47 men and women… these are the people I will be doing life with this year. We will travel together and debrief in countries. But it is not with all 47 that I will be living my day-to-day life with. This everyday (crying nights, sleepovers and dance parties) life I will be living is with 6 women. We call ourselves Selah Vie.
Nine days into training camp we were spilt into our teams. As a squad, we had been doing team building and interviews throughout the week to give our training team an idea of who we would work with on the Race.
I anxiously awaited being spilt into teams, and let me put an emphasis on anxiously. When I knew the time was coming near, I felt myself falling back into anxiety attacks and thoughts of “what if it’s not good enough?” But the Lord whispered to me softly and sweetly in those 10 days, “I am before you. I am for you. I already know what is going to happen. Do you trust Me?” Each time I took a step back and answered “Yes Lord, do your thang.”
And He was right, He did know what was going to happen; let me tell you, it was more beautiful than my imaginative mind could have ever dreamed up. And even crazier was the Lord was working in my training team, nudging them to choose introverted ol’ me as a team leader. Now let me tell you, to say I did not see leading on the Race coming would be an understatement. I have never held a leadership position in my life and never been taught how to lead well. But as I look back a couple years, the Lord has been preparing me for this and He’s laughing at the fact that I’m surprised. He knows and He knew and He’s funny. I am so blessed by a Lord, a training team, and a squad that saw leadership in me, even when I didn’t.
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Selah Vie is our name, being cute and praising Jesus is our game.
Selah is used seventy-four times in the Bible, meaning to “stop and listen.” We made our team name a play on words from “C’est la Vie,” French for “That’s Life.” Over iced coffee and pizza we discussed how we want to be women that rest in the Lord and have peace in Him. And also, how could you go on the World Race and not say “this is the life?” So I dedicate this blog to the six incredibly loving, gifted, talented, silly and dreamy women I get to spend this next year with.
This my friends is Makita Bueto, isn’t she a model? She is 26 years old and has been teaching in Mississippi for the past 3 years. This lady quickly became my best friend at training camp and spoke so much truth into my life. Never has the Lord paired me with someone whose testimony lines up directly with mine. She truly is a gift. Also, she loves camping, hiking, fruits/veggies, and especially spiders. (not true!)
Here I introduce RaeLynn DelFalco with her fresh ink. I love her because she has a southern name, even if she doesn’t know it (also, this will be the name of my first daughter). She is a spunky 22 year old, who just graduated from University of Nebraska Omaha. She is the psychology major on our team who will teach us all how to deal with our emotional issues on the Race. Rae is loving and caring, and I just know Jesus is going to invade her heart and rock her world.
Katie Needles, ladies and gentleman. Residing from Delaware, Katie is 21 but we will be celebrating her 22 birthday on the Race! She is a busy bee, working full time at Family Christian and graduating in May from the University of Delaware. She’s a wild one; interesting fact- she’s had a warrant out for her arrest. This lady is wise beyond her years and I know I am going to learn so much from her this year.
Carly Spindler resides from Minnesota (said with accent, Minnesoda). She is a 21 year old babe, soon to be 22 in August. This past year she spent her days finishing up college and she just graduated from the University St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. She was an accounting major; therefore, she will help me learn to budget and teach me to balance my checkbook. Carly is adventurous and is excited to try crazy things on the Race; also, she has been paragliding over the Swiss Alps. This girl is a world changer and I’m excited to see the Lord move in her this year.
I present Jess Couture; she’s sassy & saucy. This is my other girl from MinneSODA, and you can definitely hear that accent of hers. She is 21 years old and has spent the last year nannying two sweet boys. This girl is my diva and I am so excited to see all the new things she is going to do and the way the Lord will lead her into adventure. Jess is bold and walks in her confidence. She will also be learning to snap her fingers this year since that is something she currently cannot do.
Sweet, sweet Hannah Henderson, my fellow Texan. Also a teacher, she graduated from ACU and has been teaching photography and yearbook this past year in Tyler. She is a bb for the graduating class of 2014, and is turning 23 in a few days! Anyone you talk to will tell you that Hannah exudes sweetness and is so obedient to the Lord. I am so excited to walk with her this year as the Lord is going to solidify her leadership abilities. She is definitely one person that I want by my side along this crazy adventure.
And then there’s me. A broken girl, who the Lord is equipping and building stronger. I cannot wait for this adventure to begin. I will be flying to Atlanta, Georgia on September 5th, and soon after that launching out of the country to our first stop, Uganda.
Our first ministry will be with Raising Up Hope. We will be working with children ages 4-16 in the RUHU schools and twice a week will be traveling out to the slums for outreach. In an email from our ministry host he said “The children are very friendly and will be excited to see you. They often times will run up to you and immediately begin hugging you. If personal space is an issue please be prepared to be loved on by many children.” I am thrilled to be spending our first month with children and ministering in the slums.
I will be collecting donations for Uganda, so if you feel called to donate here are the items-
Medical supplies School supplies
Bandages Colored pencils
Dressings Paper
Alcohol pads Crayons
Basic first aid supplies Blackboard chalk
Gloves Folders
Thank you so much for your continuous support through prayers, supplies, money, and love. I have never felt more supported in my life about going into a season that I have no control over and don’t know where my life is going after this. I am excited to begin this journey with ya’ll.
