how did I miss the wondrous song? the forest sang it all along
river rinses all your shame and Father offers you His name
Father Love prepares a home, Brother Jesus leads you on
Father Love prepares a place, Brother Jesus leads the way
follow to the place where you belong.
-Chris Rice, "Belong"
Family members.
Usually you don't get to choose them.
Usually you don't suddenly get 50 more of them in the mountains of Tennessee.
You probably eat meals with them, but usually not without utensils.
You usually don't spend every waking moment with them for a week, traveling about your day in one big collective stink.
And you usually don't get to travel the world with them in eleven months, bouncing from country to country and loving on everyone you meet because God loved your big stinky family first.
Lucky for me, the World Race is pretty unusual.
So, meet my new extended family:
A-SQUAD. A stinkin' amazing group of brothers and sisters.
Even though all 51 of us will be traveling to the same countries, we've been split into smaller teams that we'll be working alongside in different locations within each country.
Allow me to introduce you to my new immediate family:
TEAM PERISSEUO:
Kyle, me, Brittany, Katie, Madisson, Kaitlyn and Jake
Our team name comes from Romans 15:13:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Perisseuo is the Greek word for "abound" or "overflow."
Our hope and prayer is that we will be filled with the Holy Spirit so much that it will spill out of us, onto each person we meet, every child we hug, every hand we hold – every life we touch.
These are the people I will be laughing with, crying with, laughing until we're crying with, eating with, praying for and with, trying all kinds of new things with, and of course, stinking with.
Here they are in all their beautiful awesomeness:
Kyle
Our fearless leader.
Humble, gentle and kind.
Lover of adventure and whitewater rafting guide in Colorado.
Brittany
Compassionate and empathic.
Beautiful inside and out.
Passionate for her students as a teacher in Oklahoma.
Katie
Deep, thoughtful and sincere.
Quick to listen.
A fellow Michigander and blueberry guru.
Madisson
Funny and fun-loving.
Eager to know and love others.
Expert swimmer and life-saver in North Carolina.
Kaitlyn
Joyful and loving.
Cares deeply for others.
Dispensing sweet Southern charm all over North Carolina.
Jake
Hi-larious man.
Brightener of rooms and conversations.
Caring for youth in Wisconsin.
I hope when you think of me, you'll think of them. And when you pray for me, pray for them. After all, they're my family now. We're kind of a package deal.
