Greetings from Cambodia!
(My Squad Mentor and dear friend coined this move, “The Paige”)
We are just days away from our first continent change! It’s time for Africa!
Here’s a quick refresher of ministry in Asia:
India – construction, medical camps, teaching, seminary, VBS
Nepal – teaching, preaching, music
Vietnam – teaching, music
Cambodia – teaching
Through your prayers and support, lives were transformed and faithful stewards will continue to reap good and lasting fruit. Amen!
When we arrive in South Africa, our time will commence with an event called “Regional Awakening”… a unique opportunity for three active World Race squads to gather with the regions’ hosts and Adventures in Missions leadership for fresh wind and fire. Imagine 300+ people worshipping and stirring up the gifts of the Spirit. It’s going to be wild. But that’s not all …
As we step into new territory, my participation on the Race will also look a bit different. Along with two others (Jeff and Bekah), I am in the process of being “Raised Up” as a squad leader. This role is not simply positional. It’s an invitation to step into greater influence. Squad leaders join the leadership team in making decisions that impact the squad, such as communicating with the Home Office staff, team placements, planning debriefs, leadership development, and exhortation. We come alongside 1-2 teams and their assigned ministries each month, with a focus on fostering healthy environments for authentic community, intimacy, and mission. We are still World Race participants, but we have accepted the invitation for more responsibility to serve the squad in a unique way, in addition to our ministry hosts. All this to say, we are honored by the opportunity to encourage and learn from the squad and hosts!
So, who are we?
Meet Team Abundance!
(…also known as PB&J!)
We chose the name, Abundance, as a prophetic word over our team. It’s a word that burned on each of our hearts during our training and church planting outreach. More on that later. The idea of abundance is one of our core values. We are no longer slaves, operating in a poverty mindset. We are son(s) and daughters that are grateful for abundant life.
Q & A with A/TEAM
Name: Jeffrey Paul Stackhouse (he writes really good blogs!)
Age: 27
Hometown: Saginaw, MI
Profession: Professional Bodily Fluid Collector, aka Registered Nurse
Go-to coffee order: Either coffee or an Americano. Black, of course.
Favorite hobby: Right now it’s singing and painting, two things I haven’t done much of until yesterday and today. Historically, my favs have been backpacking, rock climbing and taking pictures during both of those activities.
Funny or embarrassing memory from the Race: Month 1 in India, during a talent show night type of thing, Rachel and I were showing off our swing dancing moves. The stage was slippery and we hadn’t practiced in awhile. We went for the slip-n-slide move, my feet indeed did slip and slide, and we both biffed it and fell in top of one another to the resounding laughter of everyone in the room. It was way more funny than embarrassing!
What do you like most about yourself: I have a pretty laid back personality, but I like to get hype up for things, even small things. I think that’s what I like most about myself.
What is the Lord currently teaching you: Right now, the Lord is teaching me about Kingdom efficiency. That is, God is not in a hurry like we are. He doesn’t need closure on each individual day. The kingdom is based on relationships, and relationships are not efficiency machines, in fact quite the opposite. Love for one another is not a formula or an agenda item. It takes quality time to develop and, in fact, more often than not disrupts every schedule order that we try and live our lives by. “Disruptions are his reminders that people are more important than programs and that the ordering of my life is his business.” -Bob Lupton.
Random fun fact: I opened my eyes under water without goggles for the first time in my life last month in Vietnam.
What excites you about this team or this opportunity: Like I’ve said before, I can honestly say there’s no one I’d rather be doing this with. I’ve had a connection with both Bekah and Paige since this whole World Race thing started. Paige and I texted a lot between training camp and launch about what the Lord was teaching us, and we’ve been apart of the Wolfpack together since its birth in India. And Bekah and I just got along really well from day one. We seem to be in similar spots on our walk with the Lord and have connected on reading a lot of the same books throughout the race and having lots of good, deep conversations together. So, basically, I’m just really excited to have a group of already close friends to be raised up squad leaders together! The way we have balanced the fun and serious, the deep and light, already these first few days has been really good (from my perspective anyway). I just believe in the girls and in this team! And of course, most importantly, in God who appointed us to be doing this!
Name: bekAHHHHHH! (she’s super beautiful!)
Age: feelin’ 22
Hometown: Sanford, NC
Profession: Graduated from Clemson University… go tigers!!!!!!!!!!
Go-to coffee order: Hazelnut latte! Frappe form is my favorite.
Favorite hobby: I just like being with people – whether that’s chilling at a coffee shop, going for a run, or exploring a new city, if I’m with people I’m happy 🙂
Funny or embarrassing memory from the Race: Our Cambodian host lined a tuktuk up for my team to take us to a site out of town a ways – about 40 minutes maybe. After riding for about an hour, our driver pulls over in the middle of no where and is pointing down a road as if to ask us if that’s the way to go to get there. We have no idea and he doesn’t speak any English, so we pretty much decided that it was the end for us and we’d probably never make it back. Thankfully we did, but it was hilarious.
What do you like most about yourself: I like that I laugh really hard at random, and sometimes stupid, things a lot. I enjoy laughing.
What is the Lord currently teaching you: He is teaching me to be fully true to my identity of who I am as His daughter! I know that it’s true, but I’m learning to really believe it and live it out. And to walk in confidence of that and in abundance of Him and life every day!
Random fun fact: When I was younger, I bagged up some coal from our fire pit and put it in my brother’s stocking for Christmas because I didn’t think he had been good that year hahaha, he was so mad.
What excites you about this team or this opportunity: I love my teammates so much!!! Man I am real excited to be in this with them. I love dreaming with them and being challenged by them and learning from them. They call me higher. I am also very excited to continue to know my squad more so that I can love them more and better! It’s so neat to be able to grow with them in this and for all they are going to teach me, they’re awesome.
“LET’S GO BABY!”
This is the beautiful, abundant team! We will be together, as Raised Up Squad Leaders until the end of the race. We ask for your intentional prayers as we step into this new season. Pray that we always serve from the overflow, keeping in step with the Spirit.
