As we finished our time in Thailand, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a new season was about to start. Our team had grown so close and there was noticeable growth in each of them. It was such a victory in so many ways to see things come together with them. Yet deep down I feel like God was showing me that a new season was about to begin. Sort of a, “you did it! Now go and do it again.” So at the end of the month we took a bus to a beautiful town called Phuket for another debrief, and sure enough, two minutes after stepping off the bus once we arrived, Joel, one of our squad leaders, pulled me aside and asked me if I would be a team leader. I spent the next few hours praying about it and felt sure that this was part of the new season that God was leading me into. It seems so strange to be telling everyone now, but yes I committed and have been a team leader for the last month and a half. And writing that makes me want to apologize again for blogging so infrequently. So again, I’m sorry.
This also brings to mind the fact that I never really introduced my old team, which makes me sad, but I will do it now.
We were team Raging Waters and we consisted of two guys and 5 lovely ladies and I would like to tell you just a bit about each of them here.
Chip was our team leader (and he’s still leading a team now) and my brother. Not only was he one of the closest people I got to at training camp, but he’s a fellow musician and just as goofy and awkward as I am. We made a great pair and continually challenged and sharpened one another and I saw him grow more and more into a confident leader.
Alison switched onto our squad at training camp and was new to the idea of international missions. She is amazing when it comes to loving our ministry contacts and forming relationships with them. At times we had to drag her away from the people around us to do team related things. In just those first three months she has grown into a confident woman of God who is sure of her identity as a daughter of Christ.
Amanda was also new to our squad and it was amazing to see her step way out of her comfort zone and lead the team in being vulnerable. In fact, she was the person who would never let anything slip by. If something was up with anybody or with the team as a whole she would call it out time and time again. She also developed a hunger for God’s word that was completely new to her and very inspiring to the rest of us.
Jaime was one of the strong, silent women on the team. At first she wasn’t sure why God had led her to the race or what He would lead her to in the future. At the end of three months on the race, she had transformed into a confident, compassionate mediator who wouldn’t hesitate to share her wisdom and encouragement in any situation. She also discovered, by the grace of God, that she has a heart for working with people caught in sex trafficking and the pornography industry.
Deirdre is bold and has a bubbly personality that at times seemed to be all over the map. As time went by she became more focused and secure with her personality and it was wonderful to see her continually grow into a woman of great compassion and a mighty prayer warrior. GaNene made us all laugh like no one else, but she was uncertain of her place on the team and in community in general. She found out that her wisdom and steady personality were extremely important to the team and continued to become more and more open and trusting with time.
So that was my team for the first 3 months of the race and I am so thankful for them and all of the experiences that we had together. Now God has me leading a completely new team who I will introduce to you at another time. I have been in positions of leadership before, but the dynamics of this position are very different and so it has its share of difficulties. There is so much that could be said about it but for now all I will say is that I’m sure that the Lord has me in this position for very specific reasons and that I’m fully committed to it. This is a new season of the race and I’m very excited to continue seeing what God has in store for us all.
Team Raging Waters in India. I love these people and miss them all! (from left to right – Chip, Amanda, Me, Deirdre, GaNene, Jaime, and Alison)
