HIS

Before I leave Lima for our next ministry location, I need to update you all on what happened this Tuesday night.

V squad is divided into 7 teams, each with a team leader.  The squad as a whole has been incredibly blessed to have Bethany and Lindsay leading the whole squad for our first three months – but at the end of this next month their time with us will be done and they will go back home.  To replace them, they have prayerfully selected three new squad leaders, who will be traveling with them this next month.  I am incredibly pleased to introduce to all of you my NEW squad leaders, Jeremiah Jackson and Tiffany Johnson, and most especially the woman who has led my team these first three months, Vanessa O’Neal!  These are all incredible people with a real heart for God, and a firm grasp on what it means to be a world racer.  I have every confidence that God has chosen and equipped these three people specifically to be incredible leaders for the remainder of this race.  Of course, because all of them were team leaders before, there have been some changes in the teams.  I’ll introduce my new team in my next post, but first I want to give you one more look at team HIS, as I’ve come to know them over the last three months:

I can’t say enough about Vanessa.  Everything she has done for us as a team and as individuals has been incredible.  I’ve never seen such a clear example of a servant heart and what it means to be a leader as I have in her life, and her desire to draw closer to God in every way has set a very high standard for us to live up to.  She has constantly and fearlessly called us out to press deeper into the wonder of God and to walk closer with Him in everything we do.  I am so excited to see her accept her calling to the position of squad leader, where she can share her wisdom and guidance with our entire squad.

Peter has been the only brother I’ve had on the race for much of the time – we’ve spent the first two months without any other teams at our ministry sites, and it wasn’t until this month that we had one, and then two additional more teams to spend time with.  Peter has been a rock-stable brother and a great source of encouragement for me.  He’s got a true gift to minister to people and especially over the last month has just been pouring out all the Spirit anointing he’s been given to everyone around him.  I’ve never seen anyone who so clearly understands what it means to walk in line with the Spirit’s leading, and it’s been inspiring and tremendous to watch.

‘Momma Shida’ has been the caretaker of our group for three months, and I couldn’t be happier to have had her wisdom and compassion to support us through our tough times.  Her spirit is filled with happiness that flows out of her to everyone around her, and she has a love for us that is visible in everything she does.  Shida has called out things in me that nobody else wanted to discuss, and her tough love has been so valuable to mold me into more of a man of God.  She’s got a heart for children and a love for conversations with everyone she meets that makes instant friends and challenges us all to step out more in relationships.

It’s impossible to describe Renee without using the word joy – it might be easier to define joy as the essence of Renee.  She’s got an immense amount of joy in her soul that just overflows whenever she laughs, and it makes all of us smile whenever we hear her.  She’s a woman of incredible wisdom that continues to grow every day as she draws closer to God – it’s wonderful to see.  She’s got such a heart for children and women, and there’s no question that we’ll eventually see her in a related ministry.

Elizabeth is such a wonderful person, full of grace and wisdom.  I’ve seen her grow over the last three months into an incredibly confident woman of God, and it’s with incredible joy that I get to see her move on to her calling as a team leader.  I wish so much that I could continue to share my time with her, laughing and living and doing crazy things with her.  She’s absolutely committed to God in all her life and she’s been so much of a support to all of us in everything we do – it’s been an absolutely amazing three months to spend with her.

Katie is an amazing woman of God, and it’s evident in everything she does.  I’ve never seen her hesitate to follow God’s will, regardless of personal cost.  She speaks with complete confidence every word God gives her, and He gives her a lot to share.  She’s an amazing servant, an incredible encourager, and a hard and cheerful worker.  She’s been the spiritual heartbeat of our team and I know I have so much more to learn from her.  I’m incredibly excited that I’ll remain on her team this month.

I have never loved a group of people as strongly and intensely as I love this team of people, and even though we have been called to different ministries on the Race from here out, team HIS will remain an incredibly precious part of my life.

Stay tuned for my next post, about my new team!