“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position
for such a time as this?”
(Esther 4:14)
I have heard this verse many times, and yet I have never been able to take it quite so personally as I do in this particular season. No, no, I’m not pulling a real-life Princess Diaries or anything like that. Allow me to explain a little.
For those that don’t know, my beloved P squad recently came face-to-face with more trial and grief than we ever could have imagined. We’ve been through the ringer from the get-go, with three appendectomies by the end of Month 2 (two of which happened in Third World countries), innumerable illnesses that have sent people running to the bathrooms or the hospital or both, and then a moto accident in Month 3 that left one girl in a sling and some excruciating pain while another had to return home for the remainder of the month to recover. (By the way, the one in the sling? Her shoulder was miraculously healed by the Lord after my team and I prayed for her one night. Check out the story at http://evacranford.theworldrace.org/?filename=whoda-thunkit!)
With each new tribulation, we consistently lived up to our P(rayer) squad nickname and chose to draw closer to each other and most importantly to the Lord. We chose joy. We were granted peace. And we pressed on. And then came the morning of April 21, 2015 – a day that will forever be ingrained in our souls with the indelible ink of tragedy. The accident. My chest is tightening with emotion and my eyes are welling up with tears even now as I think about that day, and how in an instant our Race, and our lives, were forever changed. Though I’ve tried several times, my brain still doesn’t have words of its own to describe what happened that day…but my dear friend and squadleader, Kaylaynn McAdams, has written about it beautifully. Please check out her blog at http://kaylaynnmcadams.theworldrace.org/?filename=theres-been-an-accident-yet-i-choose-to-trust-that-it-is-well for a detailed account of what happened that day. In her story, we are the team who was woken up to the news of the accident and we spent hours praying together as a team, then later that evening as an entire squad. Everyone is grieving what happened that day, while simultaneously rejoicing in the ways that the Lord protected our friends and continues to work miracles in their lives. Please pray for each of the members of my squad as we continue to walk through the grieving process together.
Just a few days after the accident that brought us to our knees, 3rd generation P squad (almost literally) felt the very foundations upon which we were kneeling shake beneath us – the earthquake. We were just two days from boarding a plane to Kathmandu, Nepal when the 7.9 level earthquake struck the very city where we were scheduled to have our week-long, and much-needed, debrief (a time of rest, rejuvenation, and recharging). I think we all prayed more in that one week than ever before in our lives. We saw images of destruction, devastation, and despair flash across our Indian host families’ televisions and we swallowed yet another sobering reminder that “you do not even know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:14).
Over the next two days, the AIM office worked tirelessly with our amazing Logistics team (thanks Zach and Christina!) and squadleaders to figure out the plan for our debrief. As the death tolls continued to rise and the world began to realize the magnitude of this disaster, our hearts broke for the Nepali people. We were a people in pain, and our entire squad shared a soul-deep desire to come alongside this nation that is also in a season of grieving. We took a bus to Hyderabad, India and began our debrief with heavy hearts as we knew it was highly unlikely that we would be going to Nepal for the fifth month of our Race. Meanwhile, the end of our fourth month on the Race meant that some significant changes were going to be made within our community as Dustin Mick, Kaylaynn, and Teresa prepared to raise up new squadleaders and team leaders from amongst our group, in addition to forming all new teams within our squad.
After a week of anticipation and uncertainty, Friday evening brought long-awaited news of what our next month will look like, and it is nothing at all what we expected…P Squad is going to spend the month of May in NEPAL partnering with our local ministry contacts in disaster relief efforts! We are excited about this opportunity, and we are also humbled that the Lord would give us this high and holy calling.
In a heartfelt email to our squad, the director of the World Race said that he and the entire AIM staff continue to be amazed by all that the Lord has entrusted to this squad. We have been entrusted with unfathomable pain in the face of tragedy. We have been entrusted with a special deposit of the Holy Spirit that grants us the peace we need to face every day with boldness and courage. And now, we have been entrusted with an incredible opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a people who are desperate for restoration and hope. And there is more.
Yesterday I celebrated my 23rd birthday in India and was granted the most beautiful and exciting gift I could have imagined- I have been raised up as a team leader for the next season of my Race! I am beyond excited to introduce you all to Team Nahar (which is Greek for radiant) and the six beautiful women that I have been entrusted with as we move into the unknown of Nepal and all that the Lord has for us there. Bailey, Stacie, Rose, Sally, Olivia, and Amy – these women feel like sisters already, and words cannot express how excited I am to do life with them! To be honest, there have been several times over the past few days when I have wondered what on earth the Lord is doing, and I continue to be in awe of a God who would trust me with so much. And every time the questions and doubts and overwhelming fears come, He whispers into my soul:
you have been chosen for such a time as this.
I want you all to know that your prayers have been and continue to be so appreciated by our entire squad! I have been encouraged and amazed by the many prayer warriors that the Lord has raised up from all over the world, and humbly ask that you continue to lift up my squad, my team, and myself as I figure out this whole team leading thing. Pray for Nepal and all that the Lord has planned for this beautiful country that will be our home for the next month. As always, thank you for everything.
With love and wanderlust,
Cassady
The lovely ladies of Team Nahar, from left to right: Sally, Rose, Bailey, myself, Stacie, Amy, and Olivia!
