This is my first team: TEAM REDEEMED. Let me tell you a little bit about them now that I know them better. I can only but try to put into words what an amazing time we had together, and how beautiful they truly are. Here we go…
Tamara:
What can I say about this star of a woman? I remember meeting her at Launch and how she played with her hair as she told us a little bit of her story and how she came to be our team leader. She was so raw from the beginning and so willing to be vulnerable that she alone set the tone for us to be willing to trust each other with our hearts. I remember our first feedback session on El Camino de Santiago. It was under a tree behind our hostel, and Tamara was so careful to honor each one of us.
One of my favorite memories with Tamara happened the first day of the Race, in Pamplona. After exploring, we reached a square full of young college age kids. We found a nice spot to join them on the ground and then, like she had this planned all along, she pulled out a bottle of wine and two wine cups. We proceeded to toast to our new friendship and life. I remember making a vivid memory and thinking “This girl is so cool and super easy going!” She never proved me wrong.
What I loved the most was Tamara’s contagious excitement about anything! Mostly adventure and food made her the most happy! She was the magnetic force that drew our team in and kept us going strong. It was so easy to get excited about anything Tamara wanted to do. She has this way of painting a beautiful picture of a new adventure day or fun trip to the hammam, or pitching a new culinary venture on her creative cooking streak, that I could never say no to. I love her laugh and smile and admire her love for Jesus! The thing I so admired is her gift of evangelism and networking. Whether she made friends on the streets or connected pastor friends she did it with such ease.
God clearly opened so many doors through her in these short 4 months of knowing her. She grew in such boldness and confidence that I am in awe of God and so excited to follow her journey wherever it may lead! She made the Race look so easy and she always found a way to remind me to not focus on the hard and that I could do what I hated and found so hard. “It’s just a way of living for me now” or, “I just deal with what I have” or “yeah you could do it.” Or my two favorites: “It’s going to be so much fun” or “It’s so fun!” Her steadiness to lean into the hard made me eventually cave and just “push right though the suck!” Thanks Tamara! I can’t wait to see you in Florida! Here’s to a life long friendship! Cheers!
Shela:
This woman right here. I can’t put her in a nicely packaged box with a cute bow on top. There are so many intricate parts to her and I still don’t know all of them. Just to give you a taste of her, here are some moments we shared.
I laughed so hard on the way home one day when we were retelling her story of how she gave this poor women in Cyprus not one, but two black eyes and a bloody nose. The poor woman just wanted to give her a kiss on the cheek and Shela almost took her out with her chin. I had good deep conversations with Shela in Pathos and it became one of my favorite moments on the Race. I felt some stages of awkward with her embracing being embraced and her germafobic tendencies (her and the Lord are currently working on this). We fought hard to understand each other and do life together, knowing God chose our friendship for us. We learned what love really looks like. Shela has talents you would never expect. She can read 12 books at a time, quote people I’ve never heard of, cook a mean coconut curry chicken, set up crazy meetings and do logistical magic for the squad, run on a broken ankle, and play “What a Beautiful Name” on the guitar for the 30th time in a new friend’s home. She will get sick for the 57th time and not once complain. She will go out with you to lunch 1,000 times and try to walk slow if you ask her. She has the gift of falling asleep anywhere and uses it to her advantage. She learned to give her all freely and doesn’t hesitate to be your prayer partner for one more vendor. She wakes up every morning at 2am and drinks 29 cups of coffee a day. She will write a spoken word, and run long distances for no reason.
Shela refined me in so many ways and I got to see such an awesome friendship grow. I loved watching her teach all the kids in music class. My favorite thing about her is how she lights up when she gets excited about whatever she is talking about— from her telling us how she saw God at work or being pumped about Pathos. Her life is so valuable and I’m happy to have spent a few short months only scratching the surface. I am at the edge of my seat in the front row of what God does next with you. Shela, you make it hard to keep up! I love you girl!
Hannah:
Oh how I laughed with Hannah! This girl has my heart. We have the same sense of humor and witty thoughts sometimes, so Hannah made it easy to laugh about the things I wanted to cry about. Hannah always seemed to be by my side when I made a video so she quickly became my sidekick in all my videos (ok Hanna. The super hero). She has amazing hidden talents like surffing, water coloring, knowing all the songs we played, and ballet dancing, just to name a few.
She doesn’t know what the word stranger means and will talk to anyone, anywhere. She will listen intently and validate your whole experience with ease. Hannah lead the team single handedly most of the time in asking real intentional questions. She made deep emotional connections at the drop of a hat with complete strangers all while going through a lot herself. From sickness every month to missing big events back home, she kept pushing right on through. It wasn’t easy at all but some days you wouldn’t think a thing was wrong in Hannah’s world. I am so proud of her determination to keep fighting and not look back at all the hurt.
