So, a thing that becomes part of everyday life on the Race is something called Feedback. There is Positive Feedback: praising someone for something you saw them do or heard them say, etc; and there is Constructive Feedback: where you notice something in someone that they could work on and then give them a suggestion on how they can put this feedback into practice. Feedback can be challenging at times, but it encourages you to be aware of what is going on around you and also challenges you to work on stuff in yourself that you might not have been aware of or realized was a problem before.
Let me tell you a story about one of the Constructive Feedbacks that I received from a teammate. I suppose a little bit of history might be helpful. Well, if you know me at all, then you know that I am a very detail oriented person. I enjoy schedules. I like knowing what time it is. I do not like being late to anything… sometimes even to the point where if I am going to be late then I won’t even go.
Now onto why I bring this up. I was in charge of a particular Team Time (daily meeting with your team where you either do a fun activity and/or give Feedback). I decided that our team was going to have a bonfire and as a surpise I made banana boats stuffed with cookies and cream candy bars and crunchy peanut butter. If you want instructions on how to make these tasty creations then let me know.
Anyways, the story goes like so: the Constructive Feedback that I received was something along the lines of needing to give up control, especially with things that I have no control of. In this case, it was with worrying about the schedule and following it perfectly. As I have come to realize on the Race, things don’t always go as planned and schedules change. Sidenote: learning how to be flexible and give up control are some things that I have been working on since Training Camp, but I guess I had been worrying about it more at that time (Nicaragua, Month 4, April 2015).
So, my teammate (Claire) gave me a challenge. She dared me to take off my watch and delete the picture of the schedule from my phone for a week. When she first challenged me I told her that I needed some time to think about it. So I did, for about 17 hours. I accepted the challenge after Ashley and I were talking about it at the coffee shop on our day off.
During the challenge I did learn to become less controlling. I learned how to depend on my teammates more. And, in doing this it allowed my teammates to take ownership and become more aware of when things needed to happen and not always being able to rely on me for knowing the answer. If I wanted to know the time, then I asked someone most of the time. I tried really hard not to use my phone to figure out the time, but I did at times when no one was around. I also decided that I would not ask about the schedule and would let someone else bring it up as a topic of discussion. Usually when I would have a thought about the schedule I would not speak it, and then someone else would bring it up within a few minutes. This also helped me work on becoming more patient… which was something that I was encouraged to work on as well.
In other news, I am part of a new team. We call ourselves Team Fuente, which means “fountain” or “source.” We seek to share what we have received from Jesus (the fountain of living water) with others. We pull our strength from Jesus (the source). My new teammates are: Dani Rogg (team leader), Carlie Smith (former teammate), Brenna Lucero, and Kathryn Krause. We are a team of 5 women. It will be very different compared to my last team because I was 1 of 8 and now I am 1 of 5. It will be great though!
I wanted to give you a quick introduction to what ministry is projected to look like this month. We are in San Felix, Panama. We are working with a married couple who have been Long Term Missionaries here for 2 years now. Danny and Heather Nelson. Danny is from Panama originally, moved to FL in 1997. We will be working with the deaf, teaching English (and maybe other subjects), learning ASL, helping with homework, teaching about Jesus, etc.
Also, other exciting news: I will be serving as the Treasurer for my team, and also as M-Squad Finance Coordinator. Here is where my attention to detail and mathematical brain will come in handy and I can use them as a way to serve my team, squad, office people at AIM and the Lord well.
That is all for now! As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. I would love to hear from you! God bless!
Misha
