is impossible with god.”
What characteristic of the Lord do you feel like you’ve been encountering and learning about the most?
“Sovereignty. Because I remember moments when I thought about not doing the Race or I found myself in moments when God does something incredible and literally every detail is worked out for His glory in the craziest of ways.”
What’s one word you would use to describe your Race? Challenging (and also) Joyful
What’s something people can be praying for you?
“That I would grow in discipline and continue to walk in choosing, whether that’s time with the Lord, my team, to be engaged in ministry… just choosing well.”
P.S. Shoutout to my teammate Joanna who took the time to interview everyone & make these blogs possible & easy for us to meet our quota of 2 blogs a week! 🙂
