This is your introduction to Y Squad, the people I will be spending 11 months with on my World Race journey beginning in August. We all like to refer to ourselves as ¨WHY Squad¨ instead of ¨Y Squad,¨ for various reasons. Some of them are just funny, yet serious reasons why we ascribe this title to our squad, such as: WHY would God bring this group together, or WHY are we even doing this, WHY would we agree to leaving the comforts we enjoy in the States for 11 months, etcétera. These are all actually very serious questions that we have to ask ourselves as we prepare our hearts for the next year abroad. Still, we also ask them comically between one another since it is impossible for us to comprehend the foresight of God in His decisions, so we just laugh together and rest in knowing that He is faithful and omniscient in all that He does.
The name might be a nice pun, but it is also a declaration of the faith that we have in our Heavenly Father. So many times when I have shared my plan with others to go on the World Race, they want to know, ¨WHY?¨ Well, the question is a valid one, but it is not hard for me to answer. The reason is because God has called me to this. I am thankful that the rest of the members of my squad each have a solid answer for why they are embarking on this journey. Although we each have our various aspirations and goals related to this trip, we each have one motivator in common – the call of God. Personally, I expect to grow exponentially in my relationship with God and also in my character. I am sure that the rest of my squad mates have the same in mind. I expect to have a greater heart and love for people by the time I return home, and an overwhelming sense of selflessness that is often difficult to obtain amongst the comforts of a privileged life. As Christians, these are undeniably biblical characteristics that we all need to pursue and obtain, by grace and through faith in God´s ability to renew and transform us into His image, in which He created us. We want to grow up into Him, and He has promised to work in us if we submit and allow Him to do so: ¨…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…¨ Philippians 1:6. We never have to go it alone, but rather depend on Him to complete His work in us. Isn’t that exciting?!
Now that you know the WHY behind this group, let me present to you, without further adieu, Y Squad! We´ll begin with the guys:
Chase Collins
Chase is an awesome man of God who always brings life to others when he is around. He has a childlike faith that is truly inspiring and amazing. He is full of laughter and is a pretty good dancer – he helped us win the dance competition we had within our squad one day at training camp.
David Golub
David comes from a very traditional background, much like mine. He is incredibly disciplined in all things and very knowledgeable concerning Scripture. His parents immigrated from the Ukraine, one of the countries we will be visiting in month 10 of our trip. He is fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian, which will be a great asset to us in our final three months spent in Eastern Europe. He has completed several mission trips back to Ukraine with his parents and church family, so he also knows the terrain, both physically and spiritually, and will be of much help to our squad in that way as well.
Zachery Calderon
Zachery has an incredible sense of humor and always makes me laugh. We love to roast one another, along with the other members of our squad. It is all in good fun. However, he is also an awesome encourager, always looking for ways to uplift and inspire us in creative ways. He is one of the two members of our squad who will be handling the logistics once we arrive in each new country.
Me
As you probably already know, my name is Reece Holland (and this is a super up-close pic…sorry, I am running low on selfies at the moment). I come from a Southern Missionary Baptist background, as do many of my friends and relatives. The church I was raised in was a great place to be if you wanted to be tutored in the Word and encouraged to live a life that honors God. I know that my brothers and sisters there are modest and want all the glory to go to God, as do I, but I must give honor where honor is due; moreover, I am honoring God in His goodness to position me there under their influence. I am so grateful for the men and women of God who surrounded me as I grew up, including those who did not attend my particular church, as there were and are so many good people in my community who taught me so much. I know that so many labored for me in prayer, and they encouraged me through their lives of dedication to the faith. I would hate to leave anyone out, but I want to give a special shoutout to those at Allgood Baptist, who have supported me tremendously both financially and in prayer. I grew up with you and under you, and you are family! I love you guys and thank God for you. Also, I want to mention another family that I have become a part of more recently. To those at New Life Ministries, thank you for taking me in! You have been a source of life and encouragement to me in the past several months, and I am grateful. You have given so generously to God’s plan for my life in this season in every way possible, financially and in prayer and emotional support. I love you all and cannot imagine 11 months apart from you. Still, I look forward to enjoying the remaining few weeks with you. Last but not least, thank you so much to each and every one of you who have supported me in this trip, whether in financial support, prayer, encouragement, or all of the above. I cannot express fully in mere words my gratitude for you and your heart in being so gracious. At least I can say this, with sincerity: thank you and God bless you richly, in Jesus´ name!
