All of my previous teammates are wonderful. They reflect the image of God in so many ways. But none of us are perfect, so some things have been a little bit tense at times. In order to make the transition a little easier for you, here are some of the things I have learned about them (sometimes the hard way):

 

Michael (Enneagram Type 3):

 

  • Michael was our team leader. He has the heart of a lion and a deep desire to connect with the people around him. He is quick to give a hug, an encouragement, a passage of Scripture, or just be a listening ear when you need it.
  • Michael’s love language is physical touch (with occasional words of affirmation). No better way to show him love than by giving him a huge hug and letting him know how much he means to you. And he is a gifted hugger at that! We even had a little “Hug Wars” competition with other self-proclaimed great huggers on our squad. Michael won in a landslide victory.
  • To get through the day, Michael needs his pocket bible and highlighter. Often times when we are in ministry, Michael will have a word of encouragement for someone with Scriptural references. He is always ready to encourage someone. He never goes anywhere without it.
  • Michael’s main catchphrase is “straight up, fam” followed by an exuberant display of enthusiasm. Do not be surprised if this happens. Just go with it. The more hyped you get, the better it will be for you both. Michael is just so so so full of joy!
  • Do not make any self-deprecating jokes when you are around Michael. He does not think this is funny. He is more of the “speak life” kind of person, and that includes over yourself.
  • Michael is a guy who walks in a lot of spiritual authority as well. Some ways that I have seen him walk in his God-given authority is in teaching, prophetic visions, exhortation, and encouragement as clearly seen by how he is always eager to speak life and freedom over everyone he meets.

 

Colby (Enneagram Type 7):

 

  • Our chief storyteller. Colby is a firecracker with boundless energy and a relentless pursuit of the joys that life has to offer. He loves to get to know people and bring them on all kinds of adventures, whether that means going from sea-level to 16,000 to hike a volcano or going to a desert oasis to ride dune buggies… both of which actually happened on the Race so far!
  • Colby’s love language is quality time. He loves to spend time with anyone and feels loved when you choose spending time with him over other comforts.
  • To get through the day, Colby needs his camera. Colby can be found with his camera during any outing with the team. He is a skilled photographer with an eye for detail. He is incredible at what he does. Truly an artist!
  • Colby has a lot of catchphrases. A few of his include, “excuse me,” “LISTEN” (capitalized for emphasis), “forget you,” and many more! These are some of the most common I hear because I pick on Colby a lot (sorry Colby). Colby is a bit of an easy target. Other than myself, I don’t know an easier target.
  • Do not under any circumstances volunteer Colby for something. Colby is very much a free-spirit who values his individuality and freedom of choice. He does not like being told what to do, but he (more times than not) will be more than happy to do things if he can make the choice himself. My team and I once volunteered Colby to dress up as a clown for the children’s ministry we were a part of in Peru. Let’s just say Colby escaped freely while I got stuck with a red foam nose on my face.
  • Colby has also been given spiritual authority when it comes to teaching, mercy, encouragement, and knowledge. He is full of lots of information, especially concerning travel and electronics. He is always willing to teach others, showing great grace and mercy while doing so.

 

John (Enneagram Type 9):

 

  • John was our treasurer. He is a beautiful man with a beautiful heart for ministry and the Lord. He may be one of the single most encouraging, most inspiring people. When you are around him, you are inspired to chase after the Lord just as intently as he is.
  • John’s main love language is words of affirmation. He is (first of all) the feedback king. He is the quickest to think of an encouragement and call someone higher if he sees them walking a dangerous line. But he also loves to receive these as well. And it’s so easy to do that for someone who encourages each one of us so much.
  • To get through the day, John needs his journal and pen. John has a HUGE journal (it looks more like a bible, honestly) FULL of sermons he has written. Almost every time that I look at John, he is either reading his bible or writing in a journal.
  • John’s catchphrase is, “DUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!” while clasping his hands together. John is very agreeable and go with the flow, but he is also very easy to excite. If you have a good idea, John will for sure make you feel like you had the best idea of your life. It’s no wonder Michael and John get along so well. It’s a friendship full of hype and joy!
  • Do NOT (I repeat, DO NOT) make an inappropriate joke around John. John’s heart is very pure, and he only has eyes for the Lord. He holds himself and others to a hand standard of holiness and will call people out for being inappropriate. But he will still do this in a way to make you feel encouraged rather than discouraged or judged.
  • John has been given spiritual authority and gifts for evangelism, service, preaching, and exhortation. This is very clearly seen by how eager he is to study the Word in a bible study or to encourage someone with feedback. The Lord speaks to him so much through His Word, and John is so eager to share that knowledge with everyone around him.

