Here’s a glimpse into what an average night looks like in TKO’s room. Reader discretion advised…just kidding 🙂
6:30pm
Four of us lazily walked into our room after eating 6 too many tortillas for dinner. Tennessee Applegate immediately crawls into her ‘fortress’. You see, she has a bottom bunk and blocks out light and human interaction with the simple combination of her “dress” pants and Philippian airline blanket. Directly above the “woman cave” lies Ashley Levesque. As she climbs into her neatly made bed, she scratches her forhead in distraught as she can’t find her phone. Again. But don’t worry, it’s right under her covers.
6:46pm
I lay on my bed staring into the notes section of my phone, reminiscing over all the things I didn’t cross off my to-do list for the day. I get stressed.
7:03pm
Kate and Lauryn, the social butterflies, finally walk in. After taking two steps, Kate peaks into Tenny’s tent and asks to borrow her ipad, again, to watch her latino dance movie. Folks, she is on her sixth round since being in Guat. When the movie ends, Kate runs into the bathroom to take her third shower of the day. Lauryn plops down on her mattress on the floor, plugs in her headphones, and begins blasting Spanish trap music.
7:33pm
Ashley gets sleepy eyes. We hear “Under the Sea” playing in her headphones.
8:00pm
Ashley falls asleep.
8:21pm
Bekah Monroe stretches across her sprawled belongings to get into her bed. She grabs her phone, gets in the zone, and attempts to beat her high score in “2 dots”.
8:30pm
Bekah asks for the lights to be shut off.
8:31pm
No response. The light remains on.
8:32pm
The door bursts open. Grace Gladney storms in with shrill excitement. She exclaims, “Y’all (even though she’s from Ohio) God is so good!” before proceeding to her bed. Everyone jults up and waits for an explanation.
9:00pm
Still no explanation from Grace, but the squeeling continues. She begins pacing the room saying how good the Lord is.
9:10pm
Someone asks Grace why the Lord has been good to her.
9:11pm
Bekah asks someone to shut the light off.
9:15pm
The light is still on.
9:30pm
Everyone settles into bed for the night. The trap music simmers and Grace channels her excitement into journaling.
9:31pm
Tenny gets up and begins her nightly routine. I put my sleeping mask on. I rip it off because it’s too restricting.
10:00pm
The light is finally shut off. Bekah sighs in relief.
6 months ago, I would have told you my teammates and I are completely, and I mean completely, polar opposites from each other. I write to you today, 4 countries later, saying it’s true. If I had to describe our personalities together, I would say it’s as if a shark and a guinea pig were trying to make friendship bracelets. I would have never imagined my love for these incredible women to be as strong as it is. I’m in awe of how the Lord orchestrated this team with completely opposite personalities to bring Kingdom together. We have become family. We fight for each other. We call each other higher. We share how the Lord is moving. We pray for one another. Now don’t get me wrong, we aren’t perfect. We have occasionally heated (and by heated I mean passive aggressive) feedback sessions. But our love for each other and for the Lord unites our differences. Our little church of seven is a powerhouse. And we’re comin’ for you Africa.