I will post another blog soon about my testimony if you have never heard it, since it is pretty long. In a few words, though, here it is – I was lost, and then I was found! I was blind, and now I see! A little cliche, I know; but it is true. I believe it will be a blessing to you, and I really love sharing it! So, stay tuned for that.
That is enough about myself for now, so back to the guys of Y Squad, aka The Brosciples (check out our fundraising shirts on my FB page, they are more than cool). These men have truly inspired me to pursue Christ and be the best me that I can be in through the 10 days I spent with them at Training Camp. They each have their unique strengths that push me to grow up into Him with greater passion and perseverance. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we look forward to leaning on and gleaning from one another in all areas of godliness and spirituality. These guys are so full of grace and truth that they bring to my mind many characteristics of Jesus himself; and rightly so, as we were created in His image to multiply His glory throughout the earth. I can hardly wait to serve alongside them! I am so thankful for their pursuit of God and I intend to take full advantage of my time with them in the upcoming year, in order to grow and mature in the knowledge of Jesus through their lives and testimonies, accompanied with our shared travels and experiences. It is a wonderful thing to be connected so closely with fellow men of God during such a developmental time in my life.
Note: I will post a separate blog soon about my time at Training Camp, as it was jam-packed full of valuable lessons and encouragement in so many areas (and since this first blog is already so lengthy). You won’t want to miss that story!
Now, for the ladies of Y Squad. There are 16 of them, four times the number of the guys on our squad. I feel assured that God is wise in that. With grace on their side, I know that they can help keep us on track.
Allina Robie
Allina is very thoughtful and thorough in all the she does. She is a natural-born leader with a passion for getting things done, and in the right way. She inspires me to be better organized and to appreciate the works of Shakespeare more. Fun fact: Allina and I are both minors in creative writing. However, she had a focus in poetry, while I can only name off a few lines of random poems, which I usually cannot remember the titles thereof.
Carly Miers
Carly is an awesome dancer with an incredible ¨mean mug,¨ as pictured here. Do not let the dance face fool you though, she is full of love and has a true gift of compassion. She seriously ¨feels you¨ when you are going through something, like seriously. She embodies the verse that tells us to cry with, laugh with, rejoice with one another. She is so much fun to be around, too!
Erika Shelby
Erika is such a sweetheart. She has such passion for those who are typically not even thought of by most. I am challenged by her willingness to try to understand others, no matter how ¨different¨ they may seem. She has such a big heart and a devotion to reach the unreachable.
Kat Wilder
Kat is a fellow southerner, from Conyers, GA. I am thankful that I am not the only one from these parts. She is so full of joy. She laughs at everything. I mean literally, everything. If you think you are not funny, she will prove you wrong! She is such a kind spirit and is passionate about loving others. She has an awesome video blog that makes me jealous.
Kaitlyn Upton
Kaitlyn just graduated with a bachelor’s in biology. She is already teaching me so much about science and the way things work. It is a blessing because I was never gifted in that area. She is also really a joy to hang around. She let me borrow her hammock one night, which is giant. I think she could fit ten of herself in it. It was super comfortable for me, though!
Kenna Daugherty
Kenna is so gentle and loving. She reminds me that quite often it is a good idea to just smile and say nothing. That speaks volumes, actually. She can also be very energetic when the time is right and I love her sense of balance in that. She is super cool in every sense of the word.
Kirsten Overholser
Kirsten is also a very gentle spirit. I feel connected with her since people very frequently mispronounce her name. It is Kirsten, with the ¨i¨ infront of the ¨r¨ not the other way around. Although no one ever pronounces my name wrong – with the exception of my time in Costa Rica and Colombia, I just told them to call me by my first name, William, eventually – almost everyone spells it wrong initially, with a ¨s¨ instead of a ¨c¨. Although she is usually pretty quiet, she has an infectious laugh when it comes out; even though she seldom laughs at my jokes. Bummer.
Leah Van Someren
Leah inspires me in a few different ways. She is hyper-organized. She is a leader without any need of training. She works as an event planner for a huge company, of which I cannot recall the name. She has traveled extensively for her job and for fun and is knowledgeable about several aspects of some Asian cultures, which will aid the squad during our five months in Southeast Asia. She is also super joyful and optimistic in all things, which is an invaluable character trait for a trip such as this one.
