In John 17, Jesus prays… He prays to be glorified, for his disciples, and then He prays for future believers.
I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
John 17:20-23
Here on Earth, we like to classify things and give order to our chaos. We put people in boxes. We point out what divides us instead of celebrating what brings us together. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not saying we are supposed to all be the same or that we should work towards being like each other, but we should work towards being more like God. If we were all the same, the world would be a pretty boring place. God created us in His image, but we aren’t designed to be identical, God-glorifying robots. We have talents and gifts that are unique to us. We have experienced joy and trials that have molded us and taught us. No where in this prayer for all believers does it designate church denominations, He prays that we will all be ONE.
In EIGHT days, I will be meeting my squad (T Squad) for the very first time. This seems so strange to me because I have already built relationships with many of them. We pray fervently together. We build each other up. We call each other out (kindly, of course). We seek out guidance and wisdom from one another when we can’t quite figure out this thing called life on our own.
The best part, we are nothing alike! We don’t look alike or sound alike. We come from different parts of the country, and even Canada. We have experienced different tests and trials. We have experienced different joys. We come from different family systems. God has pursued us in different ways, but these people are MY people.
We are constantly told to “expect the unexpected” when it comes to all things World Race, but I DO expect that God is going to use these people to encourage me, annoy me, bring me joy, test me, etc., but He is going to use these people to help me become more like HIM.
God doesn’t ask or expect us to live this life alone. We are BUILT for relationships because we are made in His image, and the Trinity is the ultimate relationship. In my opinion, Christianity isn’t a religion, it is a relationship.
I am SO EXCITED to meet my squadmates. They are going to see me at my best and at my worst for 11 months. Lord, please be with them! Haha
I mentioned that my squad prays together, and we’d be honored if you’d pray with us as well. Here are some of the current prayer requests, in no particular order.
-Cancer! Many of us have family and friends that are experiencing cancer- some are still fighting deep within the trenches and some are celebrating clean labs and scans. These family members and friends, including one of our (former) squadmates who has had to delay her Race, need our prayers to keep fighting, celebrating, and glorifying God.
-On-Field Racers! Please pray for them. God is using them well, and the devil is MAD. He is putting our fellow Racers through some tough, tough times. Cassady’s squad, has been through SO much, including the 7.3 magnitude earthquake that we awoke to news of yesterday, but they continue to choose joy and praise God. (Read here, here, here or here if you want to know how to pray more specifically for P Squad. You can support Vanessa and her family here, and you can read P Squad’s latest blogs here. I have a feeling some blogs will soon be written about the latest earthquake and how God is using them to minister and serve the people of Nepal during this time of uncertainty and devastation.) Shew, that’s a lot of hyperlinks! They’re totally worth it though!!!
-Fundraising! We are nearing our Launch Deadline of $7,500, and there are some members of T Squad who are still working towards that goal. Please pray for the money to flow in! If you are interested in specific names of Racers that are still trying to meet our next goal, please let me know!
-Relationships! We are entering unchartered territory. There are relationships that are shattering as we prepare to leave for 11 months, and, if I’m being completely honest, it sucks. (Sorry Mom & Dad for the lack of a better term!) T Squaders are experiencing unsupportive family, friends, bosses, etc. Although we are choosing to leave and follow God’s call, it is NOT easy. Leaving behind every comfort of home, especially the people we do day-to-day life with, is really hard. Please pray for repaired relationships, compassion, comfort and peace.
-NEW Squadmates! There have been some recent additions to our squad! They were committed to another July Route, but since the squad was small, they asked them to choose another route. Does that sound familiar?! Been there. Done that. AND, some of them have now been through it twice. 🙁 I am excited that they are now officially T Squaders which is what God had planned all along!
Joyfully yours,
Mary Catherine
T Squad, I love you! I can’t wait to do life with y’all!!
