So this past 3 weeks here in Malaysia I have been in one room with all my teammates sleeping on a sleeping pad. 8 girls total sharing a room. This has been tough living so close together with absolutely no where to go to have a moment alone. But God has taught me so much and has shown me such amazing qualities that I would have never known about each of them otherwise.
In this blog I am going to introduce you to my team and tell you all the amazing things I have learned about them.
Abigail Dickerson (18 years old and from Murrieta, California)
Abbie is an awesome person to know. She is full of love and courage. She has a natural gift of getting to know people and build relationships with them. Her daily life consistent of getting roti and coffee in the morning, petting cats and loving everyone soooo well. She also has an amazing love for animals and will do just about anything to save one. Here in Malaysia stray cats are everywhere. One day Abbie and I were on a walk and she found a baby cat not even 2 weeks old all alone and shaking. Her motherly instincts kicked in right away. She quickly picked up the cat, fed her and we spent the rest of that day walking around trying to find a nice owner for her. If you ever have the chance to know Abbie or talk to her for a few minutes, DO IT. She is an amazing friend to everyone she meets!!
Kayla Grasak (18 years old and from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
KAYLA. She is one of a kind. She will take you on the most amazing adventures. She is an amazing listener and comforter. She gives the best hugs and by far one of the funniest people I have encountered. She is a true vessel of the light that God shines through. On the way to Malaysia we were on a 36 hour bus ride from the northern part of Thailand. On hour 26 we stopped in a smaller city still in Thailand for about 2-3 hours, It was around 8 AM and we walked to McDonalds to get a nice breakfast. Kayla came up to me and asked me if I wanted to go on an adventure. She bought a bag of food, then took our leader Lauren and I on an adventure. On our way to breakfast Kayla noticed a women on the street that was begging for money and food. Kayla brought us to the women to just sit with her, to give her a meal, eat all together and try to make conversation. Kayla does an amazing job of just making people feel noticed and seen.
Isabel Oliver (19 years old and from Albertville, Alabama)
Izzy is SUPER giving. She never complains and is such a strong women. She is beautiful on the inside and out. She is hilarious and a joy to be around. She is definitely your go-to person if you ever want to watch funny vines or a good netflix show. She loves all things 90’s and is a very real/honest person. She is quiet and reserved at time but can definitely make us all laugh and be goofy. She is an amazing genius behind the camera and makes sure to capture almost every moment for us. She makes amazing Vlogs of our weeks here and everyone should check them out.
Connaly Akiyama (19 years old and from Covington, Georgia)
She is a woman of few words but carries a strong presence in a room. She is deep and full of wisdom. She has one of the best smiles in the room that just lights everyone up. She is super funny and has an infectious laugh. She is filled with so much knowledge and carries herself with so much respect. She is super intelligent, you can ask her any question about anything and I bet she has an answer. She loves films and will probably create an award winning film one day. Connaly is caring and flexible. She is super go with the flow and just wants others to be happy.
Joey Filo (18 years old and from Shakopee, Minnesota)
JOEY. She is loud and crazy but is one of the realest humans I have ever met. She is bold and courageous. You will know when she walks into a room just by her presence. She is sincere, genuine and great friend. She will bring laughter to just about anything and everything. She is daring and definitely is hungry for the Lord. She is great leader that holds a lot of weight in our group. She can bring a smile to just about all of our faces. She is growing and embracing change with open arms. She says crazy things sometimes but hey that’s Joey.
Tatyana Blair (18 years old and is from Cummings, Georgia)
TATER TOT!!! Tot is a hilarious human that is kicked to even higher gear when you give her 2 dipped cones from McDonalds. She is full of life and just glows all around her. She is true friend that doesn’t dare to judge a soul. Tot has great taste in music and we make sure that we have jam sessions often. She will give you one of the best back scratches I have ever had and is always down to watch a good movie. Tot is someone you can just be extremely comfortable with. She is real and honest and I feel extremely honored to be friends with her and get to know her.
Lauren Garrison (21 years old and from Tigard, Oregon)
LG is one of our leaders. Starting the race she was only supposed to be with us for 3 months. God blessed her life and our life too. She is now spending all 9 months on the race. LG is filled with so much wisdom and she pushes me deeper with the hard questions. She calls all of us higher and makes sure we redirect our focus on God. She is genuine and real. She wants to know how you are and everything about you. She is great at working out and the best person to go to if you want to play a good card game. She has so much patience and love built in her. She is an amazing person to get to know and call a friend.
These are my teammate. They are also people that I consider family. We soak up the good and hard times together. They are people I believe will always be in my life and will always be my true friends.
Thank you to all my supporters and people who continue to encourage me on this journey. Some of my teammates and other friends on the squad are not fully funded. If you are interested in donating to them please feel free to contact me. Thank you to everyone for continuing to keep up with my blogs. 🙂
