Hey Everybody!
So first some logistical updates. I’m so sorry I haven’t posted in a long time, I’l explain in this post. We had training camp in October and it was unbelievable! I got to meet my wonderful Z Squad, you would all be grateful to God for putting me with these people if you met them. I was nervous to meet them going into training, like anyone would be I suspect, but even more so since we had to have a lot of people switch Squads, but God has me where I am supposed to be. I’m so blessed and thankful that He gave me the strength to stay put, not fill in the needed gap for once, so that I can be where I am supposed to be.
We also got assigned our teams (our smaller groups within our squads) after a couple days of team activities and debriefing. The people who assigned our teams spend days in prayer and asked us all kinds of questions and did their very best to put us in the best fitting teams for each of us. I am extremely proud to be a part of Team No Name, which consists of myself and five other wonderful women. I’d like to do another post to introduce the to you all and explain how we decided our team name. For now, here is a picture of my fantastic team:
Speaking of being where I am supposed to be, we had another route change! They told us about it a couple days into training camp and I truthfully found it rather humorous. I’m not even sure why, maybe it’s because I was subconsciously holding onto some warped sense of security and realized how futile and immature that was. SO the new route!!
Zambia
Malawi
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
China
Mongolia
Thailand
Cambodia
Vietnam
Nepal
If you can’t tell the differences with your naked eye, they removed our original three African countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda) as they were getting to be too dangerous and they want to keep us safe, so we still get to go to Africa but Zambia and Malawi are more southern. They also took off India, we were told it is one of the most difficult places to send Squads because the travel visas are apparently impossible to get and very expensive. So they added Mongolia, and we will be the FIRST Squad ever to visit Mongolia! And they added Vietnam. So I’m very excited to see what God does with our route, even if it changes ten more times, I hope you all will be praying that He guides us wherever we are.
So I haven’t been posting because I’ve been feeling inadequate. Shocker, I’m sure we’re all feeling that, but often times when I get anxious I can shut down. I sort of hide in this bubble and pretend it won’t all catch up to me. But as you all know, it does. I know that God has called me to this mission trip but the devil’s lies are often very subtle and they go down easy. They are often easier to accept than the Truth. I’m doing my best to overcome this, to let the Lord’s strength fill me and His words be the only ones I hear, because I cannot shut down during the race. And I shouldn’t ever shut down when I feel overwhelmed, because He is never overwhelmed. He is never caught off guard. He never has too much on His plate.
They also announced our Launch dates at training camp. I have to be in Atlanta on January 6th, 2014, and we fly out for Zambia on the 9th. I have my ticket for Atlanta, my December 18th deadline of $7,500 is met, and it’s getting down to the wire. Please be praying for me, my team, and my squad, and the four other squads leaving in January as well, I’m sure we’re all being attacked with these lies of doubt.
Thank you so SO much to all of you who have supported me throughout this process! I’ll definitely need you’re support as I get ready to leave, and considering I still have to raise about 50% of my funds.
Love you all!
Taylor
