They say that hindsight is 20/20, and I believe it’s true. Looking back, I see all the little bits and pieces that somehow managed to fill in the perfect crevices of my life. Some may call it coincidental but not me. I am confident in knowing that it is only because I serve a God who is infinitely more powerful than cells or magnetic forces or chance. My hope is that I will continue to learn and experience that looking forward and trusting His plan is an even greater testament to His perfect love and will.
Our recent training camp was an awesome reminder of God’s presence in “the little things.” From the beginning of our world race journey, John Michael and I have seen open door after open door. We received immediate support and encouragement from our family and employers, our lease will end with out complication, we were given a place to store our stuff from a good friend, and our support, though not complete, has come in steadily thus far. It’s almost comical how, with all this proof of his goodness, we still find ways to doubt Him.
What would our squad be like? Will they accept us as “the married couple?” Will we be able to have fun yet connect on deeper levels as well? What will our team be like? Will we feel comfortable confiding in them and sharing our marriage with them? These were the questions that have plagued us since the moment we accepted our spots on what is now known as the “Z” squad.
I’m here to tell you once more, our God is so faithful! Our questions were answered in abundance, and training camp solidified to us that, indeed, this is where God is calling us for this upcoming year. The exciting part is that even after only 8 days we felt as though we just gained 45 family members!
Team Nikao
The Z squad is made up of people from all walks of life. Totaling about 45 people, there are recent college grads, those in the secular work force, some involved in ministry already, some older, and some younger. While unique, each one of us has committed to following the Lord’s call to abandon our comforts in order to proclaim the Gospel to the nations and serve him with our hands and feet. God has blessed us so richly with the Z squad. It is unmistakable that He handpicked each individual to serve a crucial role on our newly formed body! The love, laughter, and joy that has radiated from this group is overwhelming, and I know there is more to come!
While we will spend large amounts of time doing ministry and traveling with the squad as a whole, we are broken up into smaller teams of 6 or 7. Our teams are whom we will be living with on a day-to-day basis with our ministry hosts in each country. They will become our support system and family to live with! In order to divide the squad into teams, the AIM staff spend time observing our squads during group activities, debriefing us, and most importantly prayerfully asking the Lord to reveal each team to them.
Once the teams have been selected, a team leader is chosen. Team leaders are expected to be a guide for the team not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. I’m excited to tell you that John Michael was chosen as our leader! He has always displayed natural leadership in so many areas of his life, and I’m eager to see how God will use him in this position to grow and glorify Him!
We dominated the Downtown Pizza arcade. Introducing Team Nikao with a little help from Justin Bieber's Never Say Never
Our team is made up of 7 people. John Michael, Tim Eisaman, Kathryn Law, Jamie Smith, Majil Franz, Sam McGuire, and me. This, like everything else so far, is proof of God’s sovereignty in all we do. We feel so incredibly blessed to be given such a fun-loving, bold, and caring community! We are ready to dive in head first with this group and live in a never-ending community of believers that will share this journey and sharpen one another along the way! There will be laughter and I have no doubt there will be tears, but I rest assured knowing that God has placed this team together with a purpose to use us in ways that only he can reveal.
Tim Eisaman Kathryn Law Jamie Smith Majil Franz Sam McGuire
Each team chooses a name too. This name will encompass the vision of the team and work to bring the teams uniqueness into one common vision. After much prayer and discussion, our team decided on the name “Nikao”.
According to the KJV Greek New Testament Lexicon, Nikao means:
to conquer
to carry off the victory, come off victorious
of Christ, victorious over all His foes
of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions
when one is arraigned or goes to law, to win the case, maintain one's cause
Our prayer is that God will make us a victorious team this year. We want to do more than avoid sin and hardships; we want to be conquers over evil. One verse that encourages us is John 16:33 where Jesus said:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
