God thank you for month ten of the world race. Thank you for the lessons you have taught me, the things you have freed me of, and the ways you have challenged me. Thank you that you loved me enough to walk me through some of the hardest things so that I may be freed of the enemy’s lies and look more like you.
Thank you for Bobby and Lori Leek. Thank you that they have so graciously opened their house to us this month and have given us hot showers, good wifi, comfortable beds and a feeling of home. Thank you for their fierce hearts of love. Thank you for giving them a heart for Cuenca, Ecuador. Thank you that they listened to your voice and trusted your call and came here to plant churches. Thank you that you gave them a new and larger church location that they are moving to.
Thank you for Javier and Carol. Thank you that they are taking over Impact Church and are devoting their lives to bringing more people to know you here in Ecuador. Bless their marriage as they come together as one later this month. Thank you for Carol’s story and Javier’s faithfulness in pursuing her through her years of feeling lost.
Thank you for Lauren. Thank you for being so amazing and timing her internship with Younglife at the exact time that our team is here in Cuenca. Thank you for her kind and loving spirit and her sense of humor. Thank you for giving her such a reverence for you at 19 years old. Thank you for the things she has taught me even in our two long conversations these past two days.
Thank you for such an awesome first day of ministry. Thank you for giving our team a day where we are all in the same room for seven hours painting the new church. Thank you for hysterical laughter. Thank you for a team that is so filled with joy and personality. Thank you for protecting me from any injuries despite having fallen off of a stack of chairs, flying through the air, landing on my shoulder and denting the wall with my head. Thank you for spackle. Thank you for the warmth that fills my whole heart whenever I look around and find all seven of us keeled over laughing.
Thank you for Tate. Thank you for her heart for the misfits and her acceptance of anyone for who they genuinely are. Thank you for creating her with incredible discipline. Thank you for her love of cats, cereal and A1 sauce. Thank you for her laugh and the joy that it brings anyone around her. Thank you for walking her through some dark times and displaying your immense strength in her story.
Thank you for Diana. Thank you for her passion for truth and heart for the voiceless. Thank you for her desire to hear from you about everything that she does. Thank you for her steadfastness. Thank you for her desire to learn and teach who you are. Thank you for her laugh that cackles and builds until it knocks the breath out of her and we are both lost in giggles.
Thank you for Captian (Kayla). Thank you for how hard she works and her desire to do everything with excellence. Thank you for her steady presence that also has a sweet smile behind it. Thank you for her desire to seek the Lord and invite others into it. Thank you for her natural leadership that is fueled with humility.
Thank you for Kamiren. Thank you for her beauty. Thank you for the way she celebrates everyone around her. Thank you for redeeming the intense pain she has experienced by giving her a passion to bridge the gap between the secular world and life with you. Thank you for her strength and confidence.
Thank you for Katie. Thank you for the ways that our laughs multiply when we are around each other. Thank you for how she has been a safe haven for me these past ten months. Thank you for her hugs. Thank you for how she always lifts others up before herself. Thank you for her humility and celebration of others. Thank you for her childlike joy. Thank you for her love of bright clothing, seesaws and young children.
Thank you for Jo. Thank you for how she has been a rudder for me throughout the race. Thank you for her eyes of love for people that reflect your patience and grace. Thank you for her wise counsel that challenges, but also encourages. Thank you for giving her a personality and sense of humor that makes anyone around her double over in laughter. Thank you for her love of unique clothing, slow music and pizza.
Come Jesus come, we are here to serve and glorify you!
(Kaite, Kam, Jo, Me, Diana, Captian, Tate (bottom))
They said be careful. I replied, “Don’t worry guys! I always use my head!“
**holds for applause**
