It happened.
Training camp was the first time we heard about It. Leadership had mentioned It saying that if It happened, it would be around the end of month 5. Since then, my team and I have talked about It. We came to the conclusion that It probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon, if ever. We were wrong.
(Boldly Awoken’s Christmas picture)
What seemed like a normal (if you can ever call Debrief normal) Debrief was suddenly NOT normal when my team was summoned to a “secret” meeting. Jeff, my team leader, informed my team that our Squad leaders wanted to talk with us. We had already had our team debrief so we all wracked our brains wondering what we had done. “What did we do” and “What do you think it’s about” were the questions of the hour. Speculation ran rampant; what could be so important that it deserved an extra meeting? Did we do something wrong or could it be a route change (Vietnam, maybe?)? We trooped up to the meeting room only to find our leaders meeting with another team. They asked us to wait patiently in the adjoining (un-airconditioned) room until they finished the meeting.
So we waited. And waited. After 5 minutes or so, we decided that the meeting was not going to be a quick one. What do world racers do when their team is stuck in a room together? Team time of course. The heat must have gone to our heads because it was a hilarious team time. After a hour, our leaders felt sorry for us and gave us permission to wait on the roof of the building. As we continued to have fun together, Jeff and Clay were called back downstairs. Again we were waiting. We played games like “keep-away” (using a water bottle) and “Ninja.” Then Amanda, one of our squad leaders appeared to call us downstairs. Finally! We were going to find out what all the secretiveness was about.
As we walked into the room, there was a circle of chairs in the middle where Jeff, Clay, our leaders and Greg (a squad-mate) were seated. We took our seats and waited expectantly. Amanda thanked us for waiting patiently, and then she told us about It. After much prayer and fasting, she informed us, our leaders felt that it was time for a team change. Our leaders went on to explain that Greg would be joining our team, while Clay would be moved to Greg’s old team. Stunned, we looked at each other.
Did we hear right?
How could this be happening? It’s only the beginning of month 4; isn’t that too soon for a team change? We were asked what we thought about it. I think the major reaction was of shock. Then sadness. I loved my team how it was. But in the midst of the shock and sadness, we understand that our team leaders want what is best for us.
This team change is going to be good for our team. We’ve become comfortable with each other over the past 3 months. The team dynamics have totally changed with a new member of the team. God is going to use this to push us out of our comfort zone. After all, you don’t grow very much when you are comfortable. As Clay put it, “we’ve learned what God wanted us to learn from each other and now it’s time to move on.”
Clay, I’ve loved being your teammate for the past 3 months. You added an element of joy to Boldly Awoken that helped us grow and laugh together. You are going to be greatly missed but will be a blessing to your new team.
Greg, welcome to our team! I am excited to have you join us. You have so much wisdom to share, it’s going to be great to hear what you have to say. I look forward to getting to know you better.
