Last week, R Squad was met with our first round of team changes. For the first 4.5 months of the race, I was blessed to be on a team with five amazing Godly women. I’m still in awe of the relationships we were able to build together- we truly became a family.
The beautiful women of God’s Magnolias- Becky Jackson, Kayce Clodfelter, Alisha Allen, Me, Ariane Utley, Katie Anderson
Before our team was disassembled and rearranged, God’s Magnolias compiled a list of what it takes to be part of our team (or what it takes to be a Mag). This list includes things that we consistently did or things that happened to us frequently throughout our time together. Although we have just begun the next phase of our journeys with new teams, we will all always be God’s Magnolias at heart.
Requirements to be a Mag:
- You need to be ready to always walk into a blessing.
- Everywhere you go, your priority is not where you’re going to stay- it’s locating the cafes, bakery’s, and closest places to get chocolate.
- You need to be ok with stopping everywhere to take pictures.
- Always be ready for a candid.
- Be ready to have your best laid plans ruined. When this happens, you’re allowed to be upset or frustrated, but you must find a way to laugh through the ridiculousness of any situation.
- You need to be willing to share your food with your team, no matter how small your portion. Forks will be coming at you from all directions. If you don’t want to share, a formal announcement must be made.
- You need to willingly participate in a cuddle puddle in every country.
- Your bed is not your own; it also belongs to five other women.
- When Kayce says she’ll pay for dinner, there must be pure and genuine excitement. This doesn’t mean to blow your own money…remember, walk into the blessing.
- The Grand Hyatt is always, and will forever be, your lodging goal.
- You need to find Ariane a ceaser salad in every country. Don’t feed her lemon cake, ever, and know when to get her to bed.
- You must hate journey markers, and express this loudly and dramatically whenever Alisha is forced to remind you to complete them. You can only do a maximum of two a month, and only after Alisha gets an e-mail from leadership.
- You need to be really indecisive, but ready with an opinion when necessary.
- No matter how many amazing local coffee shops are around you (and you will find them all), if there’s a Starbucks nearby, you must go a minimum of two times a week.
- You take Doxy…not because you don’t want malaria, but because you don’t want acne.
- When you’re at a restaurant, 90% of the time you have to order from a picture on the menu.
- You need to unintentionally walk into shops and restaurants that aren’t open, like you own them.
- You must be willing to destroy every single bug in a 20 foot radius so that Alisha can have a peaceful nights sleep.
- You must be willing to miss your train to stop at Roti ‘O for coffee buns and taro tea. Risk it for the biscuit.
- You’re unprepared for almost everything you set out to do, but you make it work.
- On travel days, pizza is a priority. Preferably stuffed crust, preferably jumbo size.
- Honey. Butter. Biscuit.
You must create a safe environment with your teammates, an environment that is relaxed, honest, comfortable, and fun. You must be willing to carry each others burdens, not because it’s what we’re called to do, but because you love your sisters enough to share in their suffering with them. You must lift each other up daily with encouragement, including both serious and goofy compliments. When someone’s having a breakdown, you must be willing to drop every single thing that you thought was important in that moment and come to the aid of your sister, giving her your undivided attention, kind words, comfort, support, and patience.
You must be able to face confrontation and feedback head on, because you know that your very best interests are at the forefront of these conversations. You must also be willing to give constructive feedback to a teammate no matter how hard that might be, because you love them enough to want to see them grow into the amazing woman that God created her to be. You must invest yourself fully into the development of your relationship with each individual on the team, not only as teammates, but also as friends and sisters in Christ. These friendships will carry you throughout the first four and a half months of your journey across the world. They will help shape the individual growth of each person, and the way each person loves God and treats each other will create an atmosphere of love, acceptance, and vulnerability. Your days will be filled to the brim with laughter, the Holy Spirit, and an abundance of joy. You’ll know you’re a Magnolia when you can look at your team, visibly see how God’s hand worked in putting you together, and recognize that you’re better together than you are apart.
