It would be really fun to write that my team completely understood each other from the beginning of the World Race. It would feel good to say that we always knew just how to love each other and that we never stopped appreciated each other’s differences.
But that’s not our story….Our story is way better than that.
From the very beginning, our team has been a group of opposites.
hyper extroverts AND hyper introverts
over sharers AND under sharers
conflict avoiders AND fixers
charismatics AND quasi cessationists
figurative thinkers AND literal thinkers
Our one commonality – we all said “yes”.
We said yes to daily team times, to bumpy feedback sessions, to fighting to love the unlovable parts of each other. We said yes to admitting wrongs and forgiving offences.??
The first three and a half months were hard work with gradual progress, labouring towards an evasive end of “True Community”.
Then it happened…
We finally resigned to the reality that we couldn’t fix it, that all of our efforts at understanding and accommodating each other would never result in actual changes of heart. So, we called a meeting. We sat in a circle, shared our perspectives, and basically said “God, we give up”.
John 6 tells a story of when the disciples were battling a storm of their own. Despite their continual rowing, they had not reached the shore and the waves seemed to be bringing inevitable disaster…they didn’t recognise the fact that Jesus was there and all they had to do was ask Him to get in the boat.
“Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.” John 6:21
I couldn’t tell you how, what words were said or what choices were made, but something changed during that meeting. Somehow we arrived at “True Community”.
Ezekiel 36:26 says “I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”
Those of you who know me, know that I would love to tell you exactly how this change happened, the step-by-step process that we followed. But instead, I have something better to share – it could not have happened without Him.
My team and I experienced a miracle. We went from begrudging teammates to life long friends.
He wrote a better story than I could have ever asked or imagined.
We are now in Cambodia, “debriefing” and preparing for our next month of ministry.
Team changes have come. God has invited each of us to say goodbye to our old teams and to embrace our new ones. He has given us new circles that we can invite Him into and new season to explore.
But no matter what changes come our way, Pat, Jonathan, Madi, Amy, Kelli and I will never forget the miracle of team “Nos Amis”.
We will never have to worry about losing what we have …because you can’t lose something you never earned in the first place.
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If you want to read about another miracle our team got to be a part of, check out my friend Madi’s blog by clicking HERE.
Also, please give a nice warm welcome to my new team. With some old faces and many new ones, I’m excited for all God has planned for us 🙂