 

Lee (Enneagram Type 8):

 

  • Lee is a quirky guy who has a very unique way of thinking. He also is one of the funniest people that I have met. He is very kind and full of grace for other people because he understands that he has been shown a lot of grace. He is always willing to share how the Lord has moved in his own life in order to encourage others to continue to seek the Lord.
  • Lee’s love language is also quality time. He feels very loved when you choose to spend free time with him, but he does not demand it from anyone. He doesn’t expect people to spend quality time on him, but he invites you into whatever he is doing and appreciates people taking the time to get to know him. He is very open to talk about anything in his life and does not back away from any topic or question. Every minute spent with Lee is quality time because he is a man of great quality.
  • In order to survive the day, Lee needs his headphones. Whether he is listening to music or a podcast on his phone, watching a movie on his laptop, or just trying to block out the noise around him, Lee can usually be found with a set of AirPods. Lee takes in a lot of information through his sense of hearing, and he uses this to not only unwind but to draw closer to the Lord as well. He loves to listen to worship music and sermons (especially through the Elevation church podcast) just to name a few ways he connects with the Lord this way.
  • Lee’s catchphrase is, “What do you mean by that?” One of Lee’s favorite pastimes is teasing me. His favorite way to do that is to say, “What do you mean by that?” wheneverI tell him a joke or say just about anything else to him. He pretends that he has no idea what I mean and asks me to explain my joke, usually leading to my frustration and the ultimate implosion of the joke. Everyone knows jokes are not funny if you have to explain them! Little does he know, I feed into it because I actually think it is pretty funny most of the time. Like I said, Lee is hilarious. A bit of a troll at times, but a lovable one.
  • Do NOT *under any circumstances* lord yourself over someone or have a “holier than thou” attitude around Lee. He cannot stand a spiritual sham, and he can smell them from a mile away. He has had very real encounters with the Lord and knows that the Lord is a God of love and mercy. If you do not exhibit that attitude, you don’t know the Lord very well. Jesus Himself said we are known by how we love one another. Lee fully believes that Scripture and wants people to truly live it out.
  • Lee has been given gifts in mercy, service, leadership, and teaching. Like I said, Lee is very gracious to others. He loves to serve them with a pure heart, teaching others to do the same. And even though he doesn’t see it all the time, he’s a leader. And boy, is a he a good one.

 

Jake (Enneagram Type 5):

 

  • Jake is a gentle giant with a great, inquisitive mind and loving heart. He is moved to compassion by every group of people we encounter, usually thinking about how to improve their quality of life or power of witness. He is a discerner with a heart for mission and community development.
  • Jake’s main love language is acts of service. He is so moved to help others. I don’t know how many times he has volunteered to do dishes or clean up the apartment we were staying in. He loves to help the people he is around, seeing every opportunity as an opportunity to show the love of the Lord to everyone around him.
  • Jake needs his laptop in order to survive through the day. This is not saying that he spends all of his time on it (because he doesn’t). Jake just has a lot of things on there that he uses to unwind or connect with the Lord (similar to Lee and his AirPods). He has a wide selection of worship music from bands I don’t typically listen to and also has a few movies and TV shows on his laptop as well.
  • Jake doesn’t really have a particular catchphrase. He is a guy that chooses his words very carefully; he is very intentional! Because of that, there aren’t really a lot of phrases he says out of habit. He is very much the kind of guy that thinks before he speaks, which is honestly so inspiring to the rest of us. His words are always seasoned with gentleness and mercy.
  • If you are around Jake, you should never beat around the bush. Say exactly what you mean. He walks in a lot of naturally discernment and can tell if you are not being fully real with him. He is a guy that always says what he means and means what he says. It is only fair to respond in kind.
  • Jake also walks in a lot of spiritual authority. He walks in the fullness of the fruit of the Spirit, and has been given several gifts including discernment, wisdom, service, and mercy. He is very Kingdom-focused and driven. He is for sure one to watch! The Lord has big plans in store for him, maybe even eventually leading him to start his own ministry one day. Community development-focused, of course!