Lyndsee Landon
Lyndsee is undoubtedly the class clown. She is always cracking jokes and roasting everyone, which I love. Again, all in good fun! Apart from being hilarious, she is also super integral and honest. Like a good friend, she will not hold back her true opinion or sugarcoat anything. This is also a trait that I think will be very productive for our squad, as we all need to learn how to ¨speak the truth in love, and grow up into Him who is the head – Christ¨ Ephesians 4:15, paraphrased in order to fit grammatically with the tense of my last sentence.
Madison Moore
Madison is so smart. You can tell by just looking at her, and it is not only because of the glasses. She looks a lot like one of my college Spanish professors, too; only, she is not of Latin descent. I will never stop calling her one of the many options for ¨teacher¨ in Spanish, such as: maestra, profesora, profe, or doctora, just to name a few. Unless, of course, she eventually becomes offended at that, which I doubt. Madison is also very sweet and thoughtful. Although she is not my Spanish professor, I am certain that she can teach me a few things along the way!
Megan Small
Megan is one of the sweetest people I know. For real, she is so nice. She has such a lovable personality and a bright, explosive smile that makes it difficult for the frowning muscles in one´s face to function properly. Megan is also one of the most dedicated people to prayer that I have ever come across. She started a 5 a.m. prayer group at training camp that grew to several members by the end of it. She is also incredibly brave and courageous. I am truly encouraged by her perseverance through such difficult times with family sickness at home; not to mention, how she still finds ways to encourage others despite that.
Monica Plisiecki
Monica is a hair stylist by trade, which I am very thankful for! Unlike two of the other guys on my squad, I do not plan on growing out my hair during the eleven months. She is so nice that it makes me consider if I am truly nice to people. She is also incredibly perceptive and prophetic. She is so wise; it is ridiculous. She can see right through me, and I am glad for that, mostly. Monica makes me want to be a better person and truly give myself to others, rather than be semi-present and not let others into my life. Don´t worry, Monica. It´s working!
Mackenzie Kraemer
Mackenzie, or Mack, as we call her, is super cool. She is so chill, yet so involved and energetic at the same time. When you meet Mack, you want to be her friend automatically. She has a charisma that is pretty awesome. Remind you of anyone? Oh yeah, kinda like Jesus! She is a lot of fun and has a unique gift to befriend others.
Nicol Crose
Nicole is the gentlest person I have ever met. Period. Still, she is so much fun and is a really good dancer. She has the potential to get her point across when necessary, too. I gave her full permission to yell at me if she needs to, but I doubt that she will. When she does speak up, it is a good idea to listen because she does not waste words just to fill in the silence. Her words carry weight. She could probably horribly insult you while making you feel like a totally loved and treasured person at the same time. Of course, she would never do that, though. She is full of wisdom and I look forward to learning from her down the road. Also, Nicole is making our official Y Squad hand sign in this photo. It has never been a sign for anything else before, we invented it!
Paxtyn Lotz
Paxtyn is also a hair stylist by trade. She and Monica will probably take turns cutting my hair! Yay, right? I told them that I would pay them in trident layers. Not really, though. Paxtyn has an insane ability to empathize with people. I am envious of that, but still not at the same time because it must be rough to feel so many different things. She grew up being very physically sick as a child and throughout some of her teenage years, but today she is totally healthy! Praise God for that. Her life is an inspiration of persevering faith and unwavering trust in the Lord and His will to heal.
Suzanna Moreland (Pictured in the middle of Megan Smalls on the left and Monica Plisiecki on the right)
Last, but not least, Suzan! She prefers us to call her Suzan rather than Suzanna, because she said that she only heard that name when she would get into trouble as a child. How funny. Suzan is ridiculously resourceful. If you had been with us at training camp, you would understand what I mean. She is also Brazilian, which is super cool! Maybe she can teach me Portuguese. She loves people without conditions and she is knowledgeable about South American cultures, which will be super helpful while we are serving in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru!
These women of God are truly awesome. I have a feeling that the other guys and myself are going to learn a lot about how incredible women are during the eleven months with them. God said that it was not good that Adam should be alone. I think we will find that to be true as we begin to see how invaluable women are to this world and to the mission that we have from Christ to spread His good news throughout the earth. I am stoked to have the opportunity to take on this mission alongside such incredible men and women of God. They are all true disciples and I am anxious to learn and grow with them! Only five more weeks…God help us to be at least semi-prepared!
Just for fun, here are a couple of photos of my whole squad decked out for Squad Wars! (Which we won, which you will hear more about in my upcoming Training Camp blog)
So that is my squad! I hope you enjoyed learning about them. Now you can pray more specifically for us. Please consider following their blogs as well, if you like! See you next time!
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