TEAM INDEPENDENT
In my last blog I mentioned that this is an all women month which means that I have an all-female team. I wanted to introduce my team and allow you to hear some other Racers experiences and what God has been currently doing in their lives. Here is TEAM INDEPENDENT!
***There are some grammatical errors and run on sentences due to this being a transcription of a recorded interview.
Mary Korch
Age: 22
Hometown: Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Loves all things economics and business, hates all things bugs and insects
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
Nicaragua was my favorite but I want to talk about Honduras. The thing that I loved about Honduras is that we built really great relationships with our hosts and we really lived with the people of Uracco. That’s something that’s really important to me is living in solidarity with the people. It was challenging physically and spiritually because of everything that was going on but the Lord showed us a lot. Nicaragua was my favorite because it felt like home to me (REAP) like the land we were at was beautiful, the people there were just so easy to love, especially the kids who were so cute. I made a lot of friends plus adventure days were really cool and the community was just something that I’ve never seen before. Also, the Tamarindo Project.
What are you most excited about an all women month?
Probably the sisterhood and being able to empower each other as women because even though we are different we have a lot of similarities and being able to do fun things with each other like our workouts together. We’re just like a really strong force and it’s a great time to bond with each other and the Lord.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
I think that I’m learning more about myself and how I operate and I thought that I was very self-aware before I came on the Race and I think I was but when you’re put in certain situations that you learn more and think that getting to do that with a bunch a women who are your friends is pretty cool.
Hannah Neel
Age: 22
Hometown: Cummings, Georgia
Loves business and women empowerment
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
My favorite was Costa Rica because our hosts were just absolutely amazing. I just adore Hannah (Fletcher) and Stephanie! I just loved how much we were poured into and the ministry is just exactly what I want to do, well not exactly but it was something I was able to get behind easily. It was something that I was passionate about and I was able to use my degree in it. It was so cool knowing that I was starting something that was going to keep going and that it would potentially impact almost everyone who lives in that town. The home was just so fancy and acai bowls of course!
What are you most excited about an all women month?
I’m mainly excited to get to know people that I haven’t had the opportunity to know yet and hang out with everybody. I think that there’s so much that I can learn from people on our squad and statistically I won’t be able to be to be on a team with everybody so I’m excited to spend time with all the women because I there’s so much I can learn from everyone.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
I think I want to grow more in boldness but also like grace and boldness.
Emma Williams
Age: 24
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina
Loves photography, giraffes and enneagram discussions
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
Costa Rica was my favorite because I loved the city and all of the vegan options. Also I loved the ministry that I got to do and it was something I could see myself do for the rest of my life.
What are you most excited about an all women month?
Something that I hope happens in this month with all women is for us to be able to have conversations about things that we may not necessarily have conversations about with the guys there. Things like womanhood and what it means to be a woman but also talk about things that affect us a lot more and being able to have an open and vulnerable time would be really cool with this group of women who have been together for the past 7 months and will continue to for the next 4 months. I think that it could be really cool and a way to build the women on our squad.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
The thing I’ve been learning the most is how to love everyone well cause like if we’ve all been put together without knowing each other and that is really amazing but also comes with a lot of struggle because it’s hard to love people that are so different from you or to even know how to love those people because it’s foreign. At home, you’re around people that you choose and here it’s like we’ve chose one another by signing our contracts with AIM (Adventures in Missions) but we didn’t pick each other out, you know. So l think that’s something in general that we’ve learned throughout the Race but now beyond choosing or tolerating the people that are hard to love and understand, finding this love for them and being intentional. Sometimes I get annoyed with a person and then I’m like “Why am I annoyed with them?” Then I’m like actually it doesn’t matter I should just go and love them instead and intentionally take steps of kindness towards someone even when I don’t want to and it’s not in my nature to do. So that’s one thing that I want to grow in this month that can benefit me for the rest of my life.
Karrie Noack
Age: 22
Hometown: Springfield, Missouri
Loves animals, Chick-fil-A (has worked there for 7 years)
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
So my favorite month was Zambia, I just loved our ministry hosts, built very great relationships with them. Also, I feel like God was teaching me something that month because before going on the Race I prepared my heart that every month we would have to leave and go to a different country. I think that’s something super hard for me just because my mindset is like well don’t get too close because you’ll have to leave and it’ll be even harder. So throughout the Race I gotten close to my ministry hosts but not that close just because it would be super hard on me but I think this past month I just got super close the guys and the Lord was teaching me that just because you’re leaving doesn’t mean that you can’t create those relationships and stay in contact.
What are you most excited about an all women month?
Being on an all-girl environment since I’ve been on two co-ed teams, I don’t really know what that looks like. I feel like a lot times when it’s all girls it’s more vulnerable and more open and knowing me, I not that type of person. I don’t like being vulnerable and being open but being around people that are like that helps because vulnerability leads to vulnerability. So I’m looking forward to have the opportunity to grow in that.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
I feel like for me the last question and this question kind of goes hand in hand, so vulnerability. I guess growing up I’ve created a mindset of when I’m vulnerable and I’m talking about something hard that I’m going through I start crying and I hate crying and I think in a weird way is how I see it is crying is showing weakness and I see that as bad. Which I know it isn’t but in my head it is. So I feel like the more vulnerable I am the more open I am, the more that I don’t have that mindset and being vulnerable and being open about things that you’re going through doesn’t mean that you are weak, I would like to carry that on for the next few months.
Taylor Stamp
Age: 24
Hometown: Blanchard, Oklahoma
Loves reptiles and worked at a zoo for 4 years before the Race
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
My favorite month was Costa Rica, I really loved the ministry there and the variety of options we got to work with and our hosts were amazing. Everything was amazing!
What are you most excited about an all women month?
I’m excited for the opportunity to get to spend with people and talk to people who aren’t on the same team and getting their perspectives. Also to do fun things like watch movies and things.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
The Lord has been teaching me a lot about grace these past few months and I think that is something that I struggle doing because it’s something I struggle with understanding and so I think the Lord has been working with me a lot on that and it’s something I definitely want to grow in and take through the rest of the Race.
Jessie Lirios
Age: 22
Hometown: Greenville, Illinois
Loves anything Christmas, wildflowers and can sing in whistle tone
What has been your favorite month on the Race so far?
I think Nicaragua was my favorite month. I felt like God was showing me more of my purpose in the kingdom through ministry.
Also something I loved about Zambia was that everything that was happening could have been done without us so what we did was things around the property that lightened the load for our hosts, but like they didn’t have us preach or teach because they were training the kids there to be able to do those things so it will be completely Zambian ran.
What are you most excited about an all women month?
I’m excited because we’re a very diverse group and it’ll be really cool to learn about biblical womanhood from such a diverse group of women and learning all the different ways that it can look to be a Proverbs 31 woman.
What are you cultivating right now or hope to cultivate in this next month that you hope will help you in these next four months?
I feel like I’m learning 500 things right now! One thing I’m learning is how to leave things in the grave that have already been laid down and I was reminded of that when I was reading Psalms 51 and how David was like God here are my sins, please forgive me and restore me and I can go do this and after that he didn’t go back and say here are my sins again. So learning how to stop apologizing for a record that has been wiped clean because then I can walk forward more freely. Another thing I’m learning is how to live sustainably without having a scarcity mindset. One thing is make wise choices but don’t live as you’re not going to be provided for and doing the same thing with rest. The idea of that we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit before we go pour out is true because we can’t stop seeking Holy Spirit but he’s never going to leave us empty especially when my life is devoted to serving him, he’ll forever give me the strength to continue. Something else that I’m learning is living, loving, serving, all the things wholeheartedly. Doing that regardless of what I get back from other people. Like if I pour in to these people with so much intentionality and either if there is not a response or I feel like burned in the response that I do get, not letting that stop me from pouring in to them again or the next person because of fear that their response won’t be what I want.