 

Of course, my team wanted to write a summary about me as well. So here’s what John wrote about me:

 

Andrew (Enneagram Type 4):

 

  • Andrew is probably one of the most encouraging and loving people I know. His passion and desire to spend time with the Lord no matter what it costs is inspiring. As a result of his time with the Lord, he is always equally passionate about sharing whatever the Lord taught him that morning. He is always the first to volunteer for the things no one wants to do like preaching the first day of ministry. You will find it quite easy to love Andrew as he so naturally pours love out to everyone around him.
  • Andrews main love language is words of affirmation. He is always telling everyone on our team why they are the greatest and how they reflect the image of God. He loves empowering people whether it’s through visions the Lord gives him or scripture or a book he is reading; he is constantly calling all of us higher. He also gets upset when you do anything to take away his voice like cut him off while he is speaking or try to tell him how he feels.
  • Andrew needs his highlighters and journaling bible to get through any day including travel days. Every morning Andrew is one of the first ones up and you can always find him reading the word and highlighting the word with a very unique highlighter key using each color highlighter for various biblical themes. In his journaling bible, he not only highlights but he also journals whatever the Lord speaks to him that day through the scriptures. That Journal is going to be a treasure to him and whoever he shares it with for years to come.
  • Andrews main catch phrase is “First of all, rude!!” He generally tends to be a target to a lot of our teams jokes. Partially because of his reactions and partially because he is a really funny guy. Generally his response to all the teasing and jokes is to defend himself and he starts by saying, “first of all…” He typically finishes the saying off by saying, “Ruuuudddee ,”but he also says things like “that’s not what I said” and uses voice inflections like saying in a really high pitched voice “Oh my Gosh, Lee” whenever he is being teased. He poses the question: does the fact that his most commonly used expression…. “Ruuudddeee” say more about him or more about us as a team? The jury is still out on that one so let us know if he repeatedly says this phrase on your team. Make sure to tease him though.
  • If you are around Andrew make sure to never cut him off in the middle of his thought process especially to tell him how he feels. Andrew is a man who really enjoys expressing himself and how he feels and does not like it when others try to do it for him. Andrew is one of the most expressive passionate people I know and he can definitely express himself much better than anyone besides the Lord could. Leave the expression of Andrew’s thoughts and emotions to him, he will tell you how he is feeling.
  • Andrew walks in so much Spiritual Authority. He is a man who knows what he wants and pursues it everyday. He wants an intimate relationship with the Lord above else. This intimacy with the Lord gives him authority in everything he does. He hears the Lord’s voice super clearly and is very prophetic. His prophetic nature comes with his never ceasing encouraging nature. The Lord gives him visions and dreams and interpretations to dreams as a means of encouraging and building the body of Christ. God has gifted him with incredible abilities of leadership and connection with anyone he meets because he is genuinely interested in everyone he meets, especially this squad. 

 

Ultimately, all I can say is that these guys are incredible. Each and every single one of them displays the Father’s heart in a unique way. They have shown me just how powerfully the body of Christ can work when everyone is walking in their own respective gifts and callings. We were a team that called each other higher, helping us grow into the men we are today. We are all forever changed for being together the first 4 months of our Race. I will always treasure the memories we had together and cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for all of us over the next couple months! Take good care of them, and always remember to show them a little extra love from yours truly!

 

With great care and love,

 

AG