For the second time on the Race, L Squad went through the process that is team changes. This time as a team leader, I knew a bit ahead of time about the changes concerning my team, but not much else, and I wasn’t to share with anyone. So I didn’t. This time around, every team was affected, either by losing people, adding people, or getting completely reshuffled. Team Tumbler was one of the more intact teams after it was all said and done. We spent the first night in Kuala Lumpur celebrating Team Tumbler as it has been the last three months. Everyone knew that team changes were coming, so I was up front with the team and told them at the beginning of the night. I broke that news that we were losing Michelle Kwak. It was sad to see her go. We spent our last night together celebrating how far we’ve come, as individuals and as a team. We all shared our favorite memories thus far on the Race. It was a short time together, but we ended the night praying over Michelle and her new start with her new team. That night I also told the team that we would be adding a new member to our ranks: Amanda Grimwood. Coincidentally, she had been on Cathy’s team before Cathy joined us. We were all excited for what she was bringing to the team and what little we knew about the coming month. That morning, we all met for breakfast and welcomed Amanda with open arms! She told us that when she found out the night before, she was not that excited about it, but decided to move forward with an open mind. As the day progressed, another team leader (Allyson) approached Amanda and told her that she had been praying for her all through debrief. She also mentioned that when the new teams were announced to the leaders, she felt that Amanda should be on her team. Amanda didn’t know how to respond, but prayed about it anyway. After praying about it, she felt at peace about moving to Allyson’s team, a peace that she did not have about being on our team. Amanda came and talked to Cathy and me about it and we were so happy for her. We prayed over her and joyfully released her to Allyson’s care. At our next team time, I shared the news with the team. They were sad to lose yet another member, even if she was only on the team for a few hours. But once a Tumbler, always a Tumbler! We will miss our two members lost, but trust that this is exactly what we need as a team and as individuals. We are looking forward to our “ATL Month” [which is a fancy way of saying we Ask The Lord about what to do as our ministry throughout the month]. We know very little about our ministry this month, but are even more excited because of the mystery! We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us. We are all saying “yes” and ready for whatever He has for us!