I will never forget the look on her face when sharing our first communal plate of couscous in Morocco and all the things she was dealing with then. Her face of horror as this grandma licked her whole hand and then tore of a pice of lam and insisted Hanna to eat as she placed it in front of her! I will always think of Hannah when we sing “Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord” or laugh at the time she sang “I feel it in my bones you’re about to move” when I was dying on El Camino and told her “Every bone in my body hurts!”
Hannah, you have so much left in you to share with the world and I can’t wait to see you take over. Just like you killed it in the business development classes you gave in Morocco! Thank you for always fighting for our friendship even when it was hard. You taught me quiet strength with a smile does exist even if you don’t feel like it. You always ran back to the arms of your Creator when the going got rough. I learned that the other side of speaking absolutely truthfully is the art of speaking absolute truth. So thanks girl! I love you for life.
Niki:
The most beautiful New Zealander inside and out. Niki always asked “Does anyone want a hot drink?” This alone showed her servant heart and gift of hospitality. Niki sees you. She feels the need deep inside her from a mile away and it manifests in beautiful tears. The most adequate person for the Beauty for Ashes Cordinator is Niki. She loves so well and will never hold back. She hugs, kisses, gives massages, paints nails, speaks words of encouragement, and cooks amazing dishes! Niki showcases her Pinterest skills 1,000 times and perfectly eveytime.
She did whatever it took to be ready for any event. She went the extra mile to show her love. Whether it was with the Beauty for Ashes retreat, the doula workshop decorating, all of our birthdays, every night asking if we wanted a hot drink, laughing at our jokes, or simply asking “all good?” Niki made you feel seen! She single handedly made our team look good at the Mercy Center in Cyprus. She served her heart out. I watched her confidence grow and stood in awe of how she made her visions come to life. Niki made me love telling stories because she always wanted to hear them no matter how dumb I thought they were. She called me Dora and laughed with me countless times and into the wee hours of the night. Niki is a friend who you want forever because she genuinely cares.
Niki, I love you and know you will see yourself the way we all see you by the end of this Race if not before! You are a diamond piece and I can’t wait for our twin babies to meet. Thank you for teaching me to love well and genuinely push to see people. You are so strong, yet so meek. You are going to slay as Team Leader. I’m so proud of you! You got me asking my new team “Does anyone want a hot drink??” Thanks!
Talia:
If you want to make things run smoothly in any scenario, you need to meet Talia. Talia was our team treasurer. She can plan circles around budgets, grocery lists, schedules for the week, set up meetings, remind you of appointments, prescribe you medication, give you the mom stare, and keep track of who had the key last. Talia was the fire in the engine that kept us running smoothly for sure.
I am selfishly blessed to have been on her team. I always told Talia, “If your mom saw you at work, she would be so proud of you!” I was no where near as mature as Talia when I was her age. Talia put up with me calling her Tamara the whole 4 months and never once got mad. She never complained about the budget or being the treasurer. Talia made it point to hear from God and push towards what he was calling her to be or do no matter how hard or easy it was. You could see the wheels turning in Talia’s mind in any problem that was thrown our way. Her strong will to make things work efficiently and on schedule was both a struggle and challenging that refined us all.
Thank you Talia for fighting for our team as individuals and as a unit. We had plenty of hard times but so many sweet times. Thanks for letting loose and enjoying sangria in Spain, delicious coffee in Morocco, and that one time we took too long on lunch in Burgos. It was Shela’s fault! They couldn’t have picked a better Squad Leader! I’m so proud of you! I love you! I can’t wait to come to Australia!!
So there you have it. A tiny bit of who these women are and some of what they mean to me.
As a team, we did a lot of amazing things and ate real good all the time. We organized dinner with our new family everywhere we went from El Camino to Lebanon. We planed and executed big affairs like the Beauty For Ashes retreat, the Doula Motherhood workshops, Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. We provided service to impact the growth of the community with business development workshops, bible studies, music classes, and private music lessons. We visited countless homes and made life long friends. We shared the Love of Jesus wherever we went and got to stand back and watch God’s hand at work. We stood in awe as God used us to heal the sick and drew four lives to come to know their Messiah, Jesus Christ. We prayed for countless vendors in the streets and prayed that the Lord would reveal Himself through visions and dreams. We made friends who cooked us jaw dropping meals and we were entrusted to pray and sing blessings and proclaim Jesus in their homes.
We continue to pray that all our friends and family would come to the Knowledge of their Creator and what a privilege we got to do this together! This was only four months— let’s see what the Lord has in store for my next team!
How can I be praying for you? Family is big on the hearts of my new team so we will be very intentional about praying for family. Also, know I am still fundraising and have exactly $7,167 dollars left to raise, and I risk being sent home if I’m not fully funded soon. I know God will provide but I need to do my part and ask. “We have not because we ask not” so here is my part: If you can give a donation of any amount, I would be so appreciative and you would be helping to change the world! I love you all so much!
-Love Nashiely Aguilar
