Alycia, Me, & Tanna on the river – downtown dublin
What
a whirlwind of a week! When we left Uganda, we made our way back to Kenya and
then to IRELAND! Adventures in Missions puts on a conference every year called,
“The Awakening.” It’s a time where all the squads on the field and alumni
racers meet up for some intense worship and teaching. There we about 400 racers
there total! The week was non-stop for the moment we landed to the moment we
left! We tented in a beautiful community right outside of Dublin. Every day we
had two worship sessions as well as teachings from some amazing men of God. Our
a whirlwind of a week! When we left Uganda, we made our way back to Kenya and
then to IRELAND! Adventures in Missions puts on a conference every year called,
“The Awakening.” It’s a time where all the squads on the field and alumni
racers meet up for some intense worship and teaching. There we about 400 racers
there total! The week was non-stop for the moment we landed to the moment we
left! We tented in a beautiful community right outside of Dublin. Every day we
had two worship sessions as well as teachings from some amazing men of God. Our
loving energetic
(former) squad leaders, Robby
& Tara, and our squad
parents, Dave & Bernadette, also joined us for the week! It was wonderful
to have the family back together!
Tanna, Me, Alycia, Robby, & Auston in Dublin looking for leprechauns!
It
was pretty awesome to see the “baby” squads and where they were spiritually,
physically, and mentally. I looked at them and remembered the
confusion, excitement, frustration, & craziness of month 2 on the race and for the first time
realized just how much my squad has grown. When you live with yourself
everyday, it’s harder to see the changes, but for the 1st time I
really noticed changes in myself. I feel like I’ve grown up so much in these
past 8 months. My squad is as close as ever and our bond is obvious to everyone
that meets us! (Which was shown firsthand when we won the annual dance-off competition!!
what what!!). I can’t explain what it’s like living in a community with people
who know everything about you, but except you just the way you are, hold you
accountable in your struggles, and call you out on your crap. Living in an
environment of honesty and openness is something my spirit has craved for so
long. We are a squad and a team that fights for each other and constantly
experience change and I LOVE IT! I feel more alive than ever before and I’m so
excited about the woman that God is molding me into. I’ll be honest, Africa was
NOT an easy 3 months and I wanted to pack up and head home many times, but boy
does growth come from surrender and brokenness.
was pretty awesome to see the “baby” squads and where they were spiritually,
physically, and mentally. I looked at them and remembered the
confusion, excitement, frustration, & craziness of month 2 on the race and for the first time
realized just how much my squad has grown. When you live with yourself
everyday, it’s harder to see the changes, but for the 1st time I
really noticed changes in myself. I feel like I’ve grown up so much in these
past 8 months. My squad is as close as ever and our bond is obvious to everyone
that meets us! (Which was shown firsthand when we won the annual dance-off competition!!
what what!!). I can’t explain what it’s like living in a community with people
who know everything about you, but except you just the way you are, hold you
accountable in your struggles, and call you out on your crap. Living in an
environment of honesty and openness is something my spirit has craved for so
long. We are a squad and a team that fights for each other and constantly
experience change and I LOVE IT! I feel more alive than ever before and I’m so
excited about the woman that God is molding me into. I’ll be honest, Africa was
NOT an easy 3 months and I wanted to pack up and head home many times, but boy
does growth come from surrender and brokenness.
Me & Monica walking around Dublin
On
a more serious note, one of my teammates, Susie Virzi, ended her race the
end of the week. She felt like God was calling her back to the states and though
it was still a grieving process, she surrendered her own desires and headed
back. She will be missed greatly but we know she is still a part of this team,
lifting us up in prayer and encouragement! We sent her off with blessings and
are so excited to see what God has in store for her next chapter in life!
After
a quick stop in Turkey, we landed in Kiev, Ukraine today where we will be working
with InterVarsity this month! My
team is super excited to finally be in a big city for ministry! We will be
working with college kids on several campuses. Pouring into students (around
our age) is going to be awesome this month! My team has so much to offer and I
know the best is yet to come… Can’t wait to tell you more about it, but since I’ve been awake for 40+ hours
straight, I’m gonna head to sleepytown! More to come… 🙂
a quick stop in Turkey, we landed in Kiev, Ukraine today where we will be working
with InterVarsity this month! My
team is super excited to finally be in a big city for ministry! We will be
working with college kids on several campuses. Pouring into students (around
our age) is going to be awesome this month! My team has so much to offer and I
know the best is yet to come… Can’t wait to tell you more about it, but since I’ve been awake for 40+ hours
straight, I’m gonna head to sleepytown! More to come… 🙂
Monica, Me, Kristen, & Auston in Dublin
*I’m
sorry I didn’t get to do a cribs video! The week was chaotic and I forgot!
Oops! It was basically a sea of tents in a park…but if you’d like to see pictures CLICK HERE
